WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 September 1917, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE FINANCE BILL. COMPULSORY LENDING. (Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Aug. 30. The Finance Bill, as everyone will be able to judge from the summaries of its contents, is quite as far reaching and drastic as Sir Joseph Ward and his colleagues promised it would be. The increases in the income tax and the land tax, whatever the Government's critics on one side or the other say to the contrary, are very reai and substantial, and no legitimate source of revenue has been overlooked. The provisions for compelling individuals and companies that have neglected their obvious duty to make "fair contributions" to the war loan introduce a new feature into the Dominion's finance, but they are not without parallel in other countries, and they are assured of the cordial support of a large, majority of the House. WILLY-NILLY. The Minister hopes that the mere appearanco of these provisions on the Statute Book will be sufficient to awaken the "absent-minded" capitalists of all degrees to a proper sense of their obligations, but if it should fail to do so he will not hesitate to apply the necessary pressure. As an example of tho operation of the provisions ho quoted lasf| night, the case of a taxpayer whose assessable income in the financial year ended March 31 last was £0377, and who paid in land and income tax £1903. If this lucky individual had not made a "fair contribution" to the loans, he would he required to lend the Government £23-1-1 for the loan of 11)16, and £5809 for the loan of 1917. It is understood there are a good many capitalists liable to this compulsion, but tho Minister hopes there will be no need to apply the pressure Parliament is being asked to authorise. DEMAND FOR AN ELECTION. In moving yesterday for leave to introduce a Bill to repeal the Act of last session by which the life of tlio present Parliament was prolonged till the end of next year, Mr. George Wjtty, the member for Riccarton, launched a scathing indictment against the' National Government, and was warmly supported by Dr. Thaeker, the member for Christchureh East. It was easy, of course, for the two Canterbury members to quote many instances in which the Government had fallen far short of the expectations of its m.6ro sanguine friends. There were bungles in the Defence Department, there was the neglect of the cost of living problem, there were the War Regulations, there was the treatment of the Efficiency Board, and there were a score of other things. The other dissatisfied members held their peace, and Sir James Allen rose to reply without realsiing the full force of the protest. MINISTERS UNDISMAYED. The Minister of Defence said he could not take tho two members who had spoken seriously. He thought thev were "out for a hit of sport'' and ho did not wish to spoil their fun. But having delivered himself of this piece of pleasantry he proceeded to deal with Mr. Witty's charges very seriously. Ho denied the existence of favoritism or waste of efficiency in his Department, and challenged the member for Riccarton and his friends to produce one single instance, of this sort of thing. Air. Alassey, who spoke at a later stage of the proceedings, said the Government had put up with these pin-pricks long enough and they would have to cease. If the House wanted a general election it would have it. He was fully prepared and would have no fear of the result. THE OUTLOOK. Though Mr. Massey and Sir James Allen both started out by speaking lightly of Air. Witty's attack'upon the Government, punctuated, as it was, by frequent "hear, hears,"' they assumed an emphatically serious tone as they pro- , ceeded. Alinisters are not awau of the . dissatisfaction with much of the Govern - , ment's administration which prevails J among a considerable section of tho House, and on personal grounds they I would rather welcome an appeal to the constituencies; bub the party truce mokes a general election at the present ', juncture almost impossible, and, if it ; could take place, it would only result in s the maintenance of the status quo. The I Liberal members complain that Sir Joseph Ward is observing tho truce over scrupulously, while the leaders on J the other side are placing a somewhat different interpretation on their o'bliga- [ tions, but this view is probably due to j the fact that the Progressive Party has most, to loso in every compromise. ' ' THE LIBERAL CAUCUS. 1 PARTY HARMONY. Wellington, August 31. | Though the harmony prevailing at the , i Liberal Caucus yesterday may not have I been quite so idealistic as the official report of the proceedings suggests it was, there can be no doubt that the personal ' goodwill of the members of the party ; towards Sir Joseph Ward and their ap- , preeiation of his courage and ab'lity as a ; financier remain unimpaired. Or course, i there are impatient spirits in their ranks , who even yet have not reconciled them- ] selves to the suspension of the old party ' methods, and who pine for the time when ; they again will be free to speak their > minds with the freedom they enjoyed be- ; fore the days of the "truce." But these ( members are in a comparatively small minority, and though there may be others fretting under the limitations imposed upon therii by the needs of the hour, the general feeling is one of concurrence with the policy of the leader in postponing all aggressive manifestations of party feeling till after the war. THE LABOR PARTY. The absence of, the Labor members from the Caucus is occasioning some comment, chiefly among people who are anxious to find a rift between the progressive forces in the House, hut really it has further significance than might have been given it at any time during the life of the present Parliament. The Labor 'Party, though usually co-operating with the Liberals, on account of their approaching more closely than do the members on the other side of the House its own ideals, has never surrendered one jot of its independence, and it would have been incongruous to have invited its members to attend the Caucus. As a matter of fact the relations between the Liberal and Labor members remain just as they always have ben —cordial and appreciative, but strictly non-com-mittal. THE VACANT PORTFOLIO. Ilt is understood that the question of «£Uitag th§ vacant Liberal seat in the.

Cabinet was scarcely more than mentioned at the Caucus and then only to signify the readiness of the members of the Party to leave the matter in the hands of the leader. In !he lobbies, however, there is a good deal of talk about the disadvantage at which the Liberals are placed by having onjy five representatives in the Cabinet while the Reformers have six. Sir Joseph Ward, it is being recalled, made a. sine qua non of equal representation when the National Cabinet was being formed and. refused to discuss the proposal till this condition was conceded. Now, the members of the Part)- are complaining, he is content to sit with a minority and to run the ri.-k of being out-voted by the Reformers on questions of vital importance to his own party and, indeed, to the country. l THE NEW MINISTER. | Gossip outside the House runs more upon the new Minister than upon the vacant seat in the Cabinet, and speculation covers almost the whole range of the Liberal Party. At the moment the Hon. D. Buddo is the popular tip, but the names of a dozen other members of the :Party are constantly mentioned. Mr. Buddo is an eminently "safe" man, unlikely to kick over the traces in any circumstances that can be imagined, but he 13 a South Island member and there is a strong feeling in the House itself that the successor to Dr. MeNab should be a northerner. Mr. Forbes, Mr. Isitt, Mr. McCallum, Mr. Sidey and Mr. Thomson, whose names have been mentioned, are open to the same objection, and if the geographical requirements are to be observed the choice apparently will be narrowed down to Sir John Findlay, Mr. Wilford, Mr. Poland. Mr. Jennings and Mr. Veitch, and of these Sir John, in spite of the hostility his very strength arouses, would probably be the most acceptable.