WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 April 1918, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE SPECIAL .SESSION. A BUSY WEEK, (•special Correspondent). .Wellington, April 17. TLu business of the special .session was put through at express .speed and with less friction than most people expueied. Even the mast aggressive of the Labor members, who will be readily identified by the newspaper readers, attempted nothing in live way of wanton obstruction, and the Young New .Zealand Party, which so "far has little more than a nebulous existence, maintained for the most part a discreet and dignified silence. The truth of the matter is the whole of the members were too much impressed by the gravity of the situation in Europe to lend themselves to tedious and futile debate. That sort of thing by common consent was reserved for ?. mitre, opportune season. Ministers on their side did not crowd the order paper unnecessarily with contentious matter and were frank and conciliatory tit their attitude towards reasonable criticism.

NATIONAL SERVICE. The national service proposals which had held up the Finance Bill on Saturday were expected to come down in a separate measure yesterday, but the Government on second thoughts decided to re-introduce them as an amend t'.'ent to the Bill by the Legislative Council. That the Upper House should readily lend itself to a device of this kind to limit the scope of discussion in the other chamber would have raised a vigorous protest in other circumstances, but as it was members simply smiled at the Government's ingenuity. The Labor Party, with a good deal of sympathy from members of the other parties, made an attempt to safeguard the workers against the possibility of. being conscripted for private gain, but a large majority accepted the assurance of Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph vtard that ample protection against this kind oi: thing Would be provided in the regulations and the Bill went tlu'ougli/, thus completing the special work of the session.

THE FINANCIAL POSITION, Sir Joseph Ward's statement of the financial position of the Dominion liad the merit of being much more intelli: gible to the average reader than any Budget that has been presented to''the' House during the lust forty years.'; It showed an increase of f 1,033,371 in the ordinary revenue for the year ended March lilsfc last and an increase of £258;440 in the ordinary expenditure, with : a surplus, approximately, of four and -a half millions. There is no need, however, to repeat the published figures. A feature of the accounts that Will gi\'9 point to much of the criticism that has been levelled against the Railway 'Department during the last twelve, months is the fact that while: the revenue': of Ihe department has decreased by £2G(r,81.0 the expenditure lias ■ increased, by £124,434. The policy of driving traffic from the lines appears to have produced just, the result its critics have predicted.

RESTRICTING IMPORTS. It seems to be due to Mr. L. M. Isitt as well as to the Hon. A. M. Myers, to explain that the question put by the members for Christchurch North to the Minister of Customs yesterday concerning the importation of alcoholic liquors during the course, of the war was not' intended to imply that the Minister was not acting with the greatest propriety in the matter. On more than <sne occasion Mr. Isitt has gone out of his way in the Tlouse and elsewhere to express his warm appreciation of Mr. Myer's entire subjection of his own interests to those of the community in the discharge of his ministerial duties. This is his attitude towards the Minister today. In asking his question he merely wished to fix the responsibility for the importation of such large quantities of liquor and 'he could have put it to no one with more confidence of getting at the truth than to Mr. Myers." The relations between them are a fine example of two self-respecting men, presumably holding widely different views, respecting one another.