THE DEFENCE BILL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 199, 23 August 1930, Page 8

THE DEFENCE BILL.

Last night the Legislative Council, by a vote "of ■17 to 9, threw out the Defence Amendment Bill. This defeat . makes no difference, to the position of the Government — that is-to say, it does not count in a constitutional sense as- a vote of want of confidence. Apart, from .anything else, as the , Defence Minister pointed out in the House of Representatives, the Government was under /no obligation to bring down the Bill, as it has power under , the Defence Act of 1908 to • suspend military training. The actipn of the Legislative Council therefore* does ,not'* affect the political situation or "the prospects.; ofour Defence, system.; However, : in'.' spite.. of. the assurance oil the -lion. R. B. Masters, Acting Leader of the Council,, that this is only a temporary .expedient to effect, much-needed economies, members dividedon wha.t were apparently strictly party lines..' Fpr it 'is surely more than a coincidence that" the councillors Avho voted for .the amendment all date back their appointments to the period of Reform ascendgincy.{ji,lt seems to us- unfortunateij-that such a measure should thus,be_left to the m'etcy: of partisan prejudice • 'Gertiainly no convincing reason has yet; beSn advanced for rejecting the Defence "Bill; : and ; the. opponents .oftheißiir, while denbiiiicing' the Government.' for failing to cut. down departmental expenditure', refuse to assent to this proposed saving .of over £'200,000 a year at a time when there is fio conceivable possibility that the intended change would make any difference to the country's ability to protect itself. The logic •of party politics is very hard to follow.