WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1920, Page 9

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

PARLIAMENTARY TACTICS. 3?LAYING FOR POSITION. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) V i Wellington, June 30. Mr. Holland's obvious purpose in inter- | c-eptiug the Impress Supply Bill yesterday with a "want of confidence" motion was to embarrass the Liberal Party and , to magnify himself in the eyes of the country. The first he succeeded in doing, to some ex'tent. The Liberals of these days are not disciplined as were those of Mr. Seddon's time," nor as the Reformers always have been. The Labor leader's little surprise, which should have been no surprise at all, found them differing widely as to the more politic course of ■ procedure. There was 110 time for consultation and in the end they divided themselves into three sections, one walking out of the House, another voting for cue motion, and a third going into the lobby with Mr. Massey and his big battalion. The Independent's all found their way into the Government lobby, Colonel Mitchell alone, apparently, experiencing any difficulty in makhig a choice, but to-day they are louder than ever in protesting their freedom from party ties. THE NEXT MOVE. There is now some speculation as to how Mr. Mac Donald's and Mr. Statham's motions will fare. Of course neither of theia will be carried. That is quite out of the question. But it will be interesting to see how Official Labor bears itself in the impending divisions. Mr. Holland and his friends are no better disposed towards the Liberal Opposition than they are towards the Reform Government, and it would not be very astonishing if in retaliation for what happened yesterday they voted with Mr. Massey when his . occupancy of the Treasury benches is next challenged. Mr. Statham's proposal, however, will place them in a more difficult position as it embodies a principle 'they have endorsed themselves, and is not merely an attack upon the Government. The belief that the elective executive would prove a remedy for all the country's legislative and adminisation ills is less prevalent to-day than it was a few years ago, but Labor still clings to it with the conservative faith which so often leads it far from the democratic ideal. THE BURNING QUESTION. It is understood that Mr. Mac Donald's indictment of the Government., like that of Mr. Holland, will be based mainly upon its failure -to discharge its promises concerning electoral reform. There was no mention of this subject in the Governor-General speech, and it seeins a fair assumption on the part of the leader of the Liberal Opposition and the chairman nf the Official Labor Party, that Mr. Massey has no intention of dealing with it during the life of the present Parliament. This leaves them with a very real grievance, which might have been aired qui'- 1 properly, at an opportune time, but whether thp present, time is an opportune one or no( 'is a question on which there is room for two honest opinions. The fact, that the Government holds office Ijy the will of little more than two-fifths of the electors has to be admitted, but all the parties are more or less responsible, for this anomalous state of affairs. SESSION OF PARLIAMENT. ' . LONG AND ARDUOUS. A semi-official statement appearing in the Dominion this morning is obviously intended to prepare members of Parliament and the public for a long iind arduous session. Mr. Massey 'suggests that members may bn required to remain in Wellington for five or six months, and that the business they will have to deal with will be of a particularly difficult and delicate character. There will be an Education Bill, embodying some of the Hon. J. A. Hanan's proposals and some of the new Minister's own; a Railway Bill, perhaps revolutionising the whole managemente of the Sratesimes; a land Bill, dealing with many old and new problems connected with land settlement, and a Finance Bill, which of necessity will tax Mr. Massey's ingenuity to the utmost. There can be no reduction in the volume of taxation as every penny of the present revendi will be required, but the Prime Minister has hopes of "giving relief in some directions," and "obtaining compensation in others," a pious desire that many another Minister of Finance has expressed. THE MINISTRY. It is now being whispered about, without any official authority, so far as can be gathered, that the numerical strength of" the Cabinet will be permanently maintained on the war footing of twelve. At present it numbers eleven, ten in the House of Representatives and Sir Francis Bell in the Legislative Council, and though Sir William Fraser is to retire shortly it is understood that his successor lias been nominated and that there will be no reduction in numners when he withdraws. There still will be two portfolios unallotted, that of Mines, which Sir William Eraser will lay down, and that of Defence, which at present is in the temporary and unwilling custody of Mr. Coates, who is finding Public Works, wi|h its various ramifications, quite pnougji for one pair of hands. Mr. J. A. Young is still the popular tip for the succession to Sir Wililam Fraser, but there 'are many eager aspirants for the twelfth appointment which at present, of course, is only in the air. THE DEFENCE POLICY. Senior officers of the Defence forces regard witli some anxiety the continued delay in the production nf the Defence policy. The portfolio' of Defence is at present in the hands of the Hon. J. G. Coates, who is also Minister for Public Works and Postmaster-General. No Minister could be expected to handled such a group of Departments under existing condition?, and Mr. Coaxes cvi-' dently is not attempiing to give time to Defence problems. Presumably the now Minister, shortly to be appointed, will take defence. One rumor is that the Minister will be Sir R. H. Rhodes (Ellesmere). INDUSTRIAL UNREST. THE EMPLOYERS' CONFERENCE. It is significant of Hie trend of. public opinion that the two Wellington newspapers popularly regarded as faithful alSiies of capital are loudly deploring the

refusal of the Employers' Federation to accept the invitation of the Labor Federation to a conference for the discussion of the industrial situation. "Their actual decision," the Dominion s*ays, referring to the determination of the representatives of the Employers' Federation, "shows them at least wanting in enterprise, and will leave in many minds a suspicion, which we believe to be baseless, that their professions of good intent are luke warm." The Evening Post is even more emphatic. Nothing the Employers' Federation lias said alters its opinion that a national, conference would help to clear the air. "The employers' attitude of no conference," it maintains, "renders them liable to the imputation of half-heartedness and is a confession of neglect, to exhaust such conciliation possibilities as the industrial situation affords." This unaccustomed plain speaking naturally has attracted the attention of the Employers' Association. ANXIOUS FOR PERMANENT PEACE. The secretary of the organisation, who doubtless will deal with its critics through the usual channels, speaking unofficially this morning and without in any way committing his executive, said he was much surprised by the newspapers' presentation of the case which certainly did something less than justice to the employers. He had taken it for granted that every observant man and woman in the community realised that the employers were more closely interested than anyone else in the maintenance of industrial peace. If they could be assured of a full supply of capable contented labor they could largely extend theft operations and by the increase in their turnover increase their profits,| benefits in which the workers, qu,"-te rightly, would inevitably share. But their experience had satisfied them that conferences without some settled basis of goodwill and good understanding could contribute nothing towards this desirable end. The Employers' Federation, howevet, would keep wide open the door to friendly discussion and negotiation. SOUTH ISLAND TRUNK RAILWAY. The little tiff between the Christchurch Progress League and the "Marlborough Alain Trunk League over the relative claims of the East and West Coast railway and the Main Trunk line to early completion, hag attracted a good deal of attention here and excited some pointed comment. The suggestion of the Christchurch League that Wellington is using the Marlborough League to put a "spoke into the wheel of Canterbury" is warmly resented in" some quarters. It is quite true that while the North Island Trunk line was. incomplete Wellington objected to large sums of money being spent upon the East and West Coast line, but it never objected to the South Island Trunk line making reasonable progress towards its terminus at Picton. Canterbury, it is being pointed out, was eager enough to have the line pushed on while it remained within. its own commercial sphere, but now it is making its way further north it is viewing the enterprise from quite a different standpoint. THE NEW MINISTER. It is announced this morning, again evidently with some official inspiration, that Mr. Massey may find it necessary to strengthen his Cabinet somewhat earlier than he had .led his friends t° expect a day or two ago. It Is surmised that at the full meeting of the Cabinet .yesterday the subject was discussed and that it- was agreed the 'Ministerial team, consisting largely of new members, should be reinforced as early as possible in view of the heavy work promised during the session. The Minister of Education is full of new projects for his departments, ant! the Minister of Public Works for his, and, not being quite so long suffering as the Minister of Justice, they are not disposed to assume the responsibility of any odd job that may come along. An additional Minister, indeed, seems indispensable. BOARD OF TRADE. In the reshuffle of Ministerial offices the presidency of the Board of Trade has fallen to the Hon. E. P. Lee, who I promises to be carrying a fair load when all the odds and ends of administration have been shifted on to his broad shoulders. The Board, it is reported, is to be reconstructed out of all knowledge and to be in miffch closer-contact with the Minister than it has been hitherto. Whether Mr. Lee will take a more sanguine view of the possibility of regulating the cost of living than Mr. Massey has done in the past remains to be seen, but probably he will have more time to devote to the various problems confronting his new office than Mr. Massey ever has had. The Prime Minister still is greatly over-burdened with the leadership of the party and the portfolios of Finance and Railways, but he continues to bear himself cheerily aud remains quite undismayed. Gutter prices. Business men in Wellington will not concede that Mr. Massey lias got the better of the argument with Mr. Goodfellow in regard to butter prices. They maintain, indeed, that the chairman of the Dairy Association has stated the case from the economic view perfectly fairly, and that if the New Zealand public is to have butter at a price below the market value the full difference must be made up to the producers worn the Consolidated Fund, This, they maintain, would be a roundabout way of giving them a free 'market, and to the Mate a costly one, but it would be a compromise in the direction of justice, and perhaps it would suit the politicians of all party colors to leave the public under the delusion that it was getting cheap butter, when as a matter of fact it would be paying the balance of the full value by way of taxation.