The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1932. THE WELCOME CHANGE.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 July 1932, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1932. THE WELCOME CHANGE.

The change of Government in New South Wales is proving a welcome •change, for the. distressed. State. Signs i ; j}rp j not wanting that the. Lang G-cv-..Oiiunent adopted the extreme in/busi,iiess as well as in pollt.oal methods, and the country must feel it is well /clear of such desperate leadership. The verdict of the people was very pronounced. In a House of 90, where Mr ,Lang formerly had a good working ; .Hiajoiity, the stnength of hie party was reduced to 25. The Government thus has a clear majority of 40. No time was lost in getting to business, Premier (Mr B. S. B. Stevens) /is proving a sane leader. At the outset he decided to stick to the Premiers’ Plan, • which Mr Lang neglected for his own disastrous Plan. .In the deputy-Premier, Mr Stevens has H: capable colleague in Colonel Bruxner, -.the leader of the Country party. In -the constitution' cf his- Cabinet, Mr Stevens, selected good men aucl at the .last morn'ent was able to draw on the busjness world for two honorary Ministers. One of these, Mr, E. S. .Spooner, is Assistant Treasurer, and holds a - hiigh degree in economies and com- ’ nierde. • Another member, Mr W. M. Hawkins, is head, of >a large firm, and is associated- in the Labour and. Industry Departments. The . new Cabinet has made a good beginning, and the State affairs are now moving smoothily. The difficult situation/ however, is far from cured, and /.it .will -be a hard task to pull down ’the , heavy deficit which was the legacy from the Lang Government. /The financial task will be a hard one, • and it can be well understood why Mr Stevens, a capable financial ! man,, chilled to his aid an assistant equipped t<v ideal with’ important' details' ‘.which will require careful working out. One of the earliest measures to ho' conhide,red will be the' proposal to/ create I four .provincial' areas : which in thie future will-' not be/subject to rule. from Sydney, where Trades Hall methods/ have wfhckhd the possibility of same Government. The proposal emanates from the Country,-party, which -is /the ] lesser half of the Cabinet. These -four provincial areas are. to have ’Separate Governments,''/' and f=-tif' the ’ Original scheme is' adopted, lit will mean 100 additional legislators l -will be added to the’ overhead costs of the /country. ■However, if the measure ptoses there will bo ■ tho opportunity to /reduce the State; Government,' but nv/m so, Australia already over-rgovernc/I with State and Federal Parliaments,/will he more politically-ridden than j ever. The movement can, be well’ understood after the,late wrecking/ /methods of extreme Labour with Soviet leanings, and it can be realised the country people wish to escape in/the future the possible rule of such a party again. The matter will require careful consideration and drafting to meet the position adequately, and the measure promises to ,be one of the outstanding ‘legislative acts of the new 'Government. For the rest, Cabinet is very earnest and serious in its administration and its effort to relieve the financial strain is certainly genuine and "deserves to succeed.