PARLIAMENT’S PROGRAMME.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 January 1935, Page 6

PARLIAMENT’S PROGRAMME.

The statement of the Prime Minister in regard to the programme of the autumn session of Parliament and other matters should clear the air. The special session is being held in order that the “mortgage” proposals of the Government may have legislative authority, and if the question is handled carefully there is sufficient to occupy fully the time of a short session. Stripped of all excrescences the legislation proposed does contain an unmistakable and intentional interference with contractual rights—with or without the consent of both parties. It may be that sheer necessity has made it imperative that such a course should be adopted by the State, and that acceptance of that position is fairly general among mortgagees as well as mortgagors. Assuming this to be true there is all the more need for the most meticulous care to avoid injustice in isolated cases in which only too often an individual may suffer injustice for the benefit of .the general community. The statement by Mr. Forbes that no other legislation will be handled, and that another session will be held before an appeal to the electorate is made, should prepare the way for a dispassionate consideration of an intricate problem. It is too much to

hope that party politics will be eliminated during the consideration of the “mortgage” legislation, but no question has ever deserved the combined wisdom of all members of the House more than one which cannot help raising a new conception of what is fair dealing or financial probity. The Prime Minister’s assurance that the election will take place at the normal time will also be welcomed. Elections are disturbing events, and now that a re-orientation of the Dominion’s economic affairs, at home and oversea, is inevitable, it is well that calmness in political matters be maintained as long as circumstances will permit.