POLITICAL MATTERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 May 1916, Page 8

POLITICAL MATTERS.

THE ADDRESS-IN-KF.TLY. SPEEDING UP. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, May 22. Sir Joseph Ward's speech on Friday afternoon might very well have been allowed to conclude the Address-in-Reply debate—which, of course, was a purely formal and superfluous proceeding from beginning to end; but the Minister of Internal Affairs was bent on having his say, and in having it 'he managed to ruffle the feeling of several members of the Labor Party. Mr. Russell set out in a critical mood. He began by scolding Mr. Ruddo, .whom he had understood to say the Government had failed in its duty to returned soldiers; hut, upon the member for Kaiapoi pointing out that his remarks had applied only to the provision of suitable land for the men, he (Hon. G. W. Russell) apologised and' turned his attention to Dr. Newman, who seemed to enjoy the Minister's concern over his "inconsistency" as keenly as did some other "old hands" I

in the House. The Labor members did not take their lecturing quite so philosophically. Whether they were more annoyed by Mr. Russell's eulogy of the Minister of Defence or 'by his" allusions to themselves it would be difficult to say, but both Mr. Webb and Mr. Hindmarsh severely strained the forms of the House in giving expression to their feelings. Mr. Webb .thought. Mr. Russell's remarks had been "cruel and cowardly," and Mr. Hiudmarsh plainly got over the line by denouncing the Minister as "a miserable cur," a figure of speech he had, of course,'to withdraw with a profession of penitence. • | MR. ALLEN'S APOLOI Apparently Mr. Russell's main purpose i in carrying the debate over from the i afternoon to the, evening sitting—and s incidentally depriving the House of the ■ "night off," it had been promised—was . to pronounce a somewhat la'hored eulogy , of Mr. Allen's services as Minister of 1 Defence. His tribute to .his Reform ; colleague's industry and honestv was ; not so extravagant that it need have f jarred on the ear? of the narrowest . partisan. Mr. Allen's industry and 1 honesty have never been in dispute; i they are obvious to everyone. But it ; was on quite different lines that the > criticism of the Minister proceeded durf ing the debate, and without the speeches 1 of Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward it ■ woifM have been inadequately answered. ; Public opinion a couple of years hence , will not judge Mr. Allen so'much from the blunders of his department at the beginning of the war—the canteen [ muddle, the Trentham scandal, and the i rest—as it will from the rapid organisai tion of the main body of troops and ■ the regular dispatch of well-trained and ' well-equipped reinforcements. As a • matter of fact, the Minister is no more '< and no less responsible for the early mistakes than he is for the later triumphs, the initiation and the administration being for all practical purposes ; in the hands of his executive officers; 1 but if he is to have the Mame for failure he must in all fairness also have '■ the credit for success. This is the point ■ which Sir Joseph Ward made with the most chivalrous generosity towards his old opponent. THE PARTY POSITION. The most notable feature of Sir Joseph Ward's own speech was his insistence upon the suspension of party squabbling while the Dominion, with the rest of the Empire, was passing through a great national crisis. He did not pretend that he liked the .irrange- . ment the war had forced upon the ' country. He did not even repudiate the , opinion he had expressed when ho was being urged to join forces with Mr. Massey ten months the Secret Defence Committee, with enlarged powers and increased responsibility, might do all that could/be xpceted from, a National Cabinet. But being in the arrangement he defended it with characteristic spirit and loyalty, even to the length of sharply rebuking some of his own political friends, whom he thought had gone beyond the hounds of legitimate criticism. If he hetrayed a little warmth in one or two passages of his speech it well may be excused. A member of the Labor Party, who cannot be ignorant of the facts, has persistently represented him as bein? to blame for the inadequacy of soldiers' pensions and for the delav in the appointment of the Board of Trade. The truth is that it was largely due to Sir Joseph's efforts that the pensions were not fixed on a lower scale than they actually were by the Act of last session. \)lii!e the delav in the appointment of the Board of Trade was a matter entirely to do with the Minister of Industries and Commerce. Tn these circumstances Sir Joseph might have been pardoned had he protested much more vigorously than he did. SHORTENING THE SESSION the Prime Minister's announcement that, on Tuesday he will 'move tiiat Government business shall take precedence on Wednesday,* suggests 'that Ministers, having allowed the Address-in-Roplv to drag its weary length through the 'best part of a fortnight, are going l o make a srrious effort to shorten the session. Just how far they will succeed depends upon the compliance of members. Mr. old party supporters, with one or two exceptions; arc as well disciplined as ever they -were, and W their leader was particularly anxious itn prorogue Parliament next week they would give him every possible assistance in doing so. But there are earnest spirits on the other side of the Home, no more aiiNious to spend the winter in (Vcllinjitnji. who will not think their whole dutV done when they have given unquestioning consent to the Govern-i/ient'-s war measures. Tiiey argue with :>. good deal of reason that the suspension of partv hostilities a fiords a (unique opportunity for discussing sue*' .| questions as education and local government. The Ministers in charge of the departments dealing with these subjects pre not specially burdened with war responsibilities, and they very well could joive Parliament a lead while Mr. Massey j and Sir Joseph Ward go about their more pressing business. Whether tlm leaders like it or not, members will insist upon discussing a good -many subjects that are not in the Ministerial programme before they return to their homes.