WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 160, 25 July 1916, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE INFLUENZA FIEND. PROGRESS OF BUSINESS. (Our Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, July 21. The influenza fiend has retained its hold on Ministers during the week. Mr Massey and Mr Allen made their re-appearance in the House on Wednesday afternoon, after an absence running into a couple of weeks, hut they did not remain till the end of the sitting, and have not yet ventmed out in the night air. Sir Joseph Ward, muffled up in coats and wrappc rs, stuck to his post till he got the Land and Income Tax Bill throushou Tr.esj day evening, but he could bea” up no | longer, and is now confined to his bedI room, where he is carrying on the work of his various departments. The three Ministers hope to be themselves again when the House resumes n>-xt week, and to be able to clear up the, remaining- business of the session vithin a fortnight. On the latter point they probably are a little too sanguine. The House ha s no: b**r,n wearied by late sittings, and h has | lots of talking power left which it will | be inclined to employ if congenial subjects are offered lor discussion Minister.’ are now showing no disp -fcUun to unduly hasten matters, and ihe:o is a feeling abroad that tne '’trip lk'i..e” will not be allowed to aitor their attitude in this respeV WAR REGULATIONS. Neither of the party leaders was in the House when Mr. Herd man iir-ro duced the War Regulations Amendment Bill on Wednesday, and the task of expounding the Government s policy ’ in regard to the various matters dealt with in the measure was left to the Attorney-General himself and the Minister of Health. At the commencement of the proceedings Mr Hornsby suggested that as some of the subjects to be discuseed were of an extremely delicate nature it would be well to have the galleries cleared n ladies, and the Speaker, though explaining no had no authority to issue orders in the matter, appearing to concur with the view expressed by the member for Wairarapa, the ladies in the gallery Withdrew. Mr McCombs then'pointed out that certain clauses of the 'Bill were of. vital concern to the WWnieti and children of the country, hud contended there could be no pds.-hblt- objection to matrons watching the proceedings on their behalf: The Speaker reiterated his statement that it was a matter entirely for the judgment or the women themselves, and later on five or six ladies returned to tne gallery, and retained their ■ seats there throughout the debate. It soon ht- ! came evident there was not the slight- | est need for any of the women to have i retired. 1 EARLY CLOSING, j The House listened to Mr. Herdman’s explanation of the B’ill with no display ! of particular interest till the Minister j touched on the question of early closing j of hotel bars, which, of course, was j not mentioned in the measure at. all. I The Attorney-General is frankly opposed to the imposition of further restrictions upon the liquor traffic; so frankly and -honestly, indeed that the j prohibitionists, while regarding him as j the most doughty of their opponents, i respect him for his candour and his j sincerity. He said—meaning and feel- ! ing every word he uttered —that after j publican s had acquired rights under I the laws of the country, and had in- | vested their money in certain roperty ! “it would be an act of gross injustice I if the Government curtail ; rights of these individuals and take j away their property.” He resented the I suggestion that early closing was ne- ; cessary in the interests of the soldiers or the community, and quoted statistics and police reports to show that the soldiers at Trentham were the most sober people in the Dominion, and that Wellington was the most orderly city in the Empire. The Minister's own belief in the literal accuracy of his assertions was obvious for everyone to see, and was positively pathetic in its intensity. THE OTHER SIDE. The Prohibitionists, in the House with the single exception of Mr Isitt, | scarcely did themselves or their cause justice in putting their side of the question before the House. They vehemently denounced the liquor traffic, lock, stock and barrel, without making any pretence at giving judicial consideration to the six o’clock proposal, and so one after another laid themselves open to the suspicion of seeking the extinction of the traffic rather than Rs regulation during war time. The member for Christchurch North, who did not speak till last night, dealt with the question more judiciously and more effetively than did any of his prohib.tlon colleagues. He hoped someday to see the Attorney^eheral occupying a seat on the Supreme Court bench, where he would interpret the law with marked ability and dispense justice with, scrupulous care and at ;he same time “scarify” any lawyer who put before him such fallacious arguments as he -had used .himself as a politician in defending the privileges of the liquor traffic. His speech- was

v (ior.rable from beginning to emL a perfect torrent of well ordered queuce, full of apt illustration and without a tinge of bitterness, aml^cL- # as a blase sceptic in the gallery^t*served, probably it did not affect a sing.fc opinion in the House. A NATIONAL PERIL. The Minister of Public Health fully deserved the compliments that were heaped upon him after his very valuable contribution to the debate on Wednesday night. It was at the special request of the House that Mr Russell followed the Attorney-General with an explanation of the steps the Government proposed to take to protect the community from the ravages of venereal diseases, and if possible to remove this frightful peril from the path of the nation. The Minister had carefully prepared his speech, in fact, the greater part of it was read by the indulgence of the House from his own manuscript, and whether the proposals of the Government are approved or not this plain statement of the position ought to be widely circulated for general information. It has been said by some of his critics that the Minister is seeking to revive in another guise the objectionable legislation that was swept from the Statute Book yeajjrs ago, but Mr Russell gives a most emphatic denial to this suggestion, and no one who reads the full text of his speech without personal bias and without unworthy suspicion can doubt his determination to deal justly between the sexes and to avoid placing any indignity upon women. The recollection of what has gone before to say nothing of the potency of public opinion, would save any Government from such a crime.