Notes From The Gallery

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 9, 25 August 1939, Page 23

|Notes From The Gallery

(By

Our Special Representative

It's Left to Lee + Matters of Millions + The Happiness Club Mr. Nash Next Month

| "Te serene and almost slumbrous progress of the financial debate was shattered in rather an electrifying manner when J. A. Lee, Government member for Gréy Lynn, reputed leader of the " Leftists," reputed author of the " Lee Letter," and one of the most colourful of speakers, burst upon a startled House with his views about the debt finance system in general and what he tagged the "unconscionable bargain " made in London by Mr. Nash. While members were still rubbing their eyes, as it were, Mr. Lee had launched a fullblooded attack on a subject on which he has long held very strong views. A Striking Speech Neatly-turned phrase and paraphrase, well-ordered metaphor, and dramatic pause and emphasis, coupled with a vigorous delivery, caught and focused attention almost forcibly on the speaker, as he painted a depressing picture of New Zealand almost overwhelmed by a £425,000,000 debt load and having to find £136,000,000 out of Budget surpluses to meet commitments during the coming five years. Mr. Fraser’s Assurance It was the most sensational outburst of the session. Opposition members found a target they had been looking for. They held a hurried caucus, and, just before the House adjourned for the evening the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes, National member for Hurunui, produced the nowfamous amendment, and the war was on. When his turn came, the Acting Leader of the House (the Hon. P. Fraser), in one of his most dynamic moods, told the House clearly and unmistakably that the country would honour its obligations. After that the heat subsided a little, the glow of argument faded, and finally there remained only the cold ashes of reason and reassurance. That £17,000,000 Loan Again The Minister of Housing (the Hon. H. -'T. Armstrong): The terms of repayment are better than a high rate of interest. The Minister of Health (the Hon. P. Fraser): We accepted them as the best conditions available. Mr. J. A. Lee: If we are compelled to repay along the lines of settlement we will soon be sending half-a-crown on account. ' The Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton): In existing conditions the terms given in London were good. The Man in the Street: What won the fourth race at Riccarton? H.C. of Defence . With defence the principal topic this session, more than usual interest centred in the recommendations of Major-General P. J. Mackesy, of the Imperial Army Staff, who was retained by the Government to report on the land forces.

General Mackesy made an important contribution toward an important subject, and his views will be valuable, but his ideas of cost! ... well. ... It was little wonder that the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones), already in charge of a £5,500,000 defence bill, paused a moment when he noticed an item of £1,200,000 for anti-gas and anti-aircraft equipment-on a peace time basis. Happy Days "Everybody is happy,’ declared J, O’Brien, Government member for Westland. " Everybody is in great heart," agreed the Right Hon. J. G. Coates, National member for Kaipara, with enthusiasm, "except the farmers, the importers, the taxpayers, the employers who cannot get labour, and the workers who are periodic. ally going on strike!" "Tf we had some bacon we would have some bacon and eggs if we had some eggs," sighed the explorer in the middle of the African jungle. Mr. Nash’s Return It is anticipated that things will liven up in Parliament when Mr. Nash returns from London. He is expected on September 1 in Auckland. No legislation of any moment has appeared in the House, but most of the members have Bills prepared and are awaiting the opportunity to pre- sent them. One Minister has no fewer than twenty. Mr. Nash may handle the Social Security Act amendments, which promise to be many and varied, and the country will await with curiosity his longpromised taxation revision Bill. Meanwhile, the rumour is growing that the House will rise before the end of September. Most People Know Now Remember the old cry, " Where is the money coming from?" For the first three sessions of Labour’s regime the Opposition flung it across the floor of the House in a challenge at every opportunity, and Labour members flung it back again, heavy with derision. For a long while it has been submerged in a spate of new political formule. Then C. A. Wilkinson, Independent member for Egmont, waxed critical about Onekaka and its £5,000,000 development plan. Members had to smile when he asked suddenly, "Where is the money coming from?" Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right Left wings are the vogue, politically, If Opposition members are to be be-. lieved, the Government has one firmly implanted in its ranks, and we have it now on the authority of E. L. Cullen, Government member for Hawke’s Bay, that the Opposition has a left wing. "If the Government has a left wing," he told the House, "then the National Party has _one, too. It is the Farmers’ Union; that is why they are continually soft-soaping the farmer."