WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 March 1920, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS

SIR JAMES ALLEN'S RETIREMENT. EXPECTED EARLY. (Special Correspondent). Wellington, March 24. fho Dominion states thiß morning, presumably on the best authority, that the next political event of importance "will be the announcement of the retirement from the Ministry of Sir Jamea Allen." Sir James, of course, is going Honie as "High Commissioner, and already has unloaded a large part of the administrative burden he has been bearing during the last seven or eight years. But when the final break comes his absence from the Cabinet room will be a very serious loss to Mr. Massey and his eollnasnies and it is not easy to see how his..pile's will be adequately filled. His ripe .e '"'."ience, wide knowledge and indefatiga sle" industry have been-invalu-able :_o his party and his record shows that with all His defects of manner and all his peculiarities of temperament he has rendered very notable services to the country. HIS ACHIEVEMENT. Though Sir Jamc3 during his long years in Opposition was regarded as a high authority on finance and when he reached office was as a matter Of course given charge of the Treasury, it is rather as Minister of Defence than as Minister of Finance that he made his mark in the House. When the necessity for additional taxation arose during tlse first year of the war lie did not meet the situation with the courage his successor subsequently displayed. It wit loft, to flic' National Government to lay hold of the problem with both hands and to solve it by heroic means. But as Minister of Defence he displayed both courage and intensity nf purpose and in spite of bitter criticism in Parliament • and outside, and in spite of inevitable j mistakes in the early stages of the enl terprisc, be built up a New Zealand I Army in, an incredibly short time. So much his most irreconcilable opponent mus! admit. AT THE TREASURY. While Sir James Allen cannot be acclaimed ns a sreat Minister of Finance he probably had a more intimate acquaintance with the a*"airs of the Treasury (ban had any other member of the last: Parliament, with the exception of Sir Joseph Ward and the Hon. A. M. Myers. With Sir James and Sir Joseph out of the House and Mr Myers away on leave, the new Minister of Finance, | whoever he. may be. cannot expect much [assistance or useful criticism from tne ! new Parliament. It is understood that Mr. Massey will take the portfolio himself, and at the moment there seems .to be no one among those available better qualified to hold it; but the Prime Minister already is heavily over-loaded with administrative work and unless he can free himself from some of his present burdens ho cannot do justice to this new one. THE BY-ELECTIONS. There are now two by-elections in sight and it is expected both of them will take place during next month. The I contest between Mr. Masters' and Mr. Hine at Stratford is expected to be again a very close one, hut Mr. Masters having been unseated through no fault of his own, the sporting sympathy with him in his ill-luck should more than outweigh the tendency of a certain proportion of the electors in every constituency to vote with the side, on top irrespective of all other considerations. In Bruce, Sir James Allen had but a small majority, polling only 128 votes more than Mr. Edie. and it is thought with a new man coming into the field, without the advantages enjoyed by an old campaigner and a Minister of the Crown, the Liberal candidate will be able to win the scat for his party.