POLITICAL NEWS AND NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 94, 29 July 1910, Page 5

POLITICAL NEWS AND NOTES

A SURPRISE TO THE LIBERALS. NOT A HAPPY FAMILY. ! (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent). Wellington, Last The result of the no-confidence division in the House this evening came as a surprise to the Government party, for the Opposition certainly scored. *'or many years the Liberal Government has not had so narrow a majority in a noconlidence division. Judging from this result, and the difficulty the Government is experiencing in getting a certain majority for its nominee for the Chairmanship of Committees, the Government party is not a very happy family just now. Events in the future promise to be interesting. THE SENTIMENT OF THE LOBBIES. Wellington, Last Night •The frost is over. The no-conlidence issue is decided. The victory of the Gjotvernmenit is phyrric. That is the sentiment in the lobbies. It is accentuated by the behaviour of the Opposition, the members of which devoted the supper adjournment, after the division, to jubilation a.nd champagne. ■ The broad fact is that a party of 26 got another of 10 of the majority on a no-confidence motion. It was expected al round that the voting would have been 20 to 40, but five Government men went over with startling effect. They were Messrs. DiHon, Ross, Jennings, Field, and T. C. Thomson. It was a facer for the Government. Interest is, of course, transferred to THE LAND BILL.

Will it come down? The freeholders are numerous on the Government side, and only five refused to wait for the Bill, preferring to risk the defeat of the Government. This presents an easy riddle: How many who waited on the Ball will go into the Government lobby? It is a situation which requires very judicious handling. There are people who think the best handling is the handling which will miss the Bill. Others think the Bill ought to be made a "go-as-you please" event; others are paralysed. For the present the Government have won, and the rest is, to the ordinary mind, chaos; and now that the question of the Chairmanship of Committees iB causing increased rather than decreased feritation, you have J A PRETTY KETTLE OP FISH. | It is, on the whole, one of the most troubled seas the Liberal ship has yet encountered. Probably the debate will be continued with renewed spirit, but there 'hereafter contains the decisive baitle ground. Ministers take a cheery view, but cannot help looking a bit glum. The question for them to consider is: How much pendulum in the freehold direction will the 'leaseholders of their party stand? One can see that on this one question there is , A STRAINING OF PARTY RELA- ; ' TIONS. ! ! The cool heads, prophecy that the prospect of the chaos of parties that must come Ifrom an) adverse vote on iJw Land Bill must effect the settlement, and that the Liberal Party will not suffer one question to break up the union oa all the other great points of the day. Anyhow, Mr. Massey is a happy man to-night. Such scruples do not affect him. The result of the first bout he has had for years should encourage him ito try another as soon as possible. |

HELPING THE OIL INDUSTRY. A suggestion for giving general nssistance to the production of refined petroleum in New Zealand, put forward by Mr. Poland' (Ohinemuri) is that the Government should put aside a site free of all rental for a given number of years, to be open for the purposes of a refinery 10 all companies operating on the Taranaki oil-fields-; that the Government, instead of loaning £IO,OOO to one company, should erect a Government refinery and distil for all companies opera tin,? on the field who deliver the crude petroleum to the actual cost of refining for a given number of years in order to place the industry on a firm footing, and see that in the offering of any bonus for the production of the oil all companies will be placed on the same looting.