THE CABINET.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20415, 9 December 1931, Page 10

THE CABINET.

MR D. JONES'S POSITION. MORE MINISTERS MAY BE APPOINTED. [THE PRESS Special Service.) WELLINGTON, December 8. With the completion of the official count in the Mid-Canterbury electorate the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. D. Jones, has lost his seat. His position, however, is slightly different from that of the ordinary member of Parliament who loses his seat, for actually he will remain a member of the Ministry until he formally resigns, although this action cannot be delayed once the official count has been completed. Mr Jones arrived in Wellington from the south this morning, and he spent the day in his office in Parliament House signing papers and generally clearing up business that had accumulated. It is expected that he will attend to-morrow's meeting of Cabinet, and that he will resign his office within the next few days. The question of appointing a successor has to bo decided by the Prime Minister, who, in making the choice, will doubtless consult with the Leader of the Reform Group in the Coalition, Mr Coates. Now Ministers? It is suggested that the ex-Minister for Agriculture and Mines, Mr A. J. Murdoch, who voluntarily resigned his portfolio to clear the way for the formation of the Coalition, may reassume this from the filling of the Cabinet vacancy caused through the defeat of Mr Jones, there is a probability that the strength of tho Ministry will be increased in the near future from 10 to 14, at which it stood before the Coalition Government camo into office. It is possible that the addition of members to Cabinet will be discussed by the Prime Minister and his colleagues tomorrow, and several names are already being mentioned. It is rumoured that a chance will be given to Mr R. A. Wright, of Wellington, to re-enter Cabinet.