THE SESSION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 83, 8 April 1918, Page 4

THE SESSION.

PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS. THIRTY MILLION LOAN BILL. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, this day. Though Ministers want sessional work over in three weeks at most, there will be the greatest difficulty in making pace with the work wanted of Parliament unless the House sits long hours, and does not confine itself to the usual working week of four sitting days. In the short time allocated for the Bession ths Government will have to get through discussion on the representation of New Zealand at the forthcoming Imperial War Council, decide who will go to Eng-. land, and make financial arrangements to carry things on until the representatives return about October, and the bnaness session of the year can be taken. S| - The present portion of the Liberty loan represents the end of the Finance Minister's borrowongfauthority, therefore Parliament will have to issue a further authority, and I understand the new V\;ar Loan is to provide for at least thirty millions sterling. New Zealand'sannual war expenditure has not yet reached that total, but calling up the Second Division will substantially increase the cost of reinforcements. Ii •will not be long before thirty minions per annum will represent the cost to the Dominion each year of the war. Some understanding must be arrived at this session about the next general election. Hit is to come off this year, and unless there is an amendment of the law, this will be the case, it would be unfair to lbgislators to call them to Wellington and keep them there until a few weeks before the contest. Thug the House will want to know the intention of the Government, and it may have before it a proposal to further postpone the election for a year. -. Then the licensing question will he raised, in an acute form. A demand for a licensing poll will come forward, and as the Government has shown itself favourable to the National Efficiency Board's recommendations for a national plebiscite on the. purchase of the liquor trade, and total prohibition, the - result of the Government's planning may be to postpone a general election, hut to take a licensing poll on the lines of the National Board's recommendations in December or January next. By the time the session is well under way, the Government will be in a better' position than at present to know the extent of the wastage among our forces in France. Parliament can then be informed of the position and! the steps taken to deal with it. Cabinet has gone into the matter most enthusiastically, and as it had provided thoroughly for the present emergency, Parliament can well be taken into its confidence as te future plans. The delay will not prejudice the position. It had been anticipated that a batch of appointments to the Legislative Council would have been announced just before the session, but I -understand the matter has not been considered. There is a chance of nothing being done at present.