AN ADVOCATE OF FUSION.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20096, 27 November 1930, Page 10

AN ADVOCATE OF FUSION.

— MR DOWNIE STEWART'S OPINIONS. dangkr threatening new ZEALAND.

. ASSOCIATION v DUNEDIN, November 26. "Speaking as an individual member of Parliament,' said the Hon. AV. Dowiiie Htewart to-night, "I regard any measure of fusion as desirable if it will stop the orgy of uneconomic, loan expenditure which threatens to land New Zealand in t-lio same mess as Australia if persisted in. T have advocated fusion ever since I entered Parliament, and when the National Government was formed in 1915 I hoped the union would remain permanent. While I can quite appreciate Mr Coates's difficulties in the matter, X. believe that the soundest men in the United Government realise that Party interest ought to Vie subordinated to the avoidance of the great and real dangers with which the country i 3 faced.

"It i.; not easy for an Opposition to open up proposals for fusion without being suspected of seeking office. In my view Mr Coates would never take oflice except as a national duty, and when he believed it was the wish of the electors. The Government is the Party that should open up any proposals for fusion. There must bo no artificial fusion of inconsistent elements created solely for the purpose of keeping out Labour, otherwise it will be resented by the electors. "Bo serious are our present problems," added Mr Stewart, "that if feasible I would support the creation of a real National Government, such as Great Britain had during the war, with representation from Labour, United, and Reform. But the New Zealand Labour Party refused to share the burden of government during the war, and would still refuse to ally itself with the other Parties. That is no doubt in accordance with their constitution, so that a real National Government must remain in New Zealand a polities! dream in the meantime. But that should not prevent some steps from being taken to form a strong Party to try to eopo with the serious price level situation and to put a stop to the huge uneconomic loan expenditure."