The Press Wednesday, March 16, 1932. The Scope of the Session.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20497, 16 March 1932, Page 10

The Press Wednesday, March 16, 1932. The Scope of the Session.

The suggestion that the present emergency session of Parliament may be extended till May or later, referred to yesterday in a message from Wellington, is supported by the fact that, if both the Prime Minister and Mr Downie Stewart are to attend the Ottawa Conference in July, it will be necessary to postpone the ordinary session, which usually begins in June, until September or October. There are many reasons why normal Parliamentary business should not be delayed as long as this, and few reasons why it should be. The financial position of the country has been thoroughly investigated and discussed during the last few months, so that to present the Budget and the Estimates soon after the end of the financial year should not be very difficult if the Government really has a programme. The chief obstacle would' be the necessity of drawing up a legislative programme in a very short time, especially as Cabinet seems miserably unprepared even for the short emergency session; though this difficulty could be overcome by adjourning Parliament for a week or two in order to enable the Ministers to get ready the necessary measures. A decision about the length and scope of the present session must, however, be made quickly, and should have been made long ago, since the circumstances which justify its extension were as apparent in January as they are now. The statement by Mr Forbes that Cabinet has not even considered the question is of course an admission that the question does exist, though it adds one more uncertainty to a political situation already deeply wrapped in obscurity. Parliament, as we pointed out yesterday, is trying the patience of the public at a time when nothing is so important as decisive action, and for this the Government must accept the blame. So far it has done nothing but play into the hands of malcontents. It is secretive where the situation calls for candour, and uncertain and hesitant in the face of an Opposition that knows precisely when and where to strike. Unless it can pull itself together it will not matter much whether the session is long or short, emergency or normal. The country's state will be worse at the end than at the beginning, and the Government will bear the responsibility.