POLITICAL PALAVER.

NZ Truth, Issue 282, 19 November 1910, Page 4

POLITICAL PALAVER.

Picked-up Pars In and Out of Parliament.

The Talking Shop shutters are expected to go up m a fortnight.

It is wonderful the way the country's finances improve on the approach of a general election. Sirjoe •anticipates having m hand next March 31 a balance o f £957,366. The total expenditure for the year 1909-10 amounted to £2,218,975. The estimated expenditure for the current year is £2,855,000.

The Public Works list shows the Empire City as the anticipant of a large expenditure of Government lucre for Ibuiltlings. £20,000 (on account only) is proposed for the new Parliament Building ; £30,000 for new .Government House (including £4204 expended to March 31); £35,000 for General Post Office (liability £93,127) and so on to ttoe tu fl e of severial hundred thoiu

Whatever might be said against the Government's water-spwer proposals, Sirjoe cannot be accused of being a "Little New Zealan'der." The modest £500,000 which he asks to begin with is nothing compared to the sum posterity will have to find before the scheme is completed. Whether prosperous industries will spring up like mushrooms to utilise the cheap-power proposed to be provided, of course, remains to be seen. But the chances are all m favor of development and progress. As with the opening up of the country by the iron-horse, 'no doubt cheap power will encourage manufactories. Who will pay. the piper, however, m .the long run is for the next generation to decide.

Within twenty-Jour hours of passing a Bill to penalise betting on the racecourse, the "Government introduced a Bill (the Stamp Duties, Amendment Bill) with the thinly-veiled object of facilitating a far more insidious and dangerous form of gambling, viz., stock-jobbing, at' whicn a recent decision of the Court of Appeal bad aimed a coup de grace. The former Bill was the outcome of Wowser influence, the latter of the influence of Plute ; these two influences serve to keep the present Administration m oiuce, and yet the somnolent elector permits it. The only hope of salvation for New Zealand ' lies m the formation of an independent Labor Party. Labor has shown m Australia what it can do there, amid it could do the same here.

The political influence of the übiquitous stock and share broker -is re^ sponsiible' for the S>tsum<p Duties Amendment Bill, which was introduced into the House of Representatives by the Government after two o'clock m the morning on Saturday last, when every member present was too tired and sleepy to be m full possession of his legislative faculties. Tlietmtire fraternity of stock-brokers throughout the Dominion have been smarting under Magistrate Haselden's very proper decision— which the Court of Appeal upheld— in the case of Gualter, Dykes and Co. v. Beggs, and, as might baive been expected from a Government Which owes its position to Plute on the one hand and to the Wowser on the other, the Cabinet immediately sought to placate, the sharks of the stock exchange by an apparently harmless Bill which gives them the protection which the courts refused.

The Government wouW have a nice thimg on if it got the Workers' Dwellings Bill into actual operation. Just consider the much vaunted measure to mate better provision for the erection and disposal of workers' dwellings, and see how the poor working man is to be exploited for the purpose, oi raising revenue. The dwellings are not to exceed £600 m value, and purchasers are to pay off 7 per cento, of the purchase-money per annum for 25f years, less the preliminary deposit of £10. This, m the case of a £600 house, would aggregate £1071, or a clear profit of £471, or ?8J per cent., to the Government. Why, it would be more remunerative than floating a loan ! Wihen it is reanem-bered also that, should a purchaser, by any means be prevented from continuing to reside m his *ouse, all payments on account are to be forfeited, the Government does stand on clover.

H/ow some of the lesser lights of the Legislature do love to exploit the Wowser vote ! When it is not the Primitive Methodist it is the Baptist ; when it is not the Baptist, it is the Presbyterian or the "Ghuroh of Christ" and occasionally the V.M.C.A. R. A. Wright (Wellington South) is the most consistent of the pulpiteering politicians, and usually affects the "Church, dt Christ" at Newtown, but last Sunday he ••preached" m the Kent-street Pres- | byterian chapel m the morning and m the Brooklyn Presbyterian chapel m the evening. E. H. Taylor (Thames), who, as a pseudo- parson, runs Wf right a close second, held forth m the Petone Baptist chapel last Sunday afternoon. Little Laurenson, the ex-grocer who represents Lyttelton, gave an address on "The Moral Trend of Recent Legislation" before the "Wellington City's Men's Brotherhood" on Sunday last. Ye gods and little fishes ! When will thfe elector arise and with a mighty voice ask to be relieved of the yoke of Wowserdom ?

The Licensing Bill passed both Chambers m a week. False prophets predicted that the Bill would prove to be the most contentious question submitter! for consideration during the session and that it would not go through. But all these calculations were ' astray. The Assembly passed it m two sittings, and as everyone professes to be pleased, Sirjoe is to .foe congratulated on his tact. The Tommy Teetotal Taylors outsidci the House, however, are m doubt whether to rejoice or to mourn, and, to be on the safe side, are passing resolutions of regret. There can be no question j that Sirjoe showed the water-wow-sers a point m the majority issue. By the Government publishing the Bill providing for a 55 per cent, vote to settle the momentous question of rifatiarial No-license, the Puritans were lulled into a false, feeling o i satisfaction. But when the Bill came before the House and Sirjoe moved to alter the 55 per cent, majority to the old 3-ot'hs, and the resolution was carried by 50 to 25, they realised they, had been simply euchred*

The Hine charges, so far, have consisted mostly of blank cartridges. Nobody has been hit hard, and it seems as though the great blunderbuss that promised to shake the foundations of Tammany contains nothing but smote.

The forlorn hope that Gisborne has cherished forages of getting connected by railway to Mapier seems near realisation. An appropriation of £5000 for the "first portion" of the me embellishes this year's Auifeprisation Bill. £5000 is only a riSpbite of the million set aside for railways, but it is a start.

It is wMspered m Wanganui that a number of Mr J. T. Slogan's constituents are dissatisfied wrtih their representative's efforts as regards the requirements of the district upon wtoioh Webfi^oaused the limelight to be thrown. A discussion during the weefe a-t a meeting of the local Chamber of Commerce is indicative of the way the wind blows.

Tommy Taylor hit tile mark m the discussion of Mrs Treweek's petition to Parliament regarding the- .Woodville Jockey Club's refusal to :pay, out on three tickets which she had obtained m error. It was a public scandal, said Thomas, that important public business should be held up to decide a wretched dispute between a woman gambler and «, racing club wtoich had not been-doing its duty m properly controlling the racing machine.

Parliament has decreed that the beauteous barmaid must be banished with the bad, bold bookmaker from Ward's Loan Country. Dr. Findlay, with tears m his voice, speaking: In the Council to the gay did boys who have long since sown their wild oats, paid a touching tribute to Hepe as a last farewell. Prom his experience, he feaid, he had never been connected with a divorce eaae m which the respondent woman had been connected with the bar. Truly this is more than can be said of many of the canting humbugs who pray at the bethels.

The Public Holidays Bfll, which will come into force next January, will do away with much ot the inconvenience experienced by business people and the general public with the ever-recurring irregular holiday. The new Bill provides for Labor Day to be held on the fourth Monday m October ; Empire Day the fourth-Mon-day m May ; Dominion Day the fourth Monday m September ; and for many other of -the numerous holidays to be held on the next succeeding Monday when 'they fell on any day but Monday, v ■ • , .• • »

Times have changed since Masterton's representative was "the Hon." and Minister <of Labor, Customs, Roads and Bridges, and sundry other items, and became plain "A.. W. Hogg." In thte former days he . had more or less- of bis own way, and Us constituents had no fault to .find. Now, however, Mr Hogg becomes querulous, and complains that' his electorate is badly treated, and, m tihe search for motive, the burly nienv•ber finds .it m the fact that be is a consistent Government supporter. Presumably, he thinks the M-inistry has no need to purchase his support, as that is assured already. Why does he not do as Field- and one or two other ministerial malcontents have recently done, and shake things up al bit ?

It becomes more and more abundantly evident that Labor obtains little consideration from the present A^dantinistPation, nor iis there likely- to foe saiy change until such time as f,abor m New Zeals mrl rouses from its lethargic state, and, by dint of properly organised forces, asserts itself politically and becomes a power m. the land to the same extent as it has m Australia. These observations are prompted by the fact that the Workers' Compensation Amendment Bill and the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act Amendment Bill are among the '•slaughtered innocents" of the now! closing session. These two impoitant measures have ifoeen hung up on the (recommendation of the Labor Bills Commi Stee, a select body from which, apparently, Labor will gain little so long as Lafbor remains unorganised.

The Public Works Statement was presented to the House on Tuesday evening. With the £5,000,00(1 ioan just floated,- there seems to be a good harvest promising for builders and contractors and civil servants. Minister McKenzie told the House that there have been only four, occasions during the last thirty years on which the annual expenditure of the Department had exceeded two millions sterling, and last year was one of them. The present year promises to be even a busier one. He was m the fortunate position of being able to propose larger votes than last year for all the works ordinarily undertaken by the Department— railways, roads, buildings, telegraphs, etc. — an-d, m addition, to submit proposals for carrying out practical work m the way of developing some of our extensive water-powers, and also for the construction of important Irrigation works.

In its over-anxiety to pick flaws m the present Administration, the "Dominion" yesterday. discovered a veritable mare's nest as. regards the Graining Bill. Dr. Findlay had inserted an amendment providing for the penalising of "every bookmaker who bets m any street, or on any racecourse, or m any public place." Further on he inserted a clause that "m this section the term 'street' means— (a) any public i o ad . . . any enclosed or unenclosed land (not being . a racecourse on which a race meeting is being held) m any city or bo£ oug;h." The "Dominion" at once concludes that there is "a 'cbnfliet of meaning." Ridiculous '. It distinctly makes, betting illegal boi?h i:i a street ami o n a racecourse, and merely di.-r.nes a "street" with the really unnecessary proviso that "a '•acecourse on whioh a race meeting i's being held" shall not be deeded- a ; atur ally, beoause it comes within the definition of a "race- ?? vr t se -", n * *? all ver r toh to and legitimate fault, but it is absurd to £u IS !iT? ogeys - The " "trouble" which the "Dominion" anticipates need not S' y uS°— The BiU efiectuall »