SESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTS DISCUSSED.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 8 June 1923, Page 5

SESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTS DISCUSSED.

i ""BILLS IN THE BACKGROUND. WELLINGTON, June 7. , (From Our Own Correspondent.) _ Legislation is not the first thing of • importance about the coming session. ' -The Government is no doubt prepared . with a programme, but it has given ' most attention to the Budget and the spreading of long awaited concessions • now made possible by improving revenue. From the: Government's point of view, the Budget is the outstanding item on the sessional programme, but the balance of parties is so narrow that this element is of far greater interest to politicians and nublic alike. An analysis of the situation produces I a very striking result. Mr. Massey I won his last session's tests with a ma- ■ jonty of three, including three memj bers who are admittedly not pledged ■to the Reform Party. Theirs is a ! qualified allegiance. During the comI ing .session the Government will be ; obliged to appoint a chairman of com- ; mittees, a Parliamentary post next in importance to that of the Speaker. The opinion was current among members last session that the Government dare not go outside its own ranks again in distributing Parliamentary honours and Sir John Luke has a fairly strong claim to consideration for the chairmanship However, his appointment would reduce the Government majority when in committee, to exactly two. at best, assuming that the Opposition will grant the Hon. D. H. Guthrie a pair a matter which is quite uncertain The Government refused to grant a pair to the- present leader of the Opposition when he took a long health trip to America, and history may repeat itself with a change of personnel Such a contingency reduces the Government majority to one when in committee, i WJ"™ V* an important part of the work °•/ , iament- when the Hou.se deals with the detail of policy, and may easily wreck a Bill. Experience shows that it is impossible to maintain full numbers in the House during the winter, tor legislators are only human, and the average age is hish, with a conse- . quent increased liability to absence through ill health. Thus the Government whips will face no sinecure.