THE CABINET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20318, 28 January 1928, Page 10

THE CABINET.

Some of our northern contemporaries are speculating with respect to the course which the Primo Minister will follow in the allocation of the Ministerial offices that were held by the late Mr R. F. Bollard. The New Zealand Herald expresses the opinion that, if Mr Coates decides to bring the Cabinet up to its old strength, he should do so by a recognition of merit without regard to geographical considerations. The proviso is important. The need for the appointment of another Minister is not very apparent. At the present time there are eleven members of the House of Representatives who occupy offices in the Government. They form a not insignificant proportion ol the total membership, and, if the weight of Ministerial responsibility wore more evenly distributed than it is, they should bo numerically sufficient to discharge satisfactorily the functions of the Government. The claim that there is an actual need for the appointment of another Minister is, in fact, contradicted by recent history. Five months have elapsed since the death of Mr Bollard. More than two of these months were included in the past session of Parliament. They comprised the period during which the work of Parliament was more strenuous and more exhausting than at any other time during the session. Neither during the closing months of the parliamentary session did any of the Ministers seem to lie overworked because no successor to Mr Bollard had been appointed, nor have the duties of the recess apparently been more onerous than can be comfortably discharged by them. Before, therefore, the Prime Minister decides

upon the appointment of a new Minister, the question whether any appointment at all is necessary should be seriously considered by him. If there is no actual need for an appointment, if the number of Ministers already in office is sufficiently large to meet all the administrative and executive requirements of the Dominion (as, it may be strongly argued, it should be), then no appointment at all should be made.