NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 533, 14 June 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Some members.of the Government party, new to Parliamentary tactics, will have received enlightenment during the past low days on the utter .insincerity of a section of their own party and of a portion of the Ministerial press. Whatever their views may be on party questions and matters of policy, most of them know quite well the prevailing distress due to scarcity of employment. They nrny think the Government responsible in a measure for this, or they may not. They cannot, however, be blind to, the fact that there is an unusually large number of people out of work and that their prospects for the next fow_montihs are very gloomy ones. The. unsophisticated new members must lie pusuccl m tho circumstances to under-

stand why their leaders deny what is plain to everyone else, and so underrate the seriousness of tho situation. It is one of the weaknesses of tho Government. It is so possessed with tho idea that any reference to tiio affairs of the country which does not depict things in a rosy light is a reflection on itself, and must be rebutted, that it makes a lot of needless trouble for itself, and also often makes a bad position worse. Why should not the Government face the situation fairly?' It would do itself much more good with tho country to acknowledge the true state of things and set about romedying them, than by constantly disputing what everyone knows to bo the truth.. Weeks ago we urged the Minister for Labour to give his attention to tho question of unemployment. Things were shaping badly then, but ho could not or would not see it. Had ho taken the question seriously in hand at that time much of tho outcry which* has since taken place, and which is largely due to the seeming indifference of Ministers, would not have been heard.

It may interest members of Parliament and such of our readers who are not subscribers; to the official journal of the Trades Unions of tho Dominion to learn its views on the prevailing labour conditions throughout the country. In its latest issue, that of Saturday last, it deals with the subject as follows:—

Wo are not aware if Mr. Hogg, Minister of Roads and Bridges, reads the "Weekly Herald," but wo aro sure that if it were brought under his notice officially he would find'in our columns information enough to satisfy him that the , number of unemployed is much greater than tho Labour Departstatistics l show, and that the distress of the 'unemployed and those depending upon thorn 'is terribly acute. Our correspondents who write on this subject are men in whom we have overy confidence, and we- arc prepared to vouoh for tho accuracy.,of their statements. Our correspondent who writes Country Workers' Notes is a man who travels over the wholo of Now Zealand, and he states that the only place where he has not found unemployment a serious question is hi Central Otago. Another of our correspondents, "The Beachcomber," writing last week, told us:. "1 thought plenty : of men wore on tho road coming through from Hawke's Bay, but going into. Masterton it was like' a procession—navvies, shearers, scrubcuttors, fencers, boilcrmakers, engineers, and an extra dose of camp cooks." And how wo publish a letter, addressedto tho editor, from a navvy who has had an experience in looking for work, and also of Government methods of providing work for the .workless that makes interesting reading. This is information, that. wo would like brought under the notice of the Minister. That there is a large number of unemployed in Wellington is admitted by Mr. 'Hogg, and so we do notnecd to emphasise the fact, but our information goes to show thatthe number of unemployed throughout tho Dominion is greater, and the distress is more acute t than any timo during, tho last twenty years. ■Members must know that these statemente are in the main correct.'•,'■'

, A correspondent has analysed the division list on the motion moved at the informal meeting of members of the House of Representatives in favour of the Session being prorogued to suit the convenience of tho Pbime Ministeb. The results are decidedly interesting. It will bo remembered .that tho avcs.woro 45 and the noes 30, a majority of. IS in favour : of the proposal to prorogue.. Our correspondent proceeds to domolisti this majority in bho following fashion:—"First take the votes of Ministers, 0 in all. B from 15.leaves 6. That is to Bay,,omitting'the,votes of Ministers, who are directly interested, the majority of members in favour of, proroguing was only 6. Then thero were certain members considered to havo chances for rartain offices connected with' Parliament—the Speakorship, Chairmanship of Committees, party Whips—all within the gift of Ministers..'*-:'. While someof these aspirants would not bo influenced by such considerations as securing the favour of Ministers, others would. It would only require 6 such to wipe out the majority in favour of shelving the -country's business." While we cannot go the length pursued by our* correspondent, we would .point out that when the additions .were made to the ranks: of Ministers we directed attention to the absurd dispropor-. tion of nine Ministers in a!Housd of eighty members. One of the reasons given for appointing the additional Ministers I was the inercaso in the State Departments. Now that a number Of these have been abolished in connection with the retrenchment scheme, it would not be out of place to inquire whether the number of Ministers will also be' reduced.

' The election of Chairman of Committees of the House of Kepresentativcs for the present Parliament did. not pass off quite as pleasantly as was expected. Mb. >mFOiiD was the Government nominee for the, position, and it goes without saying that<"his-election,' in view of the Government majority and the willingness of that majority to carry out its leader's wishes, was a foregone conclusion. It is always desired, however, to make these appointments as acceptable as possible to the whole House, . and the: objection raised by the Leader of the Opposition and pressed to a uivision appears to indicate that Me. Mabsey felt /he had strong reason.to protest. There can bo no question that the Prime Ministee was quite' within his rights in moving to appoint a Chairman at once, but it certainly seenis a little curious that he should have considered it necessary to make the appointment for a session which he expects to end during the coming week. It meant that the country would bo.put to a cost of £60 or £70 in return for which' it would receive a few hours' service from a member already in receipt of an honorarium of £300 per annum. At ordinary times the matter would probably have been passed over, but while Civil Servants are being retrenched in all directions,. and the cry for economy is loud and strong, it is not; surprising to find a .protest made against even a minor extravagance , of this kind. Mr. . Wilfobb's announcement, that, if elected, he would not draw the extra emolument attached to the offied (£2OO per annum) for tho period between the date of his election to the Chairmanship and the reassembling of Parliament in October next may be taken as an evidence that he realised the justice of the protest made. The further reason advanced against the election proceeding—the absence of the oldest .member of the. House, a Government follower, and the one best entitled to the office—does not seem to have impressed the Government at all. No reply was made to it. At his best we believe that Me. Wilford would make a better Ohairnian than thp gentleman referred to. It is to. be hoped that this was the influence which prompted the Government in putting him forward, whatever may have been the reason for the hnsto shown to get the appointment made.

Hitherto we have all treated Mli. Hogg's declarations of policy as indiscretions natural to the man. But the same easy judgment cannot bo passed, when tho circumstances'arc considered, upon his references to land.tenure in his speech on Saturday. 'When it is remembered that the Prime Minister has carefully avoided the subject, and. that he has had his attention directed to 1 Mn. Hogg's frankness of speech, we can only conclude that Mr. Hogg's statements on the land question were nude with the approval of tho Government--not perhaps in doUil but as to policy, Tharo in

no occasion to argue vtih Mb. Hooo— it would be waste of time tbargno with a gentleman who can hold such incredible opinions. It is sufficient to call attention to the fact that ho said that "tho land question was going to be brought up again in a more formidable form than, it had over previously, assumed," that "there must be further land taxation," 'and that "those who were advocating tho universal freehold wore going to-have-a tax imposed that would make them work their properties, speculate less, and help labour more." Wo cannot believo that those statements were made in antagonism .' to the views of the Government. . It is po6siblo that they wcro intended as a; " feeler." It ia possiblc, on the other hand, that they indicate the trend of Cabinet feefing, and that.the Government is contemplating'an abandonment of the leasehold tenuio to servo its ends in another' way—by tho imposition of a penal tax on freehold land. The farmers will do well to keep a close watch upon the proceedings of Parliament, and those members who were elected by' agricultural constituencies should lose no time in ■■ obtaining something definite on the point from the Government. If the Government intends to bring forward a policy which' will make it difficult for farmers'to'satisfy the tax-collector, it is as well for the farmers to know it.