WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 November 1921, Page 12

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE BUDGET DEBATE. A TAME OPENING. (Special Correspondent.) The opening of the Budget debate on Wednesday night was a rather tame exhibition, considering all the material there was for attack and all the necessity for defence. Mr. Wilford, the leader of the Opposition, adopting the tactics employed by Sir Joseph Ward in 1914 in somewhat similar circumstances, prefaced his speech with an announcement of his intention to move what amounted to a vote of no confidence in the Government, and then proceeded to a com'prehensive recital of its sins of commission and omission. It was a long list, but not an unfamiliar one and it’ lost rather than gained force by iteration and reiteration. Mr. Wilford’s points, however, were well made, and though he did not handle figures with the facility- Sir Joseph Ward was wont to do, he made them t£ll their tale. Challenging the Government on its own ground, he asked Mr, Massey and his colleagues what they had done for the farmers and made it appear to his own satisfaction and to the satisfaction of his own side of the House that they had done nothing at all. But his strong note was the promotion of efficiency which, he declared, would obviate the need for seriously lowering wages. MINISTERIAL REPLY, The Hon. C. J. Parr, the Minister of Education, was put up to demolish the leader of the Opposition, but even his friends in the House are admitting he did not accomplish the task very effectually. Mr. Wilford had been often unconvincing, but Mr. Parr was never Impressive. He made the initial mistake of adopting the apologetic tone and offering excuses. He admitted there had been ah orgy of spending, but pleaded the good resolutions of the Government for the future. The Government, he said, saw its way to a saving of four millions and a half in departmental ex- ; penditure and was going to effect this saving as soon as possible. Mr. Wilford’s charges of extravagance were met by the futile retort that “such extravagances had obtained for many years." The cost of administration, he admitted, had mounted up between 1914-15 and 1921-22 from eight millions to sixteen millions, but most of the money, he pleaded, luyl gone in wages and bonuses. To do Mr. Parr justice it must be said, he was perfectly frank in his admissions. THE PARTIES. Of course nothing that can he said in the House during the Budget debate will shift a single vote in the ultimate division. and Mr. Wilford’s second no-confi-dence motion is fore-doomed to the same fate as befel has firsts, But jßiere is a. growing feeling among the three or four Oppositions that their sadly diminished star is in the ascendant. They realise that Mr. Massey’s personal hold upon the country is as strong as ever it was; but they are taking heart of grace from the un impressiveness or some of his colleagues and from the simmering revolt against government by the Civil Service. The latter is a sub . ject of many a protest by Mr. Massey’s own friends. They declare that the General Manager of Railways and the Commissioner of Taxes exercise far more authority than do any of the Prime Minister’s colleagues, and that the fiscal policy of the country is shaped by high State officials in consultation with prominent bankers. This has been a complaint for years past and probably has little more foundation now than it had a decade ago. RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. The deplorable condition of the railway service just now, which touches a depth far beyond any tiling dreamed of during the trying times of the war, has drawn very pointed attention to the need ■for a thorough overhaul of the system of managing the lines. It is felt among interested people here that there will be little prospect of any material improvement in the returns from the railways till the Government calls in tao assistance of capable and experience! business men to take a hand in. the management. The matter is to be ccyisidcre-l at annual conference of the Chambers oi Commerce to be held in Christchurch t week or so hence, and it is expectod the local delegates will be instrucu I to support a motion by the Canterbury ! Chamber that the management of rhe j lines be entrusted to a board consisting of the Minister of Railways, a Govtunineut appointee, two members nominated by Parliament and four others, representative respectively of commerce, primary production, labor and railway employees. Many members of Parliament are in favor of this idea, urging that • scarcely any other system could produce worse results than the pr.-sent one does. SUBSIDIES. Though people in daily touch with the circumstances of the farmers are beginning to realise that the men on the land did not do nearly as well during the war as is popularly supposed, the feeling against the payment of subsidies continues *to grow. This being tho case, a statement made in the House yesterday by Mr. Hockley, the member for Rotorua, to the effect that a substantial sum remained owing to the butter factories as subsidy *on locally - consumed butter, naturally aroused considerable interest. Strangely enough, Mr. Massey, f.o whom Mr. Hockley addressed a question on the subject, knew nothing at all about the unpaid subsidies, and could promise only to make inquiries. The incident has drawn 'attention afresh to the Government’s antiquated system of account keeping, which, while entailing the maximum of labor, seems to provide the minimum of information and accuracy. Mr. Massey, it is safe to say, works as hard as any of his predecessors ever did, but his igne .-ance of this outstanding obligation is not creditable to the officers of bis department.