THE OAMARU MAIL SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1920. THE TITAN.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14009, 13 March 1920, Page 4

THE OAMARU MAIL SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1920. THE TITAN.

While Mr Holman, the New South Wales Premier, has been suffering "thrills," as well as producing them, bv doing an election campaign by aeroplane prestissimo, to the distraction of the press reporters, Mr Massey is "•overning .New Zealand and entertaining himself by taking high nights of fancy laden with portfolios for JacK, Tom, and Harrv, w'uo have been good, obedient boys. It is elevating, politically, to read of the. "further shufto use the Otago Daily Times phrase, of these dainty posthumous Christinas gifts. Whilst it is just possible that Mr Massey's administration may earn the sobriquet of the shuffling Ministry, one feels impelled to admire the Prime Minister's tireless endeavors to form a Government that will, in spite of its*inherent weakness, perform the miraculous feat of expending on Public Works money that does not exist, of taxing wealth, and yet retaining the affection of < the wealthy—of, in fact, going one better than the Liberals. If it did not matter how New Zealand was governed it would be as good as a play to contemplate the quite serious accounts of what Mr Massey is going to do with those portfolios. Times out of number an obsequious class of newspapers count them_and lecount how many the Reform Titan is going to carry all by himself. It will be nothing more serious than a pastime for him to take the departments of Finance and of Railways. He is Digger than Sir Joseph Ward, and Sir Joseph carried the burden with grace. After all, it is Drawn that tells in politics as in making roads, nowadays, if anvone is inclined to question Mr Massey's capacity to carry the whole Cabinet on his hack, let him observe the indisputable facility of • administration; and the peace -which characterise the conduct of the railways, and the surplus which is to crown the current financial year. There is some doubt as to who is to be endowed with the Defence portfolio. We would make short work of the hesitancy by giving it to Mr Massey—a half-dozen additional euoh responsibilities more or . less will not wrinkle his '