POLITICAL POINTS

Evening Star, Issue 19290, 1 July 1926, Page 2

POLITICAL POINTS

THE MASSEY MEMORIAL [From Oon Parliamentary Reporter] WELLINGTON, June 30. A decision regarding the character of the memorial to bo erected over the grave of the late Prime Minister, Air.,Massey, will, shortly ,be reached, as a meeting of the Memorial Committee has been called for Monday. There has been delay over the matter owing to the difficulty of securing the attendance of its members, who comprise the Speakers of both Houses, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, and a representative of the family'of'the deceased Prime Minister. The committee is invested hy Parliament with the control of the reserve on Point Halswoll, Wellington, and power to expend the money sun-, soribod by the public, or appropriated by Parliament, on the improvement oi tfio area and the erection of a suitable monument over the deceased statesman’s grave. w * * * FRONT BEfcICH BREVITY. When Mr V. H. Potter asked the Minister of Works if he would have ii committee set up at once to go into the question of the bus regulations, Mr Williams’s laconic reply, which provoked laughter, was; [ cnn \ e P the lion, member that ho will get his answer in tho near future. * * •» * UNEMPLOYED PAY. A CHANCE TO GET FIT. A request from Mr Sullivan (Avon! that unemplovod men who are put on road works should bo given a lair chance to get fit for contract work was agreed to by tho Minister (Mr Williams) in tho House to-day. It was represented that under the co-operative system some men could not oa.ru 6« to IDs a day, though they had been started at day rates oi 14s. Mr Williams said ho was willing to give genuine tryers a longer period than ten to fourteen days on the day rate before putting them on contract, hut it must ho understood that they could not coniiimio indefinitely if unfit for navvying work, as they would keep out of employment men that wore more fitted for the job. * * * * 1 ELECTION FUNDS, WHY NOT SHARE THEM? Labor's condemnation of the Reform Party’s advertising methods during the 1925 General Election campaign was continued tins afternoon, when air Sullivan (Avon) declared that ho had heard on credible authority that tho Reform organisation had spent £-100,000 throughout Now Zealand on newspaper advertising. (.Derisive laughter.) If rumor lied ho invited tho Premier to present n statement showing the amount actually spent. The Hon. A. D. M'Leod: It wonldn t bo as much a.s your party would spend, anyhow. Mr Sullivan: “The hon. gentleman is romancing.” Ho went on to say that there was grave danger that the party receiving financial support for advertising from the big financial, racing, and liquor interests might be disposed to make concessions to those interests in the hope of getting a pound of flesh at the next election. Mr Sullivan suggested that there should bo a fixed limit to the expenditure, .as there was clangor of corruption. Mr Forbes: They should be made to share it round. Mr Sullivan retorted t|iat one could understand Mr Forbes desiring to establish an election pool, since by comparison with the Nationalists the Labor candidates were rich men. But, however willing Mr Forbes might be to receive money from sources similar to those from which Reform got funds, there was no desire on the part of Labor to do that, « * » * PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATES TO AUSTRALIA. A decision that : the Government Party will be represented at the Empire Parliamentary Association’s meeting in Australia by one delegate (Mr J. S. Dickson, the chief Government Whip) solves the problem of how both branches of the Legislature and all parties could obtain representation. It remains for . tho Legislative Council, the Labor , Party, and the Nationalists to appoint their delegates. Mr Voitch (Wanga- | nui), who was prevented hy ill-health , from joining last year’s parliamentary delegation to South Africa, will he the Nationalist’s choice cm tho present occasion. » # * * CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES. One of the most important decisions of tho Government caucus related to the filling of tho position of Chairman of Committees in tho House of Representatives. It was decided that the Government nominee should be Mr flockly, the member for Rotorua. The election takes place in the House, but the official nomination makes the result a foregone conclusion. The office, next in importance to that of the Speaker, carries a salary of £676, which before tho days of retrenchment imposed on all salaries by the Public ExpcmditiuA Adjustment Act was £7OO. The chair-man-elect has frequently filled tho position, showing capacity to deal wilh points of order and a geniality winch suggests that on many occasions when his new responsibility will call for patience ho will not be found wanting.