WELLINGTON TOPICS

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13892, 18 October 1918, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS

PARTY LEADERS AND THE WAR. NO ARMISTICE. (Special Correspondent.) WKI.UNOTOX. Wednesday. Mr Massev and Sir Joseph Ward have returned lo tlie Dominion as they left it, confident of the might of Britain and her Allies and of their complete triumph in the war, and with first-hand knowledge of what is going on at the other end of the world. With wider information and a broader view they speak as those having authority. In his speech at the civic reception yesterday the Prime Minister, while recognising the further sacrifices that might he required to bring r.ermany completely to her knees, insisted that nothing short of an unconditional surrender would satisfy the champions of justice and civilisation. There could he no armistice with an infamous criminal whose bond was a by-word among the nations and whose hands were dripping with the blood of innocent women and children; but there must be punishment and reparation, sharp and substantial in the one case and adequate in the other. After the War.

' Sir Joseph Ward, while fully concurring with Mr Massey's view of what was imperative in the present and the immediate future, following his colleague, found congenial expression for his perennial optimism in anticipating some of the social and industrial developments brought about by the war. His allusions to the marvellous progress made in the mastery of the air, closely wrapped up with these developments, were particularly interesting. He had seen an aeroplane capable of carrying la Inns, or a hundred men, with fuel enough to enable it to travel 1000 miles at the rate of 125 miles an hour, and he bad not the slightest doubt that within a very short time of the conclusion of the war such machines would be giving New Zealand a 10-hour mail service with Australia and maintaining regular communication between the Mother Country and America. Getting to Work Again. Though the party leaders have bad to spare mucji time to public receptions ' and to social obligations of one kind and another since their return to Wellington on Monday, thev have not been neglecting the business of their offices. Between making speeches and exchanging courtesies with the scores of friends who have wished to assure them of their goodwill, their working hours have been broken and irregular, but already they have managed to pick up the threads of their various Departments and to realise how well they have been represented by their colleagues during their absence. The statement of the public accounts for the first half of the financial year was ready for Sir Joseph Ward as he stepped off tie train, and was given out to the papers last night with a cordial acknowledgment of the ability with which the Hon. A. M. Myers had tilled the Minister's shoes. The Political Situation. Though the Prime Minister still declines to discuss the results of the two recent by-elections in their relation to the political situation, it is obvious he is not greatly perturbed by what has happened during his absence. Nor can he be drawn into any expression of opinion concerning the criticism of the National Cabinet by Mr Sykes, the member for Masterton, one of his own personal supporters. Mr Sykes' complaint is that the Covernmen t in its very proper and admirable zeal for winning the war has neglected the domesticaffairs of the country, particularly in the matter of the cost of living. This, of course, is a very general complaint among a large section of electors, but the Minister hopes when Mr Sykes fully understands what the Government has done he will be disposed to considerably modify his criticism.