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Press, Volume LII, Issue 15772, 13 December 1916, Page 8

Jt is .significant that the formation of n new Ministry in England, coup loci with the concentration of the prosecution of the war in the hands of a small inner Cabinet, lias brcn accompanied by similar movements in France, Russia, and Italy. It looks as if there had been a preliminary confcronce between the Allies, and a joint decision had been arrived at in favour of a greater, concentration of control. There is no doubt that the new system will lend itself much more easily to the closer co-ordination of effort which is so essential. -—« AVhere observers close to the scene of action differ so widely as to the objects for which the sccrct session of the Reichstag has been summoned, it is fntile for those on the other side of the globe to hazard any speculation. The idea that von Hollweg intends to put forward any suggestions for peace of a kind that can be seriously discussed by the Allies may be dismissed from consideration. That inducements m a y be offered to the pro-German party in Bucharest to declare in favour of the Central Powers is quite possible. Another likely suggestion is that the question of how far the policy of '•frightfulncss*' of every kind should be pushed at the cost of outraging tSe sentiments and exciting the hostility of neutrals, may be offered for discussion. Reviewing the various guesses which have been made, it seems to us that the chances are the Reichstag is merely

being ' summoned for the purpose of impressing upon every section of the nation the seriousness of the position so far as Germany is concerned, and the need of every possible effort and sacrifice made in order to save her from being crushed in the nest spring. The mass levy which is being made in Germany will need a good deal of rhetoric to make it palatable to the people, and the recent- successes in Roumania will no donbt be of assistance in the attempt to persuade the Gorman populace that ultimate victory will bo their.s if ther are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.

We are far from minimising the importance of the successes recently achieved by the enemy in Roumania; lltov certainly'-diminish the hopes we | have entertained from time to time that the war may ultimately be decided on the Eastern front, ami not on the Western. Rut these successes leave the Germans .iust as far off from victory as ever. The supplies obtained from Jloumania will be very acceptable, and will extend the enemies' power of resistance, but the victory still rests with those who can endure the longest. —«►— The changes in the British Government. if they moan anything at all. menn a more vigorous application of the blockade, and a greater output of guns and munitions for war on the "Western front. Can the Germans make a sufficiently vigorous response to this increase of energy nn the part of the Allies!' What about the question of man-power;-' Tin l campaign in the East, successful as it has been as regards immediate results, means an extension of the Austro-Gcrman front, and an increased wastage of fighting men. Several able military critics have from the first warned us against the policy of "petits paquets," in which category they include the Salonica campaign. llut if we have been dissipating our forces so has Germany, and the question is which is best able to stand such a process? The answer wHI be given in the spring or early summer of next year, when the conditions are favourable for another great advance on the Western front, and the side which then has to give way may be looked upon as having lost.

The other day we referred to the action of Mr King O'Malley, whom Mr Hughes dropped overboard in rearranging his Ministry, in making almost his last official act the issue of gold free for life on the Commonwealth Railways—one of which he conferred upon himself. But this was a long, long way from the best Mr O'Malley was able t 0 do. His very last misuse of his position was the issue of an order which -was designed to allow any member of the Federal Parliament desirous of visiting New Zealand to make the trip, accompanied by his wife, at the public expense. Having done this, Mr O'Malley, and his closest friend, Mr Catts, M.P., the anti-con-scriptionisfc leader who has mysteriously left Australia, immediately applied for the free trip. Fortunately, Mr Hughes's new Cabinet wks able to cancel the regulation before any use of it had been made. It is idle to speculate upon what the New Zealand public would say and do if a Minister behaved like Mr O'Malley, for the reason that no Minister could so behave. Mr O'Mdley is the product of Australian Labour opinion. He was put into two Ministries by the Caucus, after Ins queer conception of the duty of r Minister had been abundantly exemplified. He conceived that his oflieo as Minister was a charter to him to turn his powers directly to tlio account of those "Christian brothers" —lie called everyone "my Christian brother"—who had the votes upon which he depended. He was the most enthusiastic and active of all the advocates of the "spoils to the victors" policy of whom we have ever heard, and it was because lie regarded the { Stivto as the legitimate prey of organised labour that he retained the favour of the Caucus. Tie has always been far nearer to the hearts of the Labour bosses than Mr Hughes hns been, and he is the measure ■of the ordinary political morality of militant and triumphant unionism.