UNITED PARTY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 252, 23 September 1929, Page 6

UNITED PARTY.

MEMBERS CRITICAL. DISAGREEMENT IN CABINET. DUNEDIN, Sept. 22. Mr F. Waite, M.P., in an interview in Dunedin yesterday, after .commenting on the fact that members of the .douse of Representatives wbre becoming restive at the slow rate at which die business of Parliament was being Dransacted, stated in answer to a question whether ..there was any sign ot revolt among the members of the United Party, that he was not sure whether it' could be called revolt, but those United Party members who had promised a speedy disappearance of unemployment with cheaper bread and money at a rate lower than that at which it could be borrowed were naturally annoyed and very critical. The Jilinisters, however, seemed to be in a worse plight than private members, .they never knew when'their decisions or utterances were going to be rescinded or contradicted by the Prime Minister, who apparently was the only one allowed to make decisions. Asked if there were anything in the suggestion that the Minister of Public Works was not in agreement with the Minister of Transport in regard to the new Transport Bill, Mr "Waite said: “All Wellington knows that the new. Minister of Transport wants to take over the main highways administration, and finally tc get political control of the large sum of money collected as a result of the petrol tax, and it is eqiially well known that the Minister of Public Works disagrees. It is quite on the cards that there may be a split in the Cabinet over this matter, unless one side or the other swallows something very unpalatable. The new Transport Bill will be worth watching on the question of the possibility of another election in the near future. Mr Waite said that it was obvious that all the Prime Minister wanted was to get his taxation proposals through, collect a lot of revenue, splash the money about, and then have an appeal to the country. The United Party organisers, he said, were hard at work iu all parts of the country, and party money was available in plenty to pay organisers. All this was evidence of a belief that an election might come afr any time m the next twelve months.