WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 June 1930, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE PARTY SYSTEM

A CUMBERSOME PARLIAMENT.

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, June 13

Mi- W. Lee Martin, the Inde]>emleiit Labour member for Raglan lias views of his own in regard to parties and policies which are not always in harmony 'with those of his colleagues on the cross benches. There must he times when lie occasions his party leaders anxiety and alarm. Tie has a habit of speaking, for himself without consulting the caucus and even without counting the full significance of his words. Speaking at the luncheon of the Central Power Boards the other day, he stated that in the interests of the whole, country it would lie well to make a sweeping change in the whole system of. government. ' The Legislative Council, he maintained, should be abolished altogether and the mcnioei.sliip of the House of Representatives should b,d;reduced to forty in place of the present eighty. Three members representing the city of Auckland, lie was satisfied;. < would serve the city better +b«o did the present eleven. A smaller Parliament ..would mean less waste of .time -and money and very much better service. This view, of tne representation problem is not shared, by official -labour, but it is gaining ground in the country.

NEW LORDS

The appointment of six new members to the Legislative Council has not. been received in the Capital City -with general approval not indeed without emphatic expressions of regret. Even good supporters of the United Party, who will remain faithful to their party, state openly the new “lords” were not required either to carry on the business of the country, or, as the critics put it, to maintain the balance of power in the-sec-ond chamber. ,A.n exception is made, in most quarters, in the case of Mr Buddo, who has served for a lengthy period in. the elected Chamber, -has achieved ministerial rank and has dissociated himself from purely party polities by retiring from the other Chamber at the last general election.. As for .the rest, they all, no doubt, are worthy gentlemen,; but no one who has spent a long evening in the Council. Chambers, when the Loids have .been kept busy. with Bills sent up from “the other place,” will he greatly impressed bv the consequence of the proceedings. Sir Thomas Sidey, fresh'from the elected chamber, does bis best, and does it very well, but there still are traditions and formalities to overcome

NEW ZEALAND MADE

Lord Bledisloe, the new GovernorGeneral, is proving himself even more tactful than was his predecessor in office in winning the'’esteem and goodwill of the public. He does not merelv inquire after the needs of the Dominion. Ife actually looks them up for himself, and when found he supplies tliein as fully as he can. He and Lady Blcdisloe let it be known a little while ago that they* were wearing garments grown, woven and made in New Zealand, and now people who recognise the significance and importance of this movement are following their Excellencies lead. r lhe president of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Association, speaking of the movement to-day, said there already were signs ol a substantial turnoiei to local woollen goods and increasing inquiries for locally made accompaniments of such articles of wear and use. The manufacturers had good ground lor hoping that the step taken bv Their Excellencies would not only immediately stimulate the inquiry for Jocallv made goods; but also would increase • t-lie demands for New Zealand productions abroad. It now remains for the ' manufactuerrs and the retailors to see that their part of this effort is generously discharged.

TOTALIS ATOM AND RACING

As was inevitable, Mr H. E. Henrys, the veteran handicapper. is coming in for a good deal of criticism over ids suggestion that New Zealand racehorses linvp been materially improved during the last forty or fifty years bv the introduction of the tohilisator. and over ids further suggestion that the racehorses of the Mother Country will he similarly improved when the betting machine is made the chief vehicle of gambling at the headquarters of racing. If there were any grounds for the assumption ! that the extent to which tbe +otalisa(or was used in a count)y determined the quality of the horses raced in that country, then, rnughlv. ]'ranee would stand at the head of the list. e!b«elv folla-ved by New Zealand, vdth V*’aland a. long way in the rear. As a 'matter of fact, the English thoroughbred, carefully evolved from the Ar;d>. the Barb and other Eastern breeds,' has been the tap-root from which all creat •racehorses of the last two centuries have been derived, and 1; talk of this tap-root being still further improved in the Old Country by the introduction of the totalisatnr is a little more than merely ludicrous-