NOT TO RESIGN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21859, 23 July 1934, Page 11

NOT TO RESIGN

THE HON. A. HAMILTON DUTIES AFTER BRIEF REST REARRANGING PORTFOLIOS [BY TELEGRAPH SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Sunday The announcement that it had been decided that there was no necessity for the Hon. A. Hamilton, Minister of Employment, to resign from the Ministry was made by the Prime Minister, Mr. Forbes, after a Cabinet, meeting yesterday. Mr. Forbes said that Mr. Hamilton, who is under medical instructions to rest, had again consulted his doctors. It was thought he would be able to resume bis duties after a period of complete rest. Mr. Hamilton had asked to be relieved of his portfolios for a month or two, and these would be temporarily redistributed among other Ministers. Mr. Forbes said it was not proposed in the meantime to make any new Ministerial appointments. Tn view' of the fact that the Cabinet had carried on tfith eight Ministers while the Hon. 11. Masters and himself were absent for four months, attending the World Economic Conference in London last year, Mr. Forbes said he thought nine Ministers would be able to cope with the work while Mr. Hamilton was recuperating. Mr. Coates' Responsibilities In spite of Mr. Forbes' comment, it is evident that some Ministers are carrying very heavy responsibilities al-x-eady. Mr. Hamilton himself was one of the most hard-worked Ministers, while the Minister of Finance, Mr. Coates, is undoubtedly the most heavilv burdened of all.

As an example, Mr. Coates heard at least a dozen deputations on tariff matters last week and will have to devote the next fortnight to similar engagements. He had to postpone two such appointments on Thursday because his attendance in the House was necessary to reply to the debate on the Tariff Commission's report. In addition, he has recently been involved in delicate cabled negotiations with Britain regarding the meat restriction proposals. Further, Mr. Coates is now endeavouring to find time for the preparation of the Budget, which is expected to be brought down early next month, while he is also engaged on work connected with the appearance within the next week of a Finance Bill. Interviews and Correspondence An insight into the demands made on a Minister's time was given by one member of the Cabinet a few days ago when he pointed to his appointment card. On it were recorded nine interviews on unrelated subjects for the following morning. The perusal and signing of letters is another occupation which entails much work. One Minister, on returning from the Cabinet meeting at 1 p.m. yesterday, found 300 letters awaiting signature and a large inward mail requiring attention. A partial solution to the problem of keeping reasonably abreast of the work has been found by ono Minister, who starts a little later than usual in the mornings and works through until an hour or two past midnight, thus securing freedom from interruptions which are unavoidable in the daytime.

AUSTRALIAN CABINETS DETAILS OF STRENGTHS Judgecl by Australian standards, the present New Zealand Cabinet, with a membership of 10, is not numerically weak, but it is definitely smaller than some of its predecessors. The memberships of the seven Australian Cabinets are as follows: —Commonwealth, 10, with two assistant Ministers; New South Wales, 12, with three assistant Ministers; Victoria, 8, with four honorary Ministers; Queensland, 10; South Australia, 6; Western Australia, 9; Tasmania, 5, with three honorary Ministers. It is worth noting that New South Wales has a population of 2.600,000. nearly double that of New Zealand. Victoria's population is 1,805.000. The average strengths of various past New Zealand Ministries were as follows:—Seddon, 7 to 8; Ward, 7 to 8; Mackenzie, 10; Massey, 12; National Government, 13; Massey, 12; Coates, 11; Ward, 14; Forbes, 13.