POLITICAL NOTES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 119, 18 May 1909, Page 3

POLITICAL NOTES.

THE IMPERIAL REPRESENTA- " TION.

j>HOM OUR CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Saturday. ■ The question as to who is to represent.the Dominion at the Imperial Defence Conference. is not yet settled,, but in political circles it is held improbable, that Sir Joseph Ward wiU so ; The fact that the Commonwealth & to be represented by Senator Pierce and by ex-Premier Mr J. C. .Watson, may be accepted as a precedent m favour of New Zealand being represented 'by the High Commissioner and Mr Rl McNab,' as I suggested last week would be the case., Colonel Davis of the. Defence Department, who is going Home to study military Jattersf would also, be on handto eive expert information as^ to the Dominion's present system of defence. No doubt the Prime Minister would be/ the best representative we could have, and in view, of the, Dreadnought -offer, if he could get away, it is doubly desirable he should attend the Conference. , But a first session of a new. Parliament, the introduction, as is rumoured of new land and finance legislation, the threshing out of the, ; Civil Service retrenchment. Wr 'with these obstacles in the path it is difficult to see how. he could possibly manage to* go. The Opposition paper hints'that it would be necessary to get Mr Massey. to agree ? .to move no motion of ;' 'no-confidence'? .during, the Prime Minister's absence, but this is all rubbish. The Opposition js, one knows, greatly elated" because—largely through the dairy I regulations—it managed to win four or five, seats last : year—.but the Government has a majority in the new Parliament so strong that it really .doesn't matter a dump whether Mr Massey moved his motion or not—it is sure of crushing defeat whether the Prime Minister be in London or Wellington. It is not through ianv fear of what Mr, Massey may or may not do that Sir Joseph may deemit necessary to refrain,from going to London*" What will probably affect his decision is his ; desire Q> be on deck when the,: new vessel "is mating her first voyage., There are many important questions to come before the new Parliament which can be best dealt with by'the Prime Minister, and much as it is to the interest of New Zealand to be well represented at the Imperial Defence Conference it may be, in the opinion of Sir Joseph, even more to the country's interest that he should remain in Wellington.