WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 255, 27 October 1928, Page 18

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

GOVERNMENT FINANCE. EMBARRASSED POLITICIANS. SIR JOSEPH WARD'S HEALTH. (By Telegraph—Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, October 25. Since the Hon. Downie Stewart took charge of the Treasury, Reform politicians, whether in the House or not, have been content to leave the finances of the country in hi 3 capable hands, without inquiry or comment. Finance always is a tiresome subject to the average politician, and he avoids discussing it in public whenever he can. Sir Joseph Ward's £70,000,000 boom, however, has tickled the imagination of the electors, and everywhere they are asking for information on the subject _ from the suppliants who are seeking their votes at the approaching general election. Few of the candidates are ready with satis-; ifying replies. Some of them have frankly confessed their ignorance, leaving the responsibilities of the Treasury to their party leaders, and others have asked for time to study the question. But the majority of them have displayed more courage and enterprise, and have attacked the problem of finance on the broad assumption that their own party is right and the other parties wrong. One Excellent Result. But amidst all the confusion the "Evening Post" finds crumbs of comfort. "One excellent result of Sir Joseph Ward's proposal to borrow £70,000,000," it says, "is that candidates of all parties have been compelled to give some attention to Government finance. Parliament neglected the subject. Generally speaking, it placed the responsibility on Mr. Downie Stewart's shoulders. He was Minister of Finance, and it was his job. All the private member had to do was to demand economy in the districts he did not represent, and expenditure in his own.

National finance cannot be established securely on .such an unstable, basis. Sir. Joseph Ward's propsoal, however, has compelled members to face the position." So far the Minister of Finance himself is the only member of his party who really has faced the position. ■ The Prime Minister has ridiculed Sir Joseph Ward's proposition more or less effectively in his own constituency, but he has not yet satisfied the experts that it differs very widely from the Government's own borrowing policy. The United Leader. Very general regret is being expressed here at Sir Joseph Ward being laid aside for some days by eye trouble. That the sufferer himself is in .no way perturbed may be judged from his cheery acceptance of his ill-fortune: He appears to be as keen over the" contest in which he is now engaged as he was over similar contests twenty years ago. Perhaps more so. He was much gratified by his reception in Auckland, and he was looking forward with high expectations to his Southern tour. Some of his personal friends who would have persuaded him from the task he has imposed upon himself still would have him take a long rest, but he is not in a resting mood. "An Apt Parallel." In the "General Election" columns of the "Dominion" this morning there is a message from Wanganui bearing the above heading which is sadly perplexing the readers of the morning paper. "The situation when the Reform Government went into power," it makes Mr. N. J. Lewis, the Reform candidate for the Wanganui seat say, "was peculiar and unfortunate in that the slump was just commencing. The country very eoon i found itself in a similar position to the unfortunate bricklayer who fell from a fifty storey building. Just as he was going past the twentieth storey somebody put his head out of the window and asked him how he was. 'All right, so far!' was the reply. That exactly expresses the position in 1926-27. There was a nasty jar looming ahead, but by the prompt action of the Government a nice down mattress was provided, and the country landed gently on its feet, to look forward with confidence to better times." The application of thet story may be quite simple, but no one here seems able to fathom it.