Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, APRIL 7, 1930. THE POLITICAL SITUATION

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 111, 7 April 1930, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, APRIL 7, 1930. THE POLITICAL SITUATION

Mr Peter Eraser, M.P., speaking- at the Wellington Trades Hall last week on tlie political situation, expressed muck the same opinion as kis leader, Mr H. E. Holland, M.P., when ke said tkat “tke Labour Party migkt kave to consider in tke course of tke coming- session wketker it was wortk wkile keeping tke Government in office any longer. If,” ke said, ‘‘Labour moved a vote of no-confid-ence and Reform members and a sufficient number of Independents supported it, it was quite possible tkat Labour would be sent for to form a Government.” But tke “if” in tke business is, in itself, likely to do away witk tke possibility of Labour being afforded tke opportunity of forming a Government wkick botk Mr Holland and kis lieutenant, Mr Eraser, kave envisaged. Tke Reform Party—tkat is its members in Parliament —are not at all likely to follow Labour into tke division lobby on a no-confidence motion, and Mr Coates, kaving tke strongest following, numerically, of tke tkree parties in tke House, is, it may be assumed, scarcely prepared to play second fiddle to Mr Holland’s lead. Tke situation is full of uncertainties, so muck so, tkat Mr Eraser would seem to be holding out tke olive branch to tke Government by indicating, in a series of “ifs,” tke terms upon wkick Labour is prepared to support tke Government in tke coming session. Tke Labour members, ke says, in effect, kaving been elected to support certain principles will be prepared to help the Government “if it will say quite definitely tkat it is prepared to deal witk some of tke important and pressing social evils of tke day and bring down effective remedies for these problems.” And then ke goes on to indicate tkat the Labour Party will support tke Government : “If it agrees that relief conditions which break down awards and industrial agreements will be abolished on public works; “If it promises that a much needed and long overdue Workers’ Compensation Act will be brought down; “If it will agree that the Pensions -Act and the f amily Allowances Act should be improved'and strengthened and made more beneMal to the people; and finally, “If it agrees to abolish compulsory military training—as it is indicated it intends to do—the’n (Mr Fraser si ys) I for one would say it would be quite a sensible policy on the part of the Labour Party to keep the Government in office so that it could give effect to those undertakings.”

Here then we have a partial disclosure of the price the Government will have to pay if it desires to secure a continuance of the support accorded it by the Labour Party during the 1929 session. We use the term “partial disclosure” advisedly, because there is more in the background—the unemployment business, for instance, with the demand made by certain members of the Labour Party in the Right to Work Bill, for tke payment of trade union or award rates of wages to all those for whom employment is not forthcoming upon registration. And there are other matters upon which a Government, afraid of its continued existence, might be “squeezed.” But the matters to wkick Mr Fraser specifically alludes—and there is but little doubt that ke has kis leader’s support in suck matters —with the exception of the abolition of compulsory military training, involve heavy increased expenditures on the part of tke State, and that, too, when it is absolutely essential to tke well-being of the country that tke national expenditure should be cut down to tke essential minimum. Witk tke wool market still depressed, and prices offering below tke cost of production, and a drop of a penny per lb in tke already low selling price of butter, tke country simply cannot afford to go on increasing our already heavy scale of pensions, nor to increase tke scale of family allowances, which, according to the Budget, cost the country £2,651,534 during tke year ended March 31st, 1929. Every penny of that money had to be found out of taxation, wkile some £6,292,930 (in wkick the pensions, etc., are included) was expended on our social services. As also shown by tke Budget, tke actual expenditure required to be covered by taxation during 1928-29 amounted to £18,422,666 and, for the financial year closed on the 31st March, 1930, tkat amount is likely to be further increased. However desirable increases suck as those Labour demands in the shape of additions to tke pensions list and extensions of tke existing social services appear in tke abstract, they are beyond tke countx*y’s means at tke present time, and no Government kaving tke true interests of tke country at heart would even dream of adding to tke taxpayers’ burdens in tke way suggested.