WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 10, 13 January 1926, Page 8

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE CABINET. ITS RECONSTRUCTION. (Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, January 12. All the Ministers are in Wellington to-day and at the moment are sitting in Cabinet, presumably to receive the Prime Minister's announcement of the redistribution of portfolios. There has been much speculation and many rumouTs concerning this delicate operation during the past week, but whatever his intentions may be in the matter, Mr. Coates has kept them to himself very closely. It is the first big job he has tackled since his promotion to the Premiership, and his personal friends are awaiting the outcome with as much anxiety as the public is with curiosity. It was rumoured some days ago, with the precision such stories gather with repetition, that the Hon. W. Nosworthy, the Hon. R. F. Bollard, the Hon. G. J. Anderson and the Hon. Sir Maui Pomare would retire and that Mr. F. Hockley, the member for Rotorua, Mr. E. P. Lee, the member for Oamaru, Mr. F. J. Rolleston, the member for Timaru, andVMr. K. S. Williams, the member for Bay of Plenty, would be appointed as their successors. A later story," however, is to the effect that Mr. Nosworthy*s friends in the Cabinet have made representations to the Prime Minister which ensure the inclusion of the present Minister of Agriculture dn the reconstructed Ministry. If this is true, it suggests that Mr. Coates is not standing Ms ground with all the sturdy determination that has been attributed to him. Further Vacancies. Of course, the death of Mr. Maseey and the impending retirements of Sir Francis Bell and Sir Heaton Khodes leave Mr. Coates with three appointments to make without disturbing any of his present colleagues, and if the persistent ramour that Sir Jas. Parr is going Home to assume the office of High Commissioner is well founded, he might be able to find •seats in the Cabinet for all four of the gentlemen named without seriously imperilling the harmony of the happy family. It 'has been asserted very confidently in some quarters that Mr. J. A. Young will be preferred before Mr. F. Hockley in filling the vacancy created by Sir James Parr's expected retirement, and there can 'be no question that the member for Hamilton has rendered yeoman service to his party, as well as to his constituents and the country. But Mr. Hockley, though a comparatively new member, was quickly noted from the galleries as a distinct addition to the general knowledge and debating ability of the House, and he 'has maintained that favourable, impression ever since. If Mr. Young should be chosen for a portfolio in preference to the member for Rotorua.then the latter gentleman probably woul 1 succeed to the Committee C/hairmanship, a. position for which lih nt.tJ distinct qualifications. It is being T\"nisppred about that the Hon. Vernon Re->fl is to be the new Leader of the Legislative Council, but up to the present the story has not obtained much credence. Lack of Attention. The account, given by one of the Christchurch evening papers of the scant courtesy shown towards the party of English bowlers during their trip between Wellington and Lyttelton and on their i arrival in Christchurch has aroused much talk here. The manager of the Union Company has entirely disposed of the suggestion that his company and the officers of the Wahine were in some way responsible for the discomforts the travellers suffered. "Directly the company became aware that visitors were travelling by the Wahine," he said to-day, '"directions were given for all the available accommodation on the boat to be reserved for their use. We could not turn off passengers who already had booked their berths, but short of that we did everything possible for the comfort of the bowlers and their friends. It was not the hospitality we should have liked to offer them, but it was our best as circumstances stood." The explanation of the Tourist Department is scarcely so satisfactory. "I have written to the Auckland office of the Department for a full explanation as to the Department's part in arranging the tour," the manager of the head office explained last evening, "and until a reply is received I cannot give any definite explanation." The first thought this statement suggests is that a telegram would have brought a reply more promptly ■ than will a letter, and the second that the head office should not have remained in ignorance of the movements of such a large body of tourists. Imperial Conference. Quite without inspiration, it is per- , fectly safe to say, the "Evening Post" is preparing the country for an early meeting of Parliament and a short session in order that the Prime Minister may get away to the Imperial Conference to be held in London this year. "An Imperial Conference between June and October," the "Post" says, "will cause interference with our domestic programme, but the inconvenience is a small price to pay for the privileges of membership in the Empire. Mr. Coates can leave New Zealand with no fears for the security of his party, and his ample majority should enable him to put urgent business through in an early session if necessary. Mr. Bruce in Australia could also "attend without great difficulty.' In fact, he was reported recently as making his Parliamentary plans with this end in view. But the position of South Africa is not so certain, and Canada is most doubtful oi all. Canada has yet to decide who shall speak for her, and the decision may be of the utmost importance, since the consequences of the Locarno Pact must be one of the principal subjects discussed at the Conference." Without any inquiry from the Prime Minister himself, it -may be confidently assumed that, he has no desire to figure at an Imperial Conference this year. He has not yet acquired the "Conference habit," and there is much for him to do here. The probability is that Sir Francis Bell'will represent New Zealand at the next Parliament of the Mother Country and her Dominions.