Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16th., 1937. MINISTERSP AND MEMBERS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 February 1937, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16th., 1937. MINISTERSP AND MEMBERS.

gINCE his accession to Ministerial office, Mr. Semple has not been so invariably courteous to political opponents and others that he can afford to be ultra-sen-sitive, and it is doubtful if the country generally will share his indignation because Mr. Hamilton and Colonel Hargest refrained from attending with deputations to the Minister. during his present tour of Southland. The spectacle of Mr. Semple being “snubbed” would bring, perhaps, some unholy joy to those to whom he has given “running shoes,” or addressed in terms not really complimentary. Ministers must expect adulation to be occasionally tempered with indifference, and Air. Semple should be none the worse for any chastening experience in the South.

It is customary for a Member of Parliament to attend a Minister when the latter is visiting the other’s constituency on official business, the Member introducing deputations and otherwise acting! as intermediary. Sometimes this may bo as a labour of love, but often it is regarded as sheer boredom. 'familiar stories being repeated at length, with little prospcct of any real achievement. Attendance at such gatherings is one of the penalties of Parliamentary Membership, and rarely is the duty evaded, whatever the personal inconvenience. A Member must not be expected to be awed and trembling when a Minister arrives' in the district, whatever the effect, of such visit may be on local men. Members see too much of Minis-

ters at Wellington to be unduly impressed by them, elsewhere. For his constituency’s good, no Member would be foolish enough to “snub” a visiting Minister, who is being asked for a. share in the “loaves and fishes.” Doubtless, Mr. Hamilton and Colonel Hargest have, a defence to Air. Semple’s charge of discourtesy, not that the matter is one of national concern.

The question is often asked if the “deputation” system is worth continuing. The cost of Ministerial tours throughout the Dominion reaches a large sum annually, money that could be put to much more useful purposes. Comparatively little is obtained from Ministers on these visits that would not otherwise have been forthcoming. “Favourable consideration” promised at the gatherings, often fails to materialise. The Ministers, too, are bombarded with requests that are beyond their power to grant, and the whole business is degenerating into a farce. Some Ministers may enjoy the fuss made of them on these occasions, but unless the weather is favourable, and the district visited endowed with scenic attractions, the tour is not really a. success, even from the Ministerial viewpoint. As for the Members, some must wish there were fewer Ministers, or fewer visits. Take a constituency as Westland, for instance, much subjected to “official” tours, during the holiday season. Westland’s Member—whatever his political colour —is expected to be in attendance on each visiting Minister, the demands on the Member’s time thus being really beyond what is reasonable.