WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 22 November 1933, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS

A NEW HIGH COMMISSIONER

AGRICULTURE OR BUSINESS

(Special Correspondent)

WELLINGTON, November 17

Shortly after hi s return from the World Economic and Monetary Conference the Prime Minister announced that Sir Thomas Watford's occupancy of the High Commissionership would terminate at the close of the current year. It was understood that Sir Thom, 36 was quite prepared to accept a further term of office, but that Mr 'Forbes, and lii s colleagues had deemed it expedient to follow the examples of their predecessors as far as possible by confining the period of- a High Commissioner's service to three years or thereabouts. The half dozen Commissioners who have served during trie passing century are the Hor.. W. P. Beeves, iSir William Hall Jones, Sir Thomas Mackenzie, Sir James Allen, ■Sir Jame 6 Parr and the present Sir Thomas Wilford. Of these half dozen the Hon. W. P. Beeves rnd the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie have passed on, while the remaining quartet still are more or less 'associated with the Dominion’s political activities. The announcement of the approaching retirement of Sir Thomas Wilford from the ‘High (lommissionership was immediately .followed by an official statement to the effect that Sir James Parr was to return to the London Office for a year, to “hold the seat,” ns it were, until another occupant was available. Of course the popular assumption from this arrangement wa s that Mr Oates djuiring those twelve months, wou’d divest himself of tha burden of the Treasury and finally hie away to London, where he made many personal friends as the leader of the Befonn

Government in its halcyon day, 3 and would make even more as the representative of the most Foglish of the British Dominions. But it is not to be taken for granted that the present 'Minister of Finance a year hence is to (figure as High Commissioner for New Zealand in London with a knighthood and two thousand .a year at his hand. When Sir James Parr goes to London to iserve the Dominion for a year as High Commissioner, the Hon. Robert Masters, the Minister of (Education, of Industries, of Commerce and of half a dozen s ide lines, will resume the leadership of the Legislative Council and remain the most burdened member of the .Assembly, not excepting either the Prime Minister Or the- Minister of Finance. Mr Masters, who was born in OBrunnerton i|n 1879, is tbe youngest member of the Legislative Council at the present time, and, one may say, that with the exception of Sir Francis Bell, the most alert. Strange to say, in view of his exceptional netivitv, be Imd (not crossed the equator until his visit to London and the World Economic and Monetary Conference only a few months ’ ago. It is more than remarkable that after such a long delay he should be able to gather iin a few hurried weeks much information as he has done concerning the conditions of the Mother Country and its relations to this Dominion.