The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 21, 1921, THE PRIME MINISTER’S TRIP.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 March 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 21, 1921, THE PRIME MINISTER’S TRIP.

The debates in the House on the visit of the Prime Minister to England, in order to attend the Imperial Conference, elicited little that was new. The voting followed party lines, and of course Mr. Massey will make the trip. The position created by his departure affords a striking commentary on our Parliamentary system, and exposes its weaknesses. Parliamentwill not sit until Mr- Massey starts on his return journey, no matter how important or urgent the nature of the business to be dealt with may be. Is this dependence on one man desirable or in the best interests of the country? We think not. It is no exaggeration to say that to-day Mr. Massey is carrying the burdens of the Dominion upon his shoulders. They are broad and strong, certainly, and he is standing up to the load in a most remarkable way, but every man, whatever his vigor and willingness, has his limitations. Mr. Massey is no exception. He is essaying altogether too much, and it is desirable that he should distribute the work and reponsibility, and have the best of his Ministers in training, as it were, to take his position in an emergency, such as has now arisen. Sir Francis Bell is to lead the Government during the absence of the Prime Minister. This is entirely opposed to democratic government. and is not very compliment ary to the other Ministers. The leader of the Upper House is, after Mr. Massey, probably the ablest member of the. Cabinet, and will dp nothing rash whilst his chief is away, but the principle involved is entirely wrong, for the leader of the country should be answerable to the public, and not, as in this case, independent of them. As things are, it must be admitted that without the presence of the Prime Minister there is little use of holding the session at the usual time. He administers most of the. important departments, and for that reason nothing worth while can be done without him- It is an extraordinary and undesirable state of affairs. The late Mr. Seddon was something of an autocrA but it could not be said that his Government was a one man Government! for he always had a lieutenant handy to lead the country anld run the Parliamentary machine whilst he was away in England or Australia. So should Mr Massey, otherwise we may find ourselves in trouble one of these days. His eollfairnps can

never develop into leaders unless they are entrusted with a greater measure of responsibility, and given a freer hand in directing matters. No one denounced one man Government more than Mr. Massey when he was in opposition. In 1909, when Sir Joseph Ward was Premier, and a proposal was brought before the House that Parliament should not sit during his absence in London attending the Imperial Conference, Mr. Massay said no man was indispensable, and accused the Premier of “practically saying that there is not a single member in the party, not one of his colleagues, fit to conduct the business of Parliament, fit to lead in his absence. What a compliment to his senior colleague 1 ” he concluded. Times have changed, but methods have not. Mr. Massey is himself doing exactly what he denounced in his predecessor twelve years ago. He is an even greater absolutionist than either Ward or Seddon, and has apparently learned nothing from their experiencesit is all such a great mistake, and could so easily be avoided if the Premier would only rely more on his colleagues, and divest himself of the multitudinous routine matters and confine himself, as everyone in important businesses do, to the big questions—and there are some tremendous questions facing the 'country to-day. There can be no objection to Mr. Massey going Home on this occasion. We are passing through critical times, and Mr. Massey may be of immense assistance to this country in London, more so, perhaps, than if he stayed here. Our markets for meat and wool have fallen flat, and it is quite possible means may be devised by the statesmen of the Empire to get both products into consumption again, so as to give producers a profitable return. The economic, aspect of Mr. Massey’s trip may conceivably be the most important. For this reason we would like to see Mr- Massey take Home with him two of the Dominion’s most capable commercial men to act as advisers. The Premier has had no commercial training, and clearly must be at a disadvantage in dealing with commercial questions in London, especially now that Sir Thomas Mackenzie is not available. For that reason he would find the services of competent advisers invaluable. Such men would also be able to devote whatever time was necessary to any questions brought forward. Not so Mr. Massey, who would be expected to attend' to matters of Imperial concern, such as defence- The right, kind of men are here, and would be available to serve their country in such a patriotic capacity.