WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 July 1923, Page 10

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

BETWEEN TWO STOOLS. (Specia 1 Correspondent.) Wellington, July 2. Mr. J. R. Corrigan, the Liberal member for Patea, whose goOd luck it was to encounter two Reform opponents at the general election and so slip in between the divided forces, was in a candid mood in the House on Friday night. He owed his seat in Parliament, he said, to the sins and omissions of the Government in neglecting the crying needs of the farming community. If the Government had put through the Dairy Control Bill, he declared, he would not have been in the House. The Government professed to be in sympathy with the farmers, but its actions, according to this authority, belied its professions. He believed the Prime Minister himself was concerned for the welfare of the men on the ’and, but unfortunately the big financial institutions got hold of him, and in their hands he forgot all about his small farming friends. This, it must be confessed, is a little hard upon Mr. Massey, unless the reproaches being heaped upon him by the small farmers, on the one hand, and by the big financial institutions, on the other, are accepted by the mass of the electors as proof of his impartiality in dealing with both sides. The general opinion in political circles here is that the present Government is distinctly a farmers’ Government, with a very close and constant eye upon the interests of the man on the land; but apparently Mr. Corrigan and his friends regard Mr. Massey’s reluctance to involve the State in perilous farmers’ trading enterprises as a concession to the big financial institutions. ELECTORAL REFORM. The Hon. J. A. Hanan, the member for Invercargill, though he has not taken a very active part in the debate upon the Address-in-Reply, seems to have extracted more than any of the other speakers from Mr Massey in the shape of a promise to introduce a*Bill during the present session providing for electoral reform. The Prime Minister appears to have honestly forgotten his obligation in this direction, but when he was reminded of it by Mr. Hanan he frankly admitted his oversight, and undertook to make amends. This does not necessarily mean that the Bill will be pushed through this session, since Mr. Massey will be compelled to postpone some of his legislation, and in the ordinary course this measure will not be required till two years hence. But it will be before the House and open for the consideration of the public. It is understood that Mr. Massey’s proposals will provide for preferential voting in single constituencies on the same lines as did the late Hon. R. McNab’s Absolute Majority Bill of fifteen or sixteen years ago. This, of qpurse, will not satisfy the friends of proportional representation, who want to see both, majorities and minorities represented ih Parliament on an equitable basis, while preferential voting seeks to make the representation of majorities alone secure. It is thought, however, that a number of Liberals, accepting the proverbial philosophy that half a loaf is better than no broad, will assist the Government in putting the measure on the Statute Book. BUSINESS OF THE SESSION. ' Wellington, July 4. The Budget, which the public still prefer to cal] the Financial Statement, was delivered in the House last night, according to the Prime Minister’s promise. and followed on the lines that have been indicated from time to time since the short session. Neither Mr. Massey himself nor the heads of departments, who assist him in the preparation of the annual review of the Dominion's affairs, have the Gladstonian genius for making light reading out of heavy matter, and their last night’s effort was not above the average of its predecessors. The debate on the Budget will commence on Tuesday next, and, though there is no assurance on the subject, it is hoped the extravagant expenditure of speech during the past two weeks will not be repeated. The Government, so it says, has nearly a score of Bills ready for introduction, but it is not expected that much progress will be made with important legislation till the Budget and the Estimates are out of the Way. Mr. Massey has made it quite clear that he will not leave the ■Dominion till the session is concluded, and In these circumstances there is not likely to be any long sustained obstruction.

CONTENTIOUS MEASURES. Some of the Bills that have been frequently mentioned since the opening of the session are of a highly contentious character, and it is not improbable that the Government will prefer to postpone these until next year, when the conditions may be more favourable for their deliberate consideration. Mr. W. J. Polson, the Dominion President of the Farmers’ Union, has been haunting the lobbies during the last few days with his Agricultural Bank Bill, which is to make plenty of money available to farmers at a low rite of interest, and he has been putting the claims of the measure before members of the House very earnestly and very persistently. The chief objection urged against the Bill is that it proposes to make the State responsible for the finances of the Bank at a time when it has difficulty enough in bearing its own burdens 'the Prime Minister probably wdl consider it a case for inquiry without r-ry actual committal on the part of the Government. Then there is the Dairy Produce Control Bill, on which Mr. Massey* has stipulated for unanimity among the dairy farmers themselves, and has not got it. Th : e also may be held over for further inquiry, and for investigation by the Prime Minister while in London. The House will ‘be in no temper to put either of tljgse measures through at express speed. PRESS OPINION. The Dominion this morning is appreciative, but not enthusiastic in its review of the Budget. From the standpoint of political window dressing,’ it says, “the Finance Minister has not made the most of his opportunities in ihe present Budget. He has. if anything, been unduly modest in neglecting to emphasise as fully as he might have done the far-reaching importance of many of the proposals brought forward. As a financial record and review, however, it demonstrates that the finances of the Dominion have been particularly well handled during a period of exceptional difficulty; and that the country is to reap something of the benefit in the near future.” The 2?3W Zealand Times is mildly commendatory. “The surplus estimated for the year,” if. says, “is not much more than half last year’s: the estimates of revenue appear to be fairly conservative; and there is money in the Treasury to cover risks. Moreover, there is no unwise promise to further cut down expenditure beyond ordinary prudential work. £!<AK/M , n»n*»nh has the courage

to reduce the tea tax.” These extracts may be regarded as fairly accurate reflection of the opinions entertained by the public here. The Budget is as dull as the traditions prescribe it should be, Lut>it rests on a plausible foundation.