NEW CABINET AT WORK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20986, 24 September 1931, Page 11

NEW CABINET AT WORK.

IKst meeting held. jam FEELING ABSENT. pYEALING FRESH POLICY. SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET. stabilising FINANCES. [BT TELEGRAPH. SPECIAL UEPORTKR. ] W ELL IN OT OX, Wednesday. The Coalition Cabinet met, for the first, fime this afternoon, sitting from 3.30 nntil rfearlv six o'clock, mainly for (he purpose of discussing details connected with its appointment and dealing in general terms with the financial plans of the new Government, wliich will be revealed in a supplementary Budget in the House of Representatives on October 6. This meeting is assuredly the forerunner of many late Cabinet sittings which will be necessary before order is brought out- of the financial chaos and Parliament given an opportunity of discussing the legislation necessary to bring this about. W ( ,liile the majority of members of Parliament left this evening to gpend a short recess at their homes, Ministerial lights will burn until a late hour, and departmental officers will be busy assisting their chiefs with 'financial details and administrative formulae. An Initial Task. One of the first tasks of the Coalition will be to -revise "the Budget and readjust the estimates of expenditure for the current year, and as -several days' work are understood to have been spent opon pruning the estimates before the coalition negotiations were finalised, this task is now well ahead, considering the new Government has been operating for only a day. There is a general opinion thai, the Hon. R. Masters was given the portfolio of Education so that he could handle the /economies necessary in that department. Colour is lent to this bv the fact that Mr. Masters was a member of the Economy Committee which a few months ago investigated thoroughly departmental expenditure and expressed the opinion at that time that a saving of £230,000 could be made at one stroke of the pen in education expenditure. This opinion is in striking contrast to the. view of Mr. H. Atmore, who remains confident that any reduction in education expenditure will be simply nonexpenditure, and not economy. Probably the first real task Mr. Masters will handle, however, will be effecting widespread .economies in this department, throughout which he will probably have a complete survey made in the near future. It- is freely rumoured that it is hoped to /reduce the education vote by close on £1,000.000 annually. Business-like Manner. At the conclusion of the Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. I G. W. Forbes, said he was most gratified vrith the business-like manner with which the Cabinet had faced its first job. The new Ministry had sot right / « *" down to business without preliminaries. Its course was clear and those who had 6erved on the Economy Committee were specially equipped with information which enabled them to carry on where the committee had left off. . The Prime Minister expressed obvious relief that after surviving the difficulties of a minority Government for so long, he was now backed by a strong following to carry out a policy of rehabilitation, which would have been impossible in any other circumstances. Mentioning that the Cabinet would be sitting daily, Mr. Forbes expressed appreciation of the complete absence of party consideration' from the Cabinet discussions. Henceforward there would be 110 parties as far as the present Government was concerned. Working For Common Good, An old footballer himself, Mr. Forbes drew a simile of two football teams unitj ing in a common cause. The common • cause to-day. was the economic battle and the two major political learns in the House had sunk all differences arising out of political rivalry and were now working for the common good. While unable to give an indication of the financial policy of the Government lie could say that the statement to be presented to the House on October 6 might he regarded as in the nature of the supplementary Budget of which frequent mention had been made, and although it would take the form of a financial statement containing the full policy of the Government, it would really be an amplification of the Budget. From that date onward the r.ovei nment would push forward its policy. The country looked to the Coalition (lovernment to stabilise the national finances as a preliminary to an economic reconstruction. That being so, the Cabinet's first task would lie to put its own house m order and then it would lie in a position to look further afield The Unemployment Problem. One of tlie first and most important j ' questions to lie dealt with, said Mr. I ■ Forbes, would be the unemployment prob- J lein, which had been placed in the hands j °f the Rt. lion. .]. CI. Coates, who had yet 1 Jay his complete scheme before the j Cabinet. U could not be expected that concrete proposals would be brought down j after the Government had been in office j for a few hours, bur, a real attempt was j leing made to effect a permanent reduc- j tioii in the growing number of work loss I people. Satisfaction was expressed by the Prime j Minister that he had been relieved of i the portfolio of Finance, which be had held since becoming the administrative head of the United < loverninent last year. He discounted the suggestion that he had been reluctant to relinquish this portfolio, saying on the contrary that he welcomed the chantre. which would enable hini to devote his time to policy questions and executive duties. Owing to the arduous nature of his work at the Treasury he had been hampered by certain restrictions in the execution of bis Prime Ministerial office I-ookinp t(/ ! lie future, Mr. Forbes said he was hopeful that the new Cabinet, which was admittedly a strong one, would l'e able to carry out an effective plan for the permanent rehabilitation of ihe Dominion. He was confident that the men pow .working with him would give their -loyal co-operation in performing the task which the Coalition bad been formed to Undertake. CONFIDENCE IN MR. FORBES. At, a meeting of the Auckland West ranch of the United Political League a was passed expressing confidG^iv 11 me Minister, the Rt. Hon. ; Forbes, and appreciation of his in propioiing a coalition Ministry.