ADVANCE ROTORUA

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 435, 20 January 1933, Page 4

ADVANCE ROTORUA

If the residents of Rotorua are alive to their own interests there will be a large attendance at St. John's Hall this evening when the Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson, will speak upon the "Advance Rotorua Movement." We have previously commented strongly upon the apathy whieh has been shown with regard to the activities of the league and ■ it is hardly necessary to again cover j the ground beyond impressing upon the public and those asso- 1 Iciated with the movement the importance of putting life, work and brains into the movement. The league had an excellent start and the early prospects of success were most encouraging, but suddenly the whole projeet went flat and much of the good spade work put in by the promoters was wasted. The holiday season arrived and found the league, whieh promised so much a few | short months ago, entirely abI sent from the organisation of 1 the festivities. This was a bad

j| mistake. While casting no reflec- !| tion upon the work of the bor5 ough publicity and amusement f| committee it is, nevertheless, | quite certain that with the coml bined efforts of the league as at j first outlined better results could j have been achieved at carnival | j time. It was a good week, unI | doubtedly, and visitors to the j I j town thoroughly enjoyed them- | { selves, but there is no profit or I commonsense in disguising the II fact that it could have been made much better. There was not the .j I wholehearted genial co-operation j j whieh might have been expected | if the league had been functioning with its full strength. How- | ever, it is not' only at carnival I time that the league is needed. j ; It is an ail-the-year job and it is j i to be hoped that the vital j 1 threads of the movement will be | i picked up agifin at this evening's j | meeting and the good work conj j tinued. The movement is of outi | ! standing importance to the disI trict and the business people, esj pecially, should keep this fact in | view.

RESIGNATION ACCEPTED The information received at a late hour last night that the Prime Minister had accepted the resignation of the Hon. W. Downie Stewart provides confirmation of the rumours so confidently circulated yesterday. The Coalition press is doing its best to demonstrate that the action of the Finance Minister was anticipated and that the Government is not unduly concerned but such argument must be taken cum grano salis. Both Mr. Forbes and his colleague Mr. Coates, must know only too well what the defection of such a strong member of the Cabinet must mean and it is significant that a party conference has been called for an early date. This has evidently been found advisable for the purpose of counting heads before the opening of Parliament. However high the hopes may be of those who wish for a continuance of the Coalition it seems abundantly plain that a crisis has been precipitated and that the Government stands to meet with a nasty shock. With the decision of the Government to peg the exchange at 25 per cent it may be taken as certain that the Oppostiion will test the feeling of the House with a no-eon-fidence motion, and in such case the only hope the Government can entertain of warding off def eat is the traditional f ear of the

Labour Party. There will, also, be a decided disinclination on the part of members to break in upon the safa four years in office whieh has been assured to them by the extension of the life of Parliament. Nevertheless, the exchange issue is likely. to produce such a sharp cleavage that the odds are in favour of the Government being sent to the country to try and secure another mandate. That the people would repeat. their foolishness of 1931 is doubtful.