LEAVING CABINET.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 19, 24 January 1933, Page 3

LEAVING CABINET.

RARE OCCURRENCES.

NEW ZEALAND RETIREMENTS.

TWO NOTABLE INSTANCES,

(By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.")

WELLINGTON, this day.

The resignation of a Minister from the New Zealand Cabinet is a rare occurrence, and one has to go back to 1911 for a parallel similar to that of last week, when a Minister oil his own initiawithout pressure from the head of the.Government, decided to part from his colleagues. Sir Joseph Ward's retirement from the National Government was under entirely ditlerent circumstances, for the war had ended, and with it the necessity for party truce. Therefore, on the eve of a general election, the then Liberal leader enunciated a policy differing materially from that of the Reform leader, and it was duly submitted to the electorate. But in 1911, not many weeks before a general election, Sir Joseph . Wald received the resignation of his Minister of Education, the Hon. (now Sir) George Fowlds. It was a friendly partinpr, as in the latest instance, but the Minister had material differences with his chief on major policy issues, and determined to make his position clear to the country, in the hope that his vie\vs would, receive general endorsement. Announcin"- to the House of Representatives his resignation from the Ward Government, Mr. Fowlds expressed hi? belief that the legislation it had placed on the Statute Book would occupy an honoured place. "New Evangel." "But the times in which we _ li>® demand a new evangel," he declared, a o-ospel which I felt I could not preach as a member of the present Government—and so I have decided for freedom in order that I may express my whole soul to the people of New Zealand. Everywhere throughout the civilised world we fee a spirit of " nies amongst the mass of the peop e unrest, let me say. wlnc> is i.usti fied bv the social conditions m which the mass of the people live-an ""rest which will not be quieted until a condition of social justice has been established Mr. Fowlds was later asked to define his new evangel. He briefly explained to an interviewer: "I consider one ot the most urgent things, to be done is to make a serious effort to reduce the cost of living, and in my judgement this can best be done by increasing the taxation on land values and using the proceeds of the tax, first to abolish duties on Jie necessaries of life, and secondly, to reduce railway freights in order to bung the primary produce of to the consumer more cheaply. _ The resignation occurred in October, 1911, and on December 1«">, Mr. rovvlds, who had contested his old seat, Grey Lvnn, as an Independent Liberal, obtained a majority over two opponents in the first ballot, but was defeated by Mr. John Payne (Labour), author ot the celebrated' "Scheme 45," by ii very narrow majority. The ex-Miuister did not further concern himself with I arliamentary ambition, but he lias never ceased to "render public service. Asked to Resign. It was the "painful and imperative duty" of Sir Joseph Ward in June, 190J, to request the resignation of the Hon. A. W. Hogg, Minister of Labour and Customs, and Minister in Charge of Roads and Bridges. This was the sequel to Mr. Hogg's strong advocacy of paper currency issued by the State, instead of leaving to the banks the whole control of currency. .From the back benches, this would have been regarded as an interesting piece of theory, but coming from the Ministerial benches nt - time when the Opposition was making an effective point of the Government pledging the credit of the State to what was considered a dangerous degree, it could hot he overlooked by the Prime Mm--16 So much for the specific differences between Prime' Minister and a member of his Cabinet. Mr. Hogg's offending speech, delivered in a rugged Scottish accent, was phrased in the rugged and robust style common to public discussions of those days. Parliamentary phraseology has toned off considerably in modern times, possibly because the points of difference have not been so vivid. Rugged Oratory. It requires the outstanding importance of such an issue as freehold versus leasehold to provoke the language used by Mr. Hogpr in his speech on that occasion. As a sample, take his references to large landowners: "We have a class of men in New Zealand —wealthy meli drawing plenty of capital from various sources, realising fat dividends from this country—and they execrate the Government and the people because they keep such a Government in power. The men to whom I refer—l hope they arc not too numerous —are drunken and besotted with ' greed. Greed follows them as Mephistopheles followed Faust. Greed follows them.-and will continue to follow them until they reach their final doom, perhaps near Ruapeliu."