WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 March 1931, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE RAILWAYS. MINISTER’S CRITICS. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, March 5. His frank exposition of the condition of the State railways, and their prospects for the future, have brought down upon the Hon. IV. A. Veiteh from various quarters scathing criticisms of his administration of his department. The “Dominion,” having taken two days to think about the matter, appeals to the Prime Minister himself to restrain his colleague. “If Mr Forbes wants a telling argument against political control and for business administration,” it says, “he lias it ready

at hand in the confused thinking and fallacious reasoning of his Minister of Railways. . That is the sort of backing and filling, of special pleading and Irrelevance, that has handicapped railways administration in the past. ’Hie Prime Minister does' well to propose a. clean out with all that past political muddle, so well brought out in Air Yeitch’s statement, and to make a new start with the businesslike organisation of a board of directors.”

This is well enough so far as it goes,

but even with much more to the same effect, it dees not demolish Ml* Yeitch’s contentions. NON POLITICAL. The “Evening Post/’ writing ahead of its contemporary, is less scathing, hut it still clings to the idea that Mr Veiteh is opposed to non-political control. lock, stock, nnd barret. f< Sure-. lv the greatest service a Government could perform to transport,” it says, “would be to take steps to clarify the situation and to find out, in given New Zealand situations, what is a railways job and what is a roads job. Sooner or later the test of merit will have to he applied. To give .the rail, ways a fair field (and no favour) 'in that tost, they should be under depoliticalised control. The railway system—and the roads system—should be judged on its deserts, not on the false values that the Minister (being comparatively a new Minister in a new Government) finds courage to admit.” The idea that ?*lr Veiteh is definitely opposed to non-political control does him an injustice. He sees, the disadvantages of the existing system;.but he wishes to avoid stepping from one evil to a worse. UNEMPLOYMENT RL7LIEF. The Hon. S. G. Smith, the Minister of Labour, who has been in and out of ‘Parliament since 1918 as representative of Taranaki, has displayed, his particular avocation in the administration of the various “jobs” attached to his portfolio. At the beginning of the week lie was commissioned by Cabinet to visit Hawkes Bay with a view to setting relief works at Napier tuid Hastings in motion and inspiring the .Workers there with the spirit of Y'effoli and achievement. He was back , £n .Wellington two days later with his Jjfislc accomplished. At the conclusion # the conference held at Hastings, Mr 'Jtoach, the Mayor of the town, in mov. sig a vote of appreciation to th£ MinJsfcr, declared the day of Mr Smith’s. ijJtisit was the most heartening experyfence the local people had tasted since (Che great catastrophe. The conference .(with Mr Smith, he said, would prove one of the most potent factors in en>(ibling the people of .the district to (function in a normal business way. ■ Hastings, at any rate, appears to have .made tip its mind to get to work forfch:with.

;■ THE SHORT SESSION. ,rt. It seems at the time of. writing unlikely that the Prime Minister will succeed in limiting the short session of Parliament which will open on Wednesday next to three weeks. The Labivdur members, who, speaking generally,, would not be averse to Parliament -sitting the whole year round, will have much to say, and the Reformers, too, will not miss th e opportunity to remind the constituencies of their exist- ■ ence, Mr Forbes and his colleagues, however, appear to have set electioneering aside for the time being, and to have concentrated their energies upon unemployment and tlie affairs of the Treasury. The ppssfbility of an “understanding” between Labour and Reform? even on so trivial a matter as the length of the emergency session, has been mentioned, but it' is not expected to occur. Labour’s tactics appear to be to drive the other two parties into the one camp; but just what advantages such an achievement would give to Mr H. E. Holland and his friends is not at onoe obvious. Nevertheless Mr Forbes may count Mmself fortunate should he se e the last of the session at the middle of April.