POLITICAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 September 1919, Page 4

POLITICAL.

THE BUDGET. WILL PROVIDE POOD FOR REFLECTION. ' (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Last Night.' The Financial Statement is to come down to-morrow. It is understood that there will bo nothing very semiational in the Budget, but there will proibably he something in the nature ot a serious rpvicw of the financial situation. The idea prevails, that bo toon as the war ended the expenditure on war effort ceased. Also the Government will point out in the statement that this has not been the case. The expenditure is certainly tapering off now, but it has not yet ceased, and it will not cease for at least sii months to come. It is not any part of the policy of the Government to create alarm or panic or anything of the sort, but certainly tho Budget will give to the people some material for thought, and just a mild warning that. they must soon give up large talk about millions for one purpose and another. The debate on the gratuities scheme will be taken on Wednesday, ilftlfss nothing intervenes to prevent it, but there' is no special reason for hurrying this debate now that it has been oftce delayed, and it may be postponed for another day. There is no discoverable ground for the statement -which has been made that the Government may be prevailed upon to increase the scale above the rate of Is 0d per day. All the evidence is to the contrary. It the House will not support the Government in this proposal that has been made, then quick results may follow. MEMBERS' HONORABItJM. A meeting of members of ParthUnont was held last week, when the question was discussed as to whether representations should not be made to the Government about the' increasing of the honorarium of members of the House. The decision of the meeting, it is understood, was that an appeal should be made to the Government to mcreasa the payment to members to £6OO a y*ar. About 70 per cent, of) the members of the House were present at the meeting. There is perhaps little to be said in favor of the retention of the £3OO a year limit, and it is possible that if the question submitted to the Government were to be an inefctse to £4OO it would receive quite a sympathetic reception, but £6OO a year is not likely to be granted off hand. In any case the probabilities seem to be that no change will be made as affecting the present members of this Parliament. THE R.S.A. RUPTURE. The Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association is in grave danger atprftsent of a seriouß rupture. Mr. SieveWright and hia friends have been Able to capture the recent meeting in tutor of this new scheme of theirs for «he demand of a gratuity of four shillings a day. An effort is being trade by the executive to get their own friends to come to the next meeting, but they are not sanguine of winning at this meeting. The attitude of most of the boys is that they do not Want to git into the fight. They are quite happy to let the Government do what It Will, and they do not see the thing qtllte from the point of view of the members of the Government, which means that there is no particular reason why they should face the mud and abuse which will assuredly be thrown at any Who oppose Mr. Sievewright, Mr. McKfttttil, and the others. In a month or two perhaps everybody will have a better understanding of all this trouble. Certainly it Is difficult to understand It now. One of the returned men who has been more or less active la opposition to Mr. Sievewright, is a soldier who before he went to fight Was well known and highly esteemed in this city, a professional man, and at the front a junior officer. He lost an arm through a wound, but the returned soldiers the other night would not hear him without hisses and other noises of disapproval. He is one of thote who are working hardest to keep the returned men on the rails in this trouble, but he and his friends haKe their doubts as to whether any of their efforts will avail much. WELLINGTON MEN IMPLACABLE. What all of them hope is that the extremists in Wellington will flnd« no support from other branches of the Association. The extremists in Wellington are implacable- They declare that unless the Government gives all that they ask they will fight the Government at the elections. What the soldiers think about the war, and all about it is undiscoverable. On Sunday night there were scores of soldiers in the audience which gave Mr. P.C. Webb, the conscientious objector, such ft very fine welcome back to "freedom," and not one of them hfcd a word to say. Not one of them recorded a tote against the extraordinary resolution proposed at the meeting, and eo far as could be seen not even one of them tt< frained from cheering Mr. Webb. DUNEDIN NORTH SEAT. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, Last Night. •Mr. E<lward Kellctt, who was a member of the Military Service Board, will contest the Dunedin North seat as an Independent Labor candidate.