TWO NEW MINISTERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 983, 28 May 1930, Page 1

TWO NEW MINISTERS

Forbes Cabinet Announced

MR. S. G. SMITH TAKES LABOUR Agriculture to Mr. Murdoch Press Association WELLINGTON, Today. IT- is announced that Mr. A. J. Murdoch. M.P. for Marsden and Chief Government Whip, and Mr. S. G. Smith, member for New Plymouth and Chairman of Committees in the House of Representatives, are the new Ministers selected by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes.

Mr. Forbes’s Cabinet is announced as follows: — The Hon. G. W. Forbes, Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister

of External Affairs. The Hon E. A. Ransom, Minister of

Lands. The Hon. W. A. Veitch, Minister of Public Works, Minister of Trans-

port. The Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata, Minister

of Native Affairs. The Hon. J. G. Cobbe, Minister of Justice, Minister of Defence, Minister of Marine. The Hon. H. Atmore, Minister of Edu-

cation. The Hon. W. B. Taverner, Minister of Railways, and in charge of State

Forests. The Hon. P. A. de la Perrelle. Minister of Internal Affairs, Industry, Publicity and Tourists. The Hon. J. B. Donald, PostmasterGeneral and Minister of Customs. The Hon. A. J. Stallworthy, Minister of Health. The Hon. A. J. Murdoch, Minister of Mines, Minister of Agriculture. The Hon. S. G. Smith, Minister of

Labour. The Hon. Sir Thomas Sidey, AttorneyGeneral and Leader of the Legislative Council.

Mr. Forbes's portfolios are substantially those held by Sir Joseph Ward. Mr. Ransom takes the Lands portfolio, formerly held by Mr. Forbes, and relinquishes Public Works to Mr. Veitch, he in his turn being replaced as Minister of Labour by Mr. S. G. Smith. Mr. Murdoch takes the Agriculture portfolio from Mr. Forbes, and that of Mines from Mr. Veitch. Mr. Cobbe takes Justice and Defence, in addition to Marine, and Mr. de ia Perrelle takes, In addition to Internal Affairs, Industries, Publicity and Tourists. Those are the principal changes. Mr. S. G. Smith was born in New Plymouth in 1879, and is a son of the late Mr. E. M. Smith, of Taranaki ironsands fame'. Mr. Smith was for 20 years in the railway service and was prominent in trade unionism, sitting for some years on the national executive of the A.S.R.S. He has been closely associated with affairs of education in the Taranaki district, being a member of the Education Board for that district, the High School Board of Governors, the Technical College Committee and the Taranaki School Committees' Association.

The new Minister first entered the House in a by-election in 1918, when he defeated Mr. J. S. Connet. The following year at a general election he-defeated Mr. G. H. Buckeridge and in 1922 he beat the late member, Mr. Bellringer, who, in 1925, reversed the decision to see another reversal at the last election.

The newly-appointed Minister of Agriculture and Mines, Mr. A. J. Murdoch, who is the United member for Marsden, was born in 1877 and in his earlier years was employed as a school teacher. As such he spent 28 years at Ruakaka, before taking up farming. Mr. Murdoch was keenly interested in the formation of the Waipu railway and received considerable praise for his fine work as secretary of the league which was formed to further the project. He is a member of the Whangarei Chamber of Commerce and is well known as a keen sportsman. The political career of Mr. Murdoch is a varied one. He first won the Marsden seat in 1919, when he defeated Mr. F. Mander. In the next election he again won out, but on this occasion against Mr. W. Jones. He was defeated by him, however, in 1925 by 651 votes.

MESSAGE TO COUNTRY

NEW PRIME MINISTER’S PLANS FORECAST OF POLICY Press Association WELLINGTON, Today. After being sworn in, the new Prime I Minister, the Hon. G. W. Forbes, | handed the following statement to i the Press: “To My Fellow-citizens,—On assum- j lng the office of Prime Minister, I am fortified in facing my responsibilities j by the many indications that well- 1 wishers are to be found among all j classes of the community, and in a j personal sense, I am happy to say also, among my political opponents. ! From those who may definitely differ from me politically, I know the Government now taking office will receive consideration, and that there will be national and Imperial occasions upon which they will feel justified in giving us their disinterested help. “Taking office under circumstances of difficulty and regretful parting from active association with my distinguished leader, the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, whose outstanding services to the Empire and the Dominion will ever be remembered, I am undertaking this high duty with a due sense of humility, and an earnest desire to

serve the public weal to the fullest extent of my powers. lam conscious of my limitations, but 1 shall strive earnestly to do my best for the country in which I was born, and in which all my interests are centred. I speak on my own behalf, and on that of my colleagues, when I say we will administer our offices with the full realisation that the Government must preserve the rights and advance the welfare of the whole community, and not of any sectional interest. We shall aim at a well-balanced consideration of all the factors contributing to the national advantage.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM “A Government which does not enjoy a working majority is necessarily restricted in the pace at which it can progress on policy matters, but this difficult factor in our present Parliamentary position must not deter us from proceeding with many important measures on which there will be doubtless differences of opinion, though the objectives are of such great national importance that we may fairly Anticipate from all parties in Parliament their aid in reaching the best solution. Notably should this be the case with the problem of unemployment, which we will ask Parliament to approach with a desire to approve plans for a more permanent remedy than it has previously been possible to evolve. We have the deepest sympathy with those of our citizens who through no fault of their own are unable to find employment and it will be our strenuous endeavour to alleviate their hardships. In submitting our proposals to Parliament we have the advantage of additional knowledge of the causes and incidence of unemployment which will prove of great assistance in considering this very difficult problem. “The Government is fully seized of the fact that in public as well as in private affairs finance is a matter of vital importance. It Is recognised that solid progress cannot be made unless the State pays its way and that sound public finance is a condition precedent to the welfare of the community. Accordingly the people of the Dominion can rest assured that this all-important subject will receive from the Government the earnest attention it merits. Every endeavour will be made to see that the necessary burden on the taxpayers is distributed as equitably as possibe and that this burden is not increased u it can possibly be avoided, having regard to the legitimate needs of the Dominion as a whole. Requests for the State to provide additional services or undertake additional works will be considered in terms of taxation. CONSIDERATIONS OF ECONOMY “In this connection it must be recognised that while there are many projects that might be undertaken for the benefit of the people generally, we must consider whether the country can really afford such services in the iight of present commitments and the relative economic position of producers and other sections of the community. In private life most of us have to forgo many desirable things because we cannot afford them, and the same inexorable economic law must apply to a State, which, of course merely means the people organised as a community. The only difference is that it is much more difficult in public matters to determine what we can and what we cannot afford. In all such matters it rests with the Government to weigh the advantages against the cost from the point of view of the people, and the Government can be relied upon to do its utmost to promote the true interests of the country. At the same time, so far as existing services are concerned, every effort will be made to obtain economy in administration and, while doing justice to public servants in the matter of remuneration, to ensure that the taxpayer gets value for his money. “These are the broad principles underlying the financial policy of the Government, and it is my intention to issne at the earliest possible moment a more comprehensive statement regarding the present financial position of the Dominion. Other vital factors contributing to the Dominion's prosperity, such as closer land settlement, the encouragement of our secondary industries, and a wise programme of public works development, will receive the closest attention of ' the Government. “Soucd principles of Liberalism, : which have played such an important part in the progress of New Zealand in the past, will still remain the guiding spirit of the policy of the future. I shall be assisted by able colleagues who are now experienced administrators, and who can be relied upon to take their full share of the responsibility which the new Government is about to assume.’’