The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13. THE KING'S SPEECH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 238, 13 February 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13. THE KING'S SPEECH.

Regal or vice-Regal speeches at the opening of a Parliament are devoid of utility, in so far as their reference to past events is concerned, but the idea of re-hashiii" ancient news is helpful for decorative purposes. Even in promises for the future a Royal speech contains few surprises, and the politician and the public who take an intelligent interest in Imperial matters might easily prophesy the contents of such a speech before it was mn*le. The cables tell us that tiie King's speech at the opening of the British Parliament was "exceptionally brief," and certainly the precis permitted the colonial Press is commendably contracted. With such a precedent, there is a chance that future "speeches from the throne" in colonial Parliaments may be influenced by the King's brevity. The formal expressions of friendship in regard to international affairs may have the effect of comforting the nation, but of more immediate interest to the citizens of the Empire is the statement regarding the introduction of -new legislation. In point of bulk it would form but a mouthful for a colonial legislature, but its importance and .possible effect must be very great. As ■ was forecasted, the Veto Bill will occupy the early attention of the Imperial Parliament. In fact, Mr. Birrell, Chief Secretary for Ireland, announced a short time ago that it would be the Government's business, even if the Veto Bill occupied the whole session, to make that measure law. The Bill is one the intention of which is to regulate the relations between the two Houses of Parliament and to substitute a second Chamber, constituted on a popular basis, for the existing hereditary second Chamber. It has been shown that it is impossible to alter in a short time the constitution of the House of Lords, and, therefore, the Parliament Bill has for its special object the limitation of the power of the Lords, especially in relation to money Bills. The Lords have the power to veto the Veto Bill, but they have no power to hinder the creation of innumerable peers, and threatened retaliation for their possible antagonism to «he measure. It is very likely that the resistance of hereditary peers to the wholesale creation of large numbers of the "mushroom" variety will be greater than their antagonism £o a measure limiting their powers. If the importance of the Parliament Bill is so great that the whole session is to be used to get it on the Statute Book, it follows that the King's speech, brief | though it was, need not have included reference to other measures. Without the passing of the Parliament Bill, the Government's programme of reform will be probably strangled, and it is because of this, and in order to open a way for sweeping changes in the relation between Government and people, that Parliament will concentrate on a single task. In the King's Speech reference was made to the Paupers' Pension Bill, a provision necessitated possibly by regulations which already exist, and which have for the purposes of relieving poverty removed the point of difference between "paupers" and those who benefit under the Old Age Tensions Act. The aged paupers who formerly received their doles from the Poor Law Guardians are now entitled to old age pensions, but although there is an enormous increase in the eost to the Treasury because of the grouping of both classes of the poor, there is still a charge on loc.il bodies' rates, as in the time of Poor Law relief. It is possible, therefore, that the Paupers' Pension Bill will either define the liability of local bodies in respect of poor relief, remove this liability, or enact that the charges hitherto made against the rates be diverted to other channels. But in Hie presence of the Veto Bill, promised measures like Home Rule and payment of members are, for the moment, of minor importance, and both actually depend for success on the passing of the first-named measure. The Osborne judgment makes the proposal for the payment of members one of great interest, for, as has been so frequently pointed out. the prohibition against the use of i trades' unions' funds for the support of Labor members of Parliament imperils their political existence. It is reasonable enough to hold that the "intrusion" (as a certain peer called it) of direct representatives of Labor into the Commons has been the mainspring of the Government's reformative intention. These men have forced on the Parliament a truer conception of its duty, and have opened its eyes to things as they really are with the people whom they represent. They have shown that although international polities are of vital importance, the chief duty of the State is to care for its own. In the King's Speech mention was made of a measure for insurance against sickness, invalidity or unemployment in trades specially affected by any of them. That, is indirectly the work of Labor members. Tf it had been formerly impossible for trades' unions to find the funds for the upkeep of Labor members in Parliament, there would have been no Labor members there. If payment of members does not take the place of payment by associations, there can be no Labor members in the Commons in the future. Tf Labor members are pushed out of the Commons by any pretext, the reforms which they have fought for and which may make a brighter and better Britain cannot mature. Much, therefore, hangs on. the Parliament Bill, a measure, specifically designed to remove obstacles of reform. So much depends upon the passage of the Parliament Bill that consideration of other measures bv the British Parliament could be wisely enough deferred, for the success of the lesser measures would be assured by the success of the "renter.