ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1920 THE PRIME MINISTER.

Marlborough Express, Volume LIIII, Issue 83, 9 April 1920, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1920 THE PRIME MINISTER.

Every New Zealander, whether; lie foe a) Reformer, a'Liberal,, or a Laborite', M niust b'fe..gratified';to ; learn that thb. Prune,. Minister has so far reCovered from his>■ recent' and ' rather soverev illness-; as/ to:be <able tb' return to his office and-the regular discharge, of hia duties., ;Frpm?what we have ' bceft able, to leara'iit would appeary however, that Mr Massey,.. although out of the hospital arid back at his office, is still far from being in robust health. It is to be . hoped that his Ijnedioal advisers and his,, personal friends will enjoin upon him-.the necessity -bf adopting a "go-slow" policy with respect to all: official work wliich is not of an urgently imporiant character. Alike' in his own interests and in those of the people of New Zealand, for whom he has done and is doing, such strenuous ,work, lie .should refrain from placing too; severe a strain upon himself.:: In addition *■ to being; Prime Minister and Minister for Finance he has' recently '"takon over the Defence ''portfolio.I.'.'1 .'.' This mu&t bo only a temporary arrangeii'.ent, for it' is palpable that no;:single Minister, hosfever-1 '•industribus «e/1 capable, could possibly hold two such important portfolios ml' addition, to discharging the multifarious duties attaching to the position; of Prime Minister. In other directions, such as .conducting the intricate and difficult negotiations with the Imperial Government with respect to the wool and produce control, a vast amount of very heavy work has, it is well known, been thrown upon Mr Massey's shoulders. The sooner the Prime Minister transfers or delegates some at least of his duties and responsibilities to his colleagues the bet- < ter, and hence it is that his friends and supporters should urge him to lose no further time in making another Ministerial appointment. Apparently he is waiting for the result of the Stratford election, but whether Mr Hine returns to Parliament and the Ministry or not there is still a vacancy to be filled. As we pointed out in a previous article, the South Island has a strong, indeed an unanswerable claim to another representative in the Cabinet, and we cannot see why there should be any further delay in making such an appointment. In any case, Mr Massey will be wise if he takes things a little easier for a few weeks. He should jpmember that more than one famous predecessor in the Prime Minister's position fell a victim to overwork, There are limits to the strongest man's capacity for work, and Mr Massey, with all ids limitations, is so good and faithful and capable a chief administrator that it would be a thousand pities wore he to suffer any permanent break-down. And yet this is what he runs the risk of doing by continuing to shoulder what must necessarily be an almost intolerable burden of difficult work.