WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 March 1931, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE ADDRESS-IN-REPLY.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

(Special Correspondent)

WELLINGTON, March 14

The most impressive speech delivered in the House of Representatives < n the opening of the debate oil the Ad-dress-i 11-Reply on Thursday was that of the Leader of the Opposition. Without committing himself to any particular line of action, Air Coates made it plain that he had no intention to hinder the Prime Minister in the difficult task that confronts him, but rather to assist him. “ 1 realise the 1 problems ashead of the country,” he said, “and in offering the Prime Minister assistance to get his business through the House, I. and my colleagues retain the right to criticise and improve where possible, but generally speaking these remarks will be reserved until the measures come down.” The Opposition, Mr Coates went on to say, ' was anxious to get down to business ' as speedily as possible and towards this 1 end he and bis friends were ready to • give the Government every possible as- • sistance. A NEWSPAPER VIEW. The newspaper friends of the Leader of the Opposition, while quite rightly applauding his patriotism, supply a few passages they probably thought he I hard overlooked. “Mr Coates”’ one of | them says, “has preferred to overlook - 1 a great deal that has happened in the last two years, sins of omission and I commission, and flagrant offences given ! and to place first his country’s good.• ! ft is hard to forget that the United | Government has not in its past administration proved a reliable trustee of the national welfare. . . Nor is it too much to say that by its extravagant expenditure, burdensome taxation and heavy borrowing, the Government lias intensified our economic difficult ties.” These statements surely arc not the utterances of peace any more than they are the pronouncements of facts. It is true that Sir Joseph Ward, a sick man, given his own way, made light of courtesies proffered to him by the Reform Party, hut the events of that time surely need npt he quoted against the party to-day. LABOUR’S GRIEVANCE. 'file trouble of Mr H. E. Holland, the Leader of the Labour Party, so far as can he gathered from his contribution to the debate-in-Reply, is that conditions throughout the world—eco-1 nomic, financial, prices and the rest— . are not exactly as they were two years j. ago. “The" present Governmciit,” he told the the House the other day. i “came in declaring for no wage re-1 duction, actually pledging its existence ' that there would he no reduction of wages. With the exception of the South Island Alain Trunk railway it has surrendered to the Reform Party on almost every item in its programme. I think it is most serious that honourable members on the Treasury Benches depart from their election pledges and calmly think that they can remain there.” Assuming, with- . out any proof, that the present Gov- -, eminent made such promises as Air Holland says it did, it would have been absolutely suicidal on its part to tread j the path the Leader of the Labour 1 Party had marked out for its do- * struction. I

LABOUR’S VIEWS. The Labour Party, despite the overwhelming defeat of its leader’s motion of “ no-confidence,” which merely registered the determination of both TTniteds and Reformers to get about the country’s business, seem to have other means of obstruction in hand. Mr .T. McCombs, the member for Lyttelton who ought to have known better, when he succeeded in catching the Speaker's eye, told the House that the Government’s proposals were tile “most complete record of a gross betrayal of the people Parliament ever ! bad witnessed.” He was called to j order by the Speaker, and reluctantly | withdrew his offensive statement. To j preserve its flavour he subsequently declared that had Sir Joseph Ward { lived the House would have been con- j sidering more equitable proposals to 1 right the position. One of his own l nlans for balancing the Budget would have been to increase the excise duty on beer and the duty on spirits, so avoiding the burden thrust, upon the Civil Servants.