WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 July 1920, Page 9

WELLINGTON TOPICS

OUT OF WORK. ORDER PAPER EXHAUSTED. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, July 19. The adjournment of tiie House at halfpast eight on Friday evening on account ni the Order Paper 'being exhausted ami the Government having no other business in readiness is not unprecedented in the annals of the elected branch of the Legislature. It is not often, however, that the parliamentary machine comes to a standstill in tliis fashion. The truth of the matter i,% Mr. Massey has .=o over-loaded himself with wor.ic that, labor long as he may, it is impossible for him to keep pace with all the demands upon his time. There wer e half-a-dozen Bills that might have been advanced a furthci sthge on Friday evening, or at any rafce, might have been adequately discussed on their second reading, but the Prime Minister would not let them proceed until he had examined them for himself, and hence this rather .ludicrous spectacle. AN INSUPPORTABLE BURDEN."

I n the long years he spent as a member of the Opposition arrayed against Mr. Seddon, the present Prime Minister \\as foremost in his party's denuncia- I tion of "Ona Man Government," and jiis criticism was in a large measure i justified; Hint to-day, with the party positions reversed, ho is offending even more flagrantly than the great Liberal leader ever did. While he had Sir James Allen and Sir William Fraser sitting in his Cabinet, this tendency to monopolise all the functions of the Executive was not so conspicuous, -but during the £res t cut session it has beeome a matter of common remark on both sides of the .House. , The fact that he is surrounded by a iiiimber of new colleagues who yet have to familiarise themselves with the work of then Departments may make it difficult for him to obtain relief, butthat relief is necessary in his own interests is obvious to everybody, except, apparently, himself. EXEMPTION FROM INCOME TAX. As far as can be gathered about the lobbies, there is a general feeling alnong members of the. House that neither their own salaries, a' sufficient increase, salaries of Ministers should be exempted from income tax. The principle is held to be wrong and entirely opposed to the accc'pttd doctrine of equality and sacrifice. But a majority of. the members do not regard the £IOO a year it is proposed, tentatively, to taek on to their own salaries a sufficient increase. Whether they like it or not, they say. they are compelled in a sense to become "professional politicians," since in ses-J sion and out of session thtiv constituents expect tliem to devote themselves to their interests—to travel, to maintain a'large correspondence, to interview Ministers, and to do many other things that cost time and moiicy. Mr. Massey has not fixed the sum definitely at £400; indeed, he is said to favor a larger dmo'nnt,- and probably will leave tile precise sutn to the determination of the House. THE BOOKMAKER.

The Gamiv.g -<W Amendment Bill, cirnu]ated on Friday, is a very drastic measure, which promises to extinguish the 'bookmaker altogether, and so free the sport of horse-racing from the gravest of its reproaches. . It proposes to ninke "the business or occupation of a bookmaker" unlawful, and to render every person carrying on such business or occupation liable to a fine of foOO or to imprisonment for a term of two yeajs. This is the remedy for many of the abuses ol the tun leading sportsmen have been urging for several years past, and it seems to be justified by the failure ol every palliative that has been applied. The legislation against betting totalisator odds has become almost a dead letter, and the successful prosecutions for keeping common gam-ing-houses and betting in public places have been few and far between. Now, however, the bookmaker appears to he doomed, and his passing will occasion few regrets.