WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 June 1929, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS

LABOUR PARTY. TIME NOT YET. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, June 17. The admission of Air E. J. Howard, tile member for Christchurch South, that the country is not yet ready for a Labour Government, is but a frank admission of an obvious /fact. Air Howard himself was in a minority of over a thousand votes at the recent general election, and Mr H. G. R. -Mason, the member, for Auckland Suburbs, Mr M. J. Savage, member for Auckland West, Air J. W. Arunro, member /for Dunedin North, Air J. McCombs, the member for Lyttelton, Mr F. Langstone, member for Waiinarino, and Air R. Semple, the member for Wellington East, all representatives of Labour in the new Parliament, are in a similar case. It is true that eighteen of the Reform members of the present and thirteen of the United members were returned by a minority of the votes in their respective constituencies; but the Reformers and the Uniteds are nearer together than are the Labourites to either of the parties. ■ Air Howard thinks the otiier two parties should coalesce and leave Labour in possession of the Opposition Benches.

LABOUR’S GOAL. The member for Christchurch South '•b a persistent humourist that one scarcely knows when he is speaking in iest and when in earnest. “ I cannot for the life of me,” he stated in his pre-sessional address to his constituents, “ see any difference between the other two parties in the House. I cannot tell you what we will oppose or what we will support, because the leader of the country has not told us what he is going to do. I might say there has been a threat—probably a gloved hand threat—by .the Liberals that if we do not like their legislation they will go to the country.” He knows well enough, in his serious moments, that the Liberals, as he very properly dubs the members of tho United Party, if they find their policy held, up bj r a. Reform-Labour Opposition will be entitled to ask His Excellency the Governor for a dissolution and another appeal to the electorates. Sir Joseph Ward and his colleagues are neither threatening nor fearing such a development. TO WHOSE CREDIT? Meanwhile the differences between the Reformers and the Liberals are not assuming any very acute form. The only development of any consequence in this direction is the newspaper opposition •to the completion of the South Island Trunk railway and what a correspondent of the “Dominion” styles the Nelson-Invercargill railway. Even these undertakings, however, are being less violently denounced than they were before Mr Coates let it be known during his South Island tour that he was not averse to the spanning of the gap in the East Coast line at a rato of four or five miles a year while a bitumen road for motor traffic was, 1 eing laid. It is the old story of politicians needing to propitiate the electors of both islands. A minor incident in this respect is being bruited abroad to-day. Speaking at Invercargill last week Air Coates stated that the Reform Government had initiated the revival of the Bluff-Melbourne steamer service. This morning a message from the south declares that, the restitution of the service was entirely due to the activities of the United Government.

CONSOLIDATION. In a Cabinet, which as a whole is showing a great deal off activity, the Hon. H. Atmore certainly is not the least conspicuous. The Alinister oi Education yesterday returned from his final tour of inspection bdfore the meeting of Parliament, having traversed the Dominion from end to end and visited, every school within the reach of rapid transport. He still has on his list a number of schools he wil visit immediately affter the session and ascertain at first hand their needs To-day he could spare time only to make a passing allusion to the requirements of the country schools. These, he declared, were the most pressing problems of the system. Children in the country were entitled to at least as good an education as could he afforded to those in the towns and the business of his department was to see they got it. Consolidation—the substitution of a fully-equipped school ffor two or three or more partially equipped schools —was the only means by which this end could be achieved.