POLITICAL NOTES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3174, 27 August 1917, Page 4

POLITICAL NOTES

THE GOSSIP OF THE LOBBIES

THE FINANCE BILL

IMPENDING MEASURES

Now that tlio Financial debate is over, it is to be expected that tho Government will, with as little delay as possible, bring down tho Bills which will contain the real business of the session. First of these in order will bo tho Financo Bill, by which tho taxation to which reference was mado in the Budget will be imposed. It is understood that this Bill is not quite ready yet, and there is a suggestion that the Government will have to ask tho House to .adjourn for a little tiirtb, possibly only for a day, to allow Ministers to give their undivided attention to this very important Bill. Tho Finance Bill cannot be such a surprise jacket this year as it was last year. This year the Treasurer mentioned in his Budget most of what was in his mind about the details of legislation to come, and there are only one or two points of any importance about which there is any room for speculation. One of them is the promised taxation, intended to be punitive or coercive, to be imposed on wealthy peojilo who hayo never contributed according to their means to this or tho previous war loan. Another point of general interest is'that of the exemption of the dividends drawn by people of slender means from tho heavy mcomo tax at which the profits of joint stock companies may be assessed. This topio has been mentioned by nearly every speaker in the debate, and the Finance Minister has promised to inoludo in his Bill some degree of exemption for persons so situated that the tax, as proposed, would be an. -unduly severe levy. There are several other matters of detail which may prove difficult of adjustment, though not very important in their results.

OTHER BILLS IN SIGHT. The Prime Minister has promised that the order of the important Bills to come before the House this session will ba tlio Finance Bill, the Licjuor Bill, tbe Pensions Bill, and .the Military Service Bill. It is just possible that the new ideas of the Government regarding soldiers, the Forces, and so on, may now be embodied in a Bill to amend the. Expeditionary Forces Act. If the Government had persisted in the proposal to take for military servieo youths of nineteen years of age an amendment of the Military Service Act would have been necessary, but it is now suggested that the other changes -which the Defence Minister has in mind can be just as convenient^ - made by an amendment of the less contentious Expeditionary Forces Bill, to be,ready for tbe House before the later days of this week, so that the other Bills will not make thoir appearance for a couple of weeks at least. The Estimates are still to be dealt with, and the Government has not yet made any motion to take tho days which are ordinarily given to private members' Bills rind to local Bills in the early weeks of tho session. It happens that this year the time for the taking of private members' Bills has passed without the members interested having had any opportunity of going on with thorn, and as they ar6 not ready with their own legislation, Ministers may feel disposed to give pi-irate members a chance with their little Bills. HARDSHIPS OF C MEN. Cases of undue hardship will not be uncommon among the men .classed 09 CI and C 2 who are now being re-exanain. Ed in order that the best of them may be sent to a special camp et Tauherenikau for training. These men are not to be colled up direot. An examination ia being made of their medical papers, with tho object of discovering who amongst tho men are likely to be worth a trial in tho special camp, and tho men whose papers seem to show that they are not hopelessly unfit will,be re-examined by a special medical board, with- which will bo associated a combatant officer who has had experience at the front in this war. It will be the duty of this officer to advise the board as to the importance of minor defects, such as loss of lingers, malformed feet, and such imperfections for which in the past many men have been rejected. If tho board' de* cides that a man is good enough to stand, a chanco under special treatment of getting fit for active service, he will bo ordered to proceed to camp, but against this order he will have all the rights of appeal now possessed by the man who is drawn in tho ballot in the ordinary way. It has been Suggested that some new grounds of appeal will have to be considered by tlio military 6ervice boards when these cases come on for hearing. Some of tho C 2 men, who were informed that they were fit for home service only, and that in all human probability they would never be called up in the whole course of the war, have undertaken responsibilities, feeling a sense of security greater even than a married man of the Second Division could feel. Many of them have married. The nroposal is made by the Canterbury Second Division League "that men in this category should be put back into the class of the Second Division to which they -would by their family responsibilities be entitled to belong. Referring to this proposal yesterday, the Defence Minister said that ho had under consideration something to meet the oase of these men,.but that ho was not prepared to say that these men would be put in the Second Division.

LOCAL CAMPS AGAIN

Members of Parliament who havo been constantly asking for the establishment of local camps have mow renewed tho request, with special reference to these special C mini. Tho Minister is just as firmly opposed to tho 6etting up of local camps for theso men as ho lias always been for local camps for any other men. There are, as ho points out, certain peculiar reasons; why local camps for tho training of the C men aro impossible. They are being brought into camp in tho first instance not to do military drill, but to undergo a course of physical training under the best instructors obtainable. This course may bo long or short, according to tho needs of every man. The camp will'require more than its fair share of supervision—medical and otherwise —and for these reasons it will not bo possible to quarter tho men far away from ono of the big training centres. The place selected is Tauhcrenikau, and while this camp is being used for this purpose fresh drafts of recruits obtained in tho ordinary way will be sent to Trentlnun. Tno services of specially-qualified physical instructors havo been obtained for this camp. On their advico, and on that of tho medical officers, tho moil will be discharged from camp if it is foiind that they do not improve under training, or they may be posted to a draft of reinforcements if it is found that they are good enough to stand the preparation for active service. There aro not enough instructors and not enough medical officers to make it possible for tho Government to scatter tho men into local camps in different parts of tho country. THE EFFICIENCY BOARD. Ono of tho items on the schedule of business for the Cabinet is tho resignation of the Efficiency Board. Unless the Efficiency Board agrees to some of the stipulations of the Government as to its future activities, it is certan that the resignation of the commissioners will l>c acceptcd, and that the country will hear no more of the Efficiency Board as it was constituted. Tho resignation has been ono of the most embarrassing events to the Government that has happened for a long time. It may be taken for granted that they aro going out because of the failure of the Government to ti.ke sufficient' heed of their recommendations. A majority of Ministers in tho Cabinet think now that it was very nnwiso to make tho order of i'efpi'oneo of tho board so wide as to make it possible for the commissioners to undertake such ii-quir-ies. They asked for something in respect to liquor which the Government might have found the greatest difficulty in getting through the llouse. If Ministers could induce tho commissioners to carry on with n little less ambiM-ms programme the Government would be exceedingly ilnd of their assistance. The work done, or begun, by I lie commissioners in setting up boards of managers and trustees to look after the forms and

businesses of reservists hn havo to the war is admitted by everybody to bave been .of tbo greatest value, but Ministers will not agree to allow (.ho board to take upon itself tlio functions of Government. This is lion- tlio altitude of tho Ministry is generally interpreted. While there is the slightest hope of a reconciliation. Ministers must keep silence, but as etna as the negotiations are "broken off, as they almost certainly will be, wo should hear from the Government why it ii deemed necessary to accept tho resignation of tho Efficiency Commissioners.