WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1922, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

SIR JOSEPH WARD NOT A SICK MAN. (Special Correspondent.) Wellington, Nov. 27. i A representative of the Evening Post who interviewed Sir Joseph Ward at the* week-end, managed to obtain from the ex-Liberal leader something more generally interesting than a discourse ore the relative merits and demerits of, taxable and untaxable State loans. Be got from Sir Joseph an authoritative statement concerning his health, which the public, irrespective of politics, will welcome warmly. Sir Joseph, he re- | ported, wished to disclaim any right to !be regarded as an invalid. Many of his friends at a distance had auusied from his determination not to re-enter the political arena just now that his health was in some way impaired, and that he did not care Io face the strain of an election contest. This was not the case at all. He had had rather a bad tim® (during his last visit to the Ohl Country, aa the result of many years of strenuous life, but the doctors had s b him on his feet again and he had steadily improved, as they said he would, since his return to the Dominion. This statement is fully home out liy Sir Joseph’s physical amt mental activity and by hie keen interest in everything that is going on in the world. FREE OF INCOME TAX. The Dominion was unable to publish on Saturday mornine the Press Association’s interview with Sir Joseph Ward in respect to free of income tax loans, but in anticipation of its anpearance elsewhere it devoted a Rub-leader to the subject. “As he remark*. ’’ it said, reiforring to Sir Joseph’s reply to criticism of the issue of- the 4’/> per cent, debeni tures. “it is easy to be wise after the event, but at the time the money was •needed the situation was such as to call for special measures to secure it. Nor was it the bad bargain some people now [ suggest. It certainly would bo unjust and unwarranted to seek to attach * blame to Sir Joseph Ward for his part as Finance Minister in connection with the matter, and we are confident that neither Mr. Massey nor his colleague* . in the National Cabinet would attempt . to shirk their share of the rcisponsibdity.” In the circumstances this must ba regarded as a suffioientlv generous allusion to the incident: but vnfortunately the Dominion itself had published some remarks made by the Prime Minister which seemed to imply that Sir Joaenh, while Minister of Finance in the National Cabinet, had made a mistake by issuing free of in AA mo tax loftns. and that the present Government and the country were suffering in consequence. It still remains for Mr. Massey to make it quite clear he intended to suggest nothing of the kind. GOING OVER. Judging from the reports that ftro reaching hendqnartom, the members of the old Liberal Pari v. who bare been coquetting with Mr. Massey’s invitation, to come over to the Government benches and heln him to save the country from. Revolutionary Socialism, are not faring particularly well. Mr. \ Igor Brown, who has actually thrown in Ids lot with the Reformers, claims to have secured +he party nomination for Napier, but ho seems to have little chance of securing the party vote. People who know . constituency will declare that the < l » thing certain about the content » . tlu:t Mr. Brown will come down heuvilv between the two stools. Mr. Leonard Isitt, who remains a whole-hearted Liberal up to a certain noint. is pledged t« cast his vote with the Reformers if it is required to stay the ascendancy of Labor and so, it is said, has estranged many of his former supporters and not wholly satisfied his new friends. It i* bruited about that some of the other old Liberal stalwarts have a less definite understanding with the Reform loader and that their chances of election have not been improved by their ; 4ocision. THE LICENSING POLL. The licensing question now seems t<> be turning almost exclusively upon tha financial issue. The supporters of Oon* •tinuance have a distinct advantage in presenting this phase of the controversy 1 since they can say with some precision what amount of revenue would be lost by the exclusion of liquor from the country. The Prohibitionists can set off against this the saving of money for other purposes than expenditure upon liquor, the lessening of crime and the increased national efficiency; but most of their calculations are merely guesswork, and the testimony from America js ro conflcting that the elector with an open mind on the subject and a conscience remains hopelessly perturbed and perplexed. Probably it i* the elector of this type that will find refuge in. the State Control issue. Otherwise the middle course will be onlv poorly supported