WELLINGTON TOPICS

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13753, 29 April 1918, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. MORE KICKS THAN COMPLIMENTS. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Friday. At the luncheon preceding the annual meeting of the Wellington Chamber ot Commerce the Prime Minister and the -Minister of Finance made speeches, which were intended for others tfpn business men, to whom they were immediately addressed. Both the Ministers had something to say about the criticism that had been directed against the National Government, and tne\ said it in a half-humorous vein entirely appropriate to the occasion. Mr Massoy protested that lie and liis colleagues had received more kicks than compliments, but he was satisfied that when the public understood all they had done and the reason for doing it, the compiments would "come along right enough. Simply the Government had been too modest, a mistake it mean, to avoid in the future. The sally ev o»ed a burst of merriment, which the Minister accepted as an endorsement of his view. The Treasurer's Extravagance. Sir Joseph Ward took his cue from his chief, and before dealing with more serious matters alluded to some ot the extravagance that had been laid to his charge. He had been accused of taking a party of ladies to the theatre and spending 5Qs on chocolates tor his guests. He had not spent a single shilling. A certain newspaper had declared the furniture in his orace had cost £IO,OOO. He recently had it valued by an expert, and had been told it was worth £IOO. But these were the sort of things that gave zest and variety to public life, and helped a Minister who J was doing his best to believe his real delinquencies were not so dreadful anu flagrant after all. Surely, if Mr Massey and he had committed any grave misdemeanour it would not be necessary to count the number of chocolates their lady friends ate, nor to question their right to use chairs and tables in their services to the country. The Mission Home. Speaking in a more serious strain the Ministers touched upon some of the big post-war problems thq,t lay before the Dominion. They were not going Home on a pleasure iaunt, but upon a great Imperial mission, to represent the views of New Zealand, as far as they might, on n number of questions that closely concerned every mah and woman in the country. Party politics, of course, were debarred, but Mr Massey empha- ' sised the need for vastly increased production. and Sir Joseph the importance of making the Empire self-sustaining by the rapid and effective development of nil its resources. An interjection gave the Minister of Finance an opportunity to digress for a moment, and to express an optimistic view of the future relations between Capital and Labour. Capital would do its part, with better understanding and higher aspirations, and the Empire would be strengthened at every point by their frank and triendlv co-operation. Class B Reservists. The ballot for ten thousand class B Reservists, married men with one child, -■ has brought the war very near to many homes ,and numbers of commercial houses. As far as one can gather during the twenty-four hours following upon the publication of the list, there will be a cheerful, and, in many cases, an eager response from the great majority of the men called to the colours. Hundreds of Reservists included in this class have been waiting their turn, not through any reluctance to serve, but through a desire to make the best possible provision for theii families. They have welcomed comnulsorv service, because it placed upon the State the responsibility of sayinp iust when they were required. The business houses are in a rather different position, some of them having t< face the loan of a large proportion ol x their men, and unless returned soldiers come forward in increasing numbers there will be a much increased demanc for Women labour.