PARLIAMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 April 1916, Page 5

PARLIAMENT.

CESSION OPENS IN MAT. ALL WAR BUSINESS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, April 5. The Prime Minister stated to-day that Parliament will meet on Tuesday, May 9. The necessary Gazette notice is expected to be published to-morrow, so that members will have just about five weeks to prepare for a session that must prove a highly important one. The business of the session will be confined almost entirely to masters connected with the war. The items first in importance will be a Bill dealing with the recruiting question, giving the Government power to keep the ranks of the Expeditionary Forces full in the event of the voluntary system failing to provide the required nunlber of men. Just what form the Bill will take is not yet known; possibly even Cabinet Ministers are still in doubt on some points, The British law provides for the compulsory enlistment of single men, and does not affect directly men of military age in the other classes. The single men were told that if they did not enlist voluntarily on or before a certain date they would be deemed to have enlisted on that date and would be called up as they were required. The New Zealand Bill may go further than the British law went. The men of military age in this country have already been divided into five classes in the National Register, which the Government hopes to have made complete by means of the personal canvass under tile new recruiting scheme. The single men without dependents form the first class, and the married men with children the fifth class. The Military Service Bill may empower the Government to call up all men of military age in accordance with this classification, the single men without dependents being taken first, and so on. If that were done the single men without dependents would provide all the recruits required during the present year.

Ministers, it is understood, have a full recognition of the difficulties that arise in connection with any scheme of compulsory service. Apart from the possible opposition of any section of tlie community to a conscription law, there will be complex questions relating to training, and so forth. But the recurring shortages in the reinforcement drafts have made action imperative. Tlie lone danger that cannot be faced by the Government is a failure to provide tlie regular reinforcement drafts promised tlie army authorities and expected by the troops already at the front. Apart from the Military Service Bill, other important matters will be before Parliament. An amendment of the War Pensions Act has been promised, in the direction of giving increased security to dependents of men who fell at the front. The Government will ask for some increased powers under the War -Regulations Act. The Minister for Finance, who will be able to disclose a satisfactory financial position as far as the past financial year is concerned, will have some legislative proposals to bring forward. It is assumed that he will ask for increased taxation, in view of tlie possibility of the prolongation of the war over the nresent vear. There has Deen a persistent rumor that the coming session will see sonie change in the personnel of the Ministry. If anything of the sort should occur, it is not likely to have political significance. The change would be <lue to the desire of a Minister to accept office outside the political sphere. Another prophecy heard in many quarters is that a very vigorous assault will be made upon the Do-fence administration.