WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 July 1921, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE ACTING-PRIME MINISTER.

REPLIES TO CRITICISM. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, July 27. Sir Francis Bell, long regarded as the ! most imperturbable of politicians, is be- . coming a little sensitive to newspaper criticism. A week or two ago, in his capacty of acting-Minister of Finance, he handed to the newspapers a statemen Concerning the finances of the Doni inion up to June 9, a#d one of the Auckland dailies, noticing the lapse of 'time between its preparation <ind its publication, described it as "belated.” >’ir Francis takes exception to the term and explains—again, it will be observed, at his leisure—that the statement was i prepared early in June to meet certain ' charges levelled against the Government by the Christchurch Labar memj bers and then was withheld from puhlii cation in order to prevent it being used Ito the prejudice of the loan negotiations going on in London ai the time. Had. it subsequently been brought up to date it would have been still more confounding to the Government* detractors, but

it would not have been relevant to their charge? of a month before. The explanation is adequate, but it would have been > more effective had it accompanied the statement. A FARMERS PROTEST. ' In his presidential address |at th'e opening of the annuftl conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union yesterday, Mr. G. W. Leadley, a stout-hearted agriculturist from Canterbury, whose fifty odd. years of battling with the soil have neither dulled his eloquence nor damped his ardour, spoke words that are seldom heard in Wellington. “So far as the Civil Service is concerned,” he said, in a plea for national effort and national economy, “the plain English of the position is that we are gradually building up a solid and permanent structure, whose weight and whose influence will be so powerful as to successfully resist all attempts at reduction or reform in number or in status or in cost. Let any ambitious or reckless politician even now lead a. crusade against the existing order of things, in so far as the general multiplication of State employee? is coni earned, and his fate will be swift and utter annihilation. Mr. Leadley would begin his reform right at the top of the service, reducing tfie number of members of Parliament by one half and cutting off other excresenries with a ruthless hand. But. as he says himself, men of his mind do not get their opportunity. TOTALISATOR LICENSES. . As he expected, the Minister of Interna] Affairs is being bombarded with protests against the proposals of the Racing Commission to withhold totalisator licenses from certain established racing and trotting club?.. The Napier Park Club, which hitherto has held four days’ racing during the year, led off. its president, Mr. Vigor Brown, M.P., telegraphing to the Minis! c-r asking by what authority lie consigned the club to oblivion without Parliament having had an opportunity to consider the Commission e reeominondfllions. The Minister lias replied quite emphatically that his legal authority to refuse licenses till Parliament has reached a decision U clear and that he ha = no intention of altering his determination. The danger now’ to the recommendations is that the opponents of racing on general principles anJ t' ■ the disgruntled clubs will join forces in the House to reject them altogether. The big concessions io trotting clubs at the , | loj » 4 tablisbcd racing dubs are not very popular here and this also mav be a cauee ot dJiscensipn,