WELLINGTON TOPICS

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14820, 7 December 1921, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE SESSION—MAKING HASTE. . (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, December 5. Tno possibility and the propriety of closing the session before Christmas -. have been much discussed in political i» circles during the week-end. Of the possibility there appears to be little doubt. Ministers, no less than private members, arc anxious to avoid carrying business over, into the New Year, and the public, speaking generally, are quite unconcerned about the matter. The Dominion reminds its readers this morning that the Tariff' Bill of 1907 " V" was put through all its stages in the • • "House in a little over three-weeks, and sees no reason why Mr Massey and bis colleagues should not vastly improve upon this notable achievement. In some circumstances, it says, haste would give definite grounds for criticism. But in the present case the Reform organ conveniently assumes, "the House reflects a belief held by a-ma-jority of its members that no useful 'purpose would be served by dragging out debate on a tariff-which has been based on the best expert advice available, and which breaks new ground so far as this country is concerned, and admittedly is in some respects highly experimental." This nearly enough the attitude of Parliament. 1 3523 ■ On Trust: In former years highly experimental legislation breaking new ground would not have been accepted on trust, however capable the expert advice behind 7 it might have been. Mr Massey. when sitting on the other side of the House, "ivas the very first and the most vehement in denouncing any attempt at •his 'sort of thing. But the present Opposition, with the exception of the official Labour section, seems quite incapable of sustaining any serious fight against the" forces of the Government. If the Liberal group would insist upon the work of the session being completed in a decent and orderly fashion it would receive support not only from its associates, but also from a number of Independents and Reformers. There is a fueling in the House itself that the work of the session is being scamped, and without turning this to account | for mere party purposes, Mr Wilford would be quite within his rights in giving, it an opportunity for expression. ..;Of course Mr Massey would have his "'"'way whatever happened, but he always ~,. is amenable to the reason that would have, him shape his way along the line of least.resistance, and It is the duty - of the Opposition to pwint out to him the direction in which that line lies. A Vindication. A letter from the secretary of the Sheepowncrs Farmers' Federation read by the Prime Minister in the House a week or two ago, conveyed to most people the impression that the deputation from the porduccrs of the Dominion which waited upon Mr Massey some time earlier had been guilty of a gross indiscretion in referring to the hard lot of the v farmers. The secretary of the Federation, who, with twp of his principals, had been a member of the deputation, in his letter told Mr Massey that he. and the Federation ./wished to disassociate themselves altor gether from the representations made to him and to express their regret that they had been dragged into the affair under a misapprehension. Naturally, this brought very strong protests from other members of the deputation, and these had the immediate effect of inducing the secretary to climb down precipitately without waiting to be shot at further. He says now that he and his colleagues- had approved 'of Mr W. D. Hunt's address to the Minister before it was delivered and that they still think it admirable in .every particular. The remarks he had repudiated were the unrecorded utterances .of some other people. It is a pity he did not say so in .writing to Mr Massey. Had 'he done so he would have saved the Minister from a very embarrassing position. The Trade and the Tariff. A conference of licensed victuallers is to be held here to-morrow for the purpose of fixing a new scale of prices for the various alcoholic drinks affected by the tariff now passing through Parliament. That there will be very substantial rises there can be no doubt. Before the war and the increased taxation a bottle of passable whisky could .' be bought in Wellington for as little as ss-6d. But since then the price of the same spirit has advanced, from one cause and another, to 12s 6d, and it is i expected the conference will put on a further 2s 6d to cover- the extra duty. The Trade had fairly, long and tolerably precise notice of how it was going to fare under the new tariff, and most of the licensed victuallers in the city have laid in large stocks; but it is expected they will begin to trade on "replacement values" at the beginning of the new year. Smaller "spots" and snorter drinks are expected among the economies.