MINISTERIAL POLICY

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 June 1936, Page 5

MINISTERIAL POLICY

VARIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS WORK FOR SESSION . * [per press association.] WELLINGTON, June 12. Outlining -the Government’s intentions for the second ■part- of the session, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage said today that he saw no reason'why "Parliament should "not adjourn by the end of October, .. There still were a number of important matters, tp be dealt with, notably the mortgage legislation and./the presentation of the .Budget, but three months should .he sufficient to see the end of the session. Next year, be said, the House probably would not meet until he returned from the Imperial Conference- That would probably be gome time in Aug-1 ust. Mr. Savage also said that no definite public works schedule had yet been decided upon. The Government felt that| if it were fitting to commemorate the. hundredth anniversary of the Domin-i ion, in 4940, -in some substantial form, What be.ter monument could there be than the nipletibn of a -number of public works.' The Government was dcteimim d to go ahead with a vigorous pol icy-, and if there were not enough men in .the service at present to do the job, it would see -that men were engaged from outside. The matter of the completion of Parliament Bußtings was mentioned. The 'Prime Minister replied .that it seemed likely that the GoyeruweptW.ould have to complete these, in addition to the erection of other public buildings that were necessary. ' UNDER-SECRETARIES. WELLINGTON, June 12. The probable appointment of additional Parliamentary Under-Secretar-ies to the Ministers, was indicated today. by the Prime Minister, in an interview. Parliamentary Under-Secretaries, he said, would tie given a definite status under the new legislation to be brought down in the second half of the session, and additional appointments were likely to be made in order to relieve members of Cabinet of the present heavy pressure of work. At the moment there is only one Parliamentary . Under-Secretary, Mr. J. A. Lee, M.P.. , who acts in this capacity to the Prime ( Minister. During the past few months, ( Mr/ JUee has been actively engaged on ( vppj&ys -special duties and enquiries, ] and has had much more work to do ( than the ordinary private member. The f new procedure would place him on a h definite status with regard to his dut- ( ies. t

Mr. Savage said it was obvious that some Ministers were handling more work than was reasonable. If Undersecretaries with proper status were attached Ao these Minister, they w.ould be .able p carry out many of the official duties. In addition to lightening the routine work, the scheme would provide .valuable training for the ; . yonjiger piembers of the Government party, who in future might be candidates for full Cabinet rank. Appointments would be made which would operate to the benefit of the Governipent and the country as a whole.

MR. NASH’S LONDON VISIT

WELLINGTON, June 12

There is little likelihood of the Minister of Finance, Hon. W. Nash, leaving for England before October, according to a statement made in an interview to-night by the Prime Minister. Mr. Nash will be making the trip principally as Minister of Marketing, to arrange for the distribution in Great Britain of the Dominion’s dairy exports. under the Government’s Marketing Scheme; and also to discuss general trade matters, and, if possible, to negotiate for a trade agreement with Great Britain.

“Our aim is to have the Budget ready for presentation as soon as possible after the House, of Representatives resumes on July 21.” Mr. Savage said. “Mr. Nash, naturally, will handle the financial statement, and he will also pilot through the House a Bill giving effect to the Government’s policy for the general re-adjustment ,of mortgages. Before his departure, f he will naturally wish to see that the 1 machinery of the new Department of Marketing is operating satisfactorily, and' it does not seem that it will be possible for him to leave before October. No time limit of a few weeks will be placed on the duration of Mr. Nash’s stay in England. There are big problems to be tackled, and, to my mind, Mr. Nash should remain inEngland until satisfactory solutions have been found. I expect he will still be in England when I arrive in London next May for the Coronation and tjie Imperial Conference. '

SAMOAN MISSION

WELLINGTON, June 12.

The Prime Minister stated, to-day, in connection with the visit to Samoa ci Hon. F. Langstone and Mr J. O’Brien, M.P. Z for Westland, that the Samcans had been assured that there will be absolutely no restriction upon their movements during the visit of the Government representatives. The Government representatives earnestly invited all sections of the Samoan people, both the Mau and Malo, to meet them. Mr 0. Nelson will be in the Territory before Mr Langstone and Mr O’Brien arrive.

DISEASE IN SWEDES

MASTERTON, June 12

Hon. Mr. Lee Martin, Minister of Agriculture, made an announcement to-day regarding the prevalence and methods of control of a disease attacking swedes. He said that a disease known as mottled heart, or brown heart, of swedes, had become extremely troublesome during the past season. Much attention had been paid overseas to a similar disease, and satisfactory control measures had been suggested. The Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture had followed up the overseas work by carrying out experiments in various parts of the Dominion, and, although the results were not yet completed, they were sufficiently encouraging' to permit him to make the statement that a treatment, which had been put under trial, and which had bje.en. found very satisfactory by the Fields Division, consists of applying 101 b per acre of ordinary commercial borax to the land at the time of sowing. A deficiency of boron in the soil was apparently the cause of a number of diseases of crops, and it w.as of interest to farmers to know that such a simple and cheap remedy is s.g effpqtiyo jp controlling this particular .disease of swedes. In order to “facilitate the application of such small quantities of borax, it was considered that the material could be

mixed with fertiliser without loss of efficiency from the treatment. Too great a concentration of borax should be avoided, however, if manure wasbeing sown ip contact with seed, and where a crop was being sown by means of a ridger, which allows of fertiliser being sown both with and below the seed. The borax should be mixed with the fertiliser, being delivered not actually in contact with the seed, so as to avoid germination injury where turnips are sown under the usual methods. There appears no danger of such injury if not more than 41b of borax is mixed with each hundredweight of fertiliser. YOUNG FARMERS’ CLUB MASTERTON, June 12. An offer by the Department of Agriculture to place ifs full resources at the disposal of the Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs, was made today by the Minister of Agriculture, when addressing members of tlie Young Farmers’ Clubs in their camp at Solway. Stating that he realised the importance of the movement, Mr. Martin said the Department was prepared to make available “the services of one of its officers as a full-time secretary to the Federation, while, in addition, the officers of tlie Fields Division could be co-operated as local secretaries and organisers. The Minister added that he trusted that as the result of the offer, and with the co-operation of the committees, the : movement would develop right through New Zealand.