WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3430, 9 March 1920, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

{RECONSTRUCTION IN CABINET.

THE RECENT APPOINTMENTS.

(Special Correspondent.)

‘WELLINGTON, I\la rch 5.

The familiar phrase “so far so good” closely enough summaries the popfilar ‘view of .the recent appointments to the Cabinet. Mr Lee and Mr Parr are not brilliant politicians, but they are eminently “safe.” They both -are la\\_s'ers, members of the profession generally supposed to be endowed with the gift of speech, but by those \\‘ho know them best they are expected to add rather to the administratixe strength. of the Ministry -than to its debating ability. Mr Lee came into thc House at the election of 1911,‘ and has l)I'OV(d ihmself an extraordinarily inciustrious and plodding member, and ought -to make an admirable Minister of Justice. Mr Parr “arrived” at the election of 1914 with a good re:-or-d in local, politics, and is held by his friends to be particularly well qualified for the oflice of Minister of Education. RETIRING MINISTERS. The retirement of Sir ‘William Fraser and Sir William Herries has been taken for granted for some time past, both these gentlemen having expressed a desire "to be relieved from the worries and responsibilities of ofl'ice;! but the retireemnt of Sir Francis Bell‘ has come as a surprise to Ifhe public. Sir Francis has been such a tower of strength to the Reform Government all through its career, both in the Cabinet room and in the Legislative Council, thatit was expected he would be induced to “carry on” for some years longer. However, he has now fixed the end of next session as the limit of the sacrifices he can make in the pub- I lie service, and his place in the Ministry will be extremely hard to fill. Mr Massey foreshadows “two other changes, possibly ;t.hree,” his intention apparently being to bring the numerical strength of the Cabinet up to nine. exclusive of'the representatives of the native race. - “THE BEST BRAINS.” The dream of a Cabinet constituted of the “best brains” in the House, irrespective of party, which never was taken very seriously by those acquainted with the difficultines that stood in the way of its rea.lisation, is now well nigh forgotten. ißut the Evening Post, by way of saving its face, it may be, makes :1 passing allusion to the political arcadia. “The Prime Minister,” it says, “owes it to the country to put its working team in harness as soon as possible, and this duty is still only partl_v pert'ormed_ If he does not fall into the error of overworliing himself, he should be able to draw around him a Ministerial group worthy of the country and of the unexampled opportunity now presented. And we still hope that his vision will not necessarily be limited by the narrow line of an unreal 'partyism.” This is the last we are likely to hear of the “best brains” dream.

LOOKING ON. To-day, while his political opponents are exel'cising themselves with all these perplexing problems, Sir Joseph Ward is leaving for :a six or seven Weeks’ trip to Australia, where business has been calling him for three or four years past. On his return he will prepare for a similar mission to the Old Country, (and probably will be away from the Dominion till the end of the year. Questioned on the subjest this morning, he laughed at the suggestion that he might remain in London in some representative capacity. “Such an idea has never entered my head,” he said, nor, I think I can safely say, the head of Mr Massey. New Zealand "is my home, and it is always good enough for me.” He was just as 'eone.ise in his answer to a question c-,ouee.§!ning his political future. That was all in the air, and depended upon the people. not upon himself. He was not thinking of politics, in the personal sense, just now.