Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, SATURDAY, DEC. 3, 1932. ADJOURNING THE HOUSE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17953, 3 December 1932, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, SATURDAY, DEC. 3, 1932. ADJOURNING THE HOUSE

The decision of the Government to adjourn the Parliamentary session until the end of next month-.was an-, nounced with a dramatic suddenness' that is not usual in New Zealand polities. Developments of this nature are generally preceded by rumors, at tirst vague, and then more dclinite, so that by the time an official pronouncement is made the public has been .well prepared for what has been decided upon, and, frequently, for a great deal more. On this occasion, however, there was no preliminary warning. Only the day prior to the announcement being made, the Prime Minister, in answer to a question, stated that the matter of adjourning the House until the new year had not even been considered, yet the next morning a. resolution approving of this course was carried by a caucus of the Coalition party, and, apparently, met with the ready endorsement of the Cabinet, for Mr. Forbes wasted no time in informing tho House that it .was intended to follow the course suggested. It is reported that members of Parliament —or, at least, those on tho Government side —welcomed tho decision, and there is every reason to boliovo that the country, too, will approve of tho action that has been taken. From tho point of view of tho public, there is iio urgent or essential legislation before the House. On the contrary, there is a widespread opinion that a great deal of time has already been wasted in dealing with inconsequential measures when questions of outstanding importance arc requiring the attenction, not of Parliament, but of the Government. In tho last few weeks there lias been a regular deluge of bills which have not pretended to do much more than accede to the demands of small organisations, but which have undoubtedly had the effect of creating no small measure of resentment among those sections of the public whose liberties aro further interfered with without any just reason. While attempting to justify these bills to a critical House, Ministers have been expected also to deal with questions of much greater importance and complexity. It was becoming increasingly apparent as week sifter week passed that it would bo impossible to proceed with the full legislative programme and conclude the work of the session before Christmas without severely encroaching upon the time which Ministers require to devote to the more serious tasks of their various offices. Members of tho Cabinet will now bo granted an opportunity of dealing uninterruptedly with policy matters which demand careful consideration. The exchange controversy has been disposed of, but as Mr. Forbes has pointed out, the settling of this vexed question has not solved the problem of granting relief to the producers; all that has been accomplished is the elimination of one of several alternatives. Ministers have now to consider the suggestion of the Bank of New Zealand that a loan should be raised to pay the rates and land tax of farmers, and also other possible methods of providing that assistance which is generally considered to be necessary. It is already apparent that the Government is going to experience the utmost difficulty in reaching a decision on this point, for it is only a week or two since the Primo Minister emphasised the financial difficulties that had to bo faced next year and gave a veiled hint that further taxation might bo necessary. In a message to Auckland woo! brokers lie was noticeably non-com-mittal, and there was at least a suggestion of a doubt as to whether the country could afford the expense—and the additional taxation—of dispensing relief to one section of tho community. The problem of unemployment relief is another matter requiring investigation. It is understood thnt some practical scheme is being formulated by tho heads of various departments and the Unemployment Board, but in recent weeks there seems to have been some interruption to tho rapid progress that had boon so confidently forecasted. It is suggested that tho Cabinet will also devote some consideration to the question of interest reduction, a very desirable objective, but in view of the effect the last attempt had upon the credit of the Government itself, it will require to move cautiously. It is certain, too, that the information and advice obtained by the Finance Minister during his visit to London will play an important part in the Cabinet deliberations, and it goes without saying that much importance .will bo attached to the impressions he has form-

ed. It is well that Ministers should be free from Parliamentary duties iu order to bo able to give detached consideration to these questions, because the detractions of long hours in the House and wearying, useless, debates must prove detrimental to their work. It is becoming more and more evident, not.only in this country, but throughout tho world, that large assemblies are not well-suited to dealing with the complex questions of the present day, a striking instance of this being the proposal that the work of the Disarmament Conference should bo confined to a small committee in place of tin' present unwieldy body that has made such little progress. Another oXtini.pl c of n si mil Mr system, is con* tainod in ibe United St&tcsj wlioro the members of the Cabinet arc not members of Congress and have thus better opportunities of dealing with the work of their offices. There is much that might be argued against this system, but it has obvious advantages, and even though its adoption might not be desirable it .would certainly be benelieial if some method could bo devised for removing more of the routine work from the shoulders of Ministers, thus enabling them to devote greater attention to the duties and responsibilities which devolve upon them with added force in troublous times like the present.