A PAINFUL DUTY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 891, 10 August 1910, Page 7

A PAINFUL DUTY.

'"'-'V-.MR. "FIELD'-AND THE NO-CONFI-V s DENCE MOTION. v "BETWEEN THE "'DEVIL AND THE ■',■-■''■•■•..:,■ '".■',- : :; : : ; DEEP .SEA." , : , : ',.'..' ~, f'.-.'.."' A. somewhat '.curious reference to his ,: '■' action in supporting Air.' ! iiiassey/s. no- - ~'coniiilenee amendment on the land ques- :"'.. .tion ,wus. given-by "'jUr. JTield, who is a ■'.' Govenunent freeholder, ,in. the House ... last evening. The Leader of the 'Opposition, said i\ir.l°ield, had his own game ,■-.,-' to play when he. moved the. aineudinent, and he played it right up to the •'. : . hilt.'■ He did not blame Air. Massey for i-V/ihat. ■ Aliv Alassey moved'.an aniend- ■ ;- ment/.aa he.had done more'than ouce ■ : -before,: in .the. direction, of securing the " i'reehold tenure"; The 'amendment moved ['■', /lon this ■ becasion was one' which'inany :■' ~freeholders like himself could support; ... in fact, they', were pledged, to.support • ■; it. ■ In /past-years'the amendment was .'•■■; such"that, out-andnaut;- freeholders who .. ■'. had any regard.fbr the State's interests could ribt'suppbrt it:- Last session Mr. Massey moved a resolution 'that ' the freehold at the original valuation should ; .' be'.'girai , : to.the'noldera of renewable . leases.' That' would be a sheer robbery •'. of; the State: in his-opinion, and he : could not support',it. This "year :M.r.. .. Massey ■ brought, down ;'a' : resolution more - in.keeping'with his.view.of the situation. It; contained two proposals whicn ■-.■.•-,' did' not , meet, with'his: approval—the . first ■ of- these being:, the proposal that . the money-derived' from- the,: sale' or . freeholds .should.'be ■utilised'for.the -nc; . '•': qujsition : of ■ further .-lands, ■ for ;'scttle-:ment;■■■••'Hβ,-dKTnot thihk.that that/waa • necessary. -or'.Tight. -He believed l , that -.:■'-■; if -a'million or a , million and a half were ■:. kept always invested for, the purchase .-.' of.ilands lor..settlement, that would be

.. ample ■ for'; th'e purpose! .He also dis- '. -agreed.. wjthV.the statement in ihe that the Native land settlement policy should be more speedy. He ;.' was noiv. satisfied with .the progress of ■;:\ihat:policy^'.:"'•■■ '-.'O ...;;. _; ■:.'■;...',..',..,. ; '-■; Having ■; given his "pledge, " however; !;,..a't the la3t general election .to .support . : ; any. motion , , inr-favour of. tho .freehold ;.:■■ tenure, it his duty, : though , a somewhat piiriful and unpleasant one; . to. vota against his 'party arid go into .the.'Opposition•'■lobby. , '"-.Since- doing.io. ,: he. had received many congratulations ".from; constituents and .others.,-:,He aid ■. noty seek such congratulations, breiuse _, he'did not regard nis vote on that oc- •; casjon as. anything of an .achievement,, 'anything to be .proud, of ,: . arid .he 'hoped it, would never fall to his. lot to ;.-."; havuHo. repeat it., His feeling .was one ; of Jibt "meanness, but rsoriiethirig -.ap- ,.: proaching it. :He .felt'mean': to the '■■•.Government,he supported, mean;to.his -.: ■ party; and particularly. ..mean -to.,those .'■•. freuhoMers' on his side of: the Bouso .. who -.had stood- loyally'by ' their, chief■ and party and supported them. in tho lobby.i It. had never.come home to him ; iiiti.ii he was 'in,; Lhat position, whether a maii who called himself a party inau ~'.'. should give a pledge' to vote in a particular, direction' oil:a; no-cohfidenramo-tion,, for a ;party.;man.who gaVe.such a pledge: becamevno party man. -At any -.■.'tnne,.:on.'a catch division.Jie niighHirid )'.. himself by; a siliglo vote pill ting/outof -..i';, power -the Goyornment he. supported, -i. and whose. policy. he ■ supported except '-.:■; on omi.niattcr, and'putting into power :,'a party.'with whose polii:y be-'was.' at ;, variance. It became a quest ion,- then, , whether a member had; a right'to mako a pledge such as he had made to vote :i. in a certain, way.'on' a; no-confidence motion, ■'.'-.■■.;■' •;.: :■ , '■'.:'■'•'•, ■■■■'!' '

And what did a member gain by doing it? asked Mr.-Field. He had always ;been.'a strong supporter of the I'arniers'"Union, but ;tbe ; union ex-tracted-from- candidates a pledge: to ' vote ;in ,a particular direction. In this case be was talking/of the freehold. By .giving that pledge, candidates embroiled themselves' to some, extent with the Government' supporters in' their electorates', not of the same way' of thinking, , biif thoui;h ■ there' was a sort of ' tacit understanding ■ that haviu" given the pledge asked .by the Farmers' : Union, they should. receive some support- from i that union, or at ■ least not be molested by them, they found men who were prominent in the union fighting, like demons to keep a man sopledged out of Parliament, and put in his place a man who had not subscribed to tho J) armors' limon pledge at all: does, not suem to me a fair 'deal itnut a candidate giving such pledges as T gave should receive the treatment 1 received. I am- not blamnig the Farmers, union as a whole. .'■ ■■'■.:

, J ( r/, ■ ,* * U wont on to ask. what the pledged. freeholder got in the House If he was sitting on the Government side he found ; that his position on the land- question was made use of lor t!j£ purpose of punishing him. Motions of this kind, were moved, and ho had to rote on ono side or the other. If he 'roted , for the motion he got into trouble with his- party, and the Government, and.if.hevoted.with the Government the fact' was 'made 1 use of against him at election time, so that he. was between the devil and the deep sea. He was not. complaining or rogretting his vote. Were the vote taken to-morrow, he ■•'would .have "to do' the same as he bad done. Then they found Opposition leaseholders -supporting the jnotipn-for'.the freehold. If six more Government members had walked into the Opposition lobby as he had'done the Government would have been overthrown on the question of the freehold by the vote of two leaseholders. That was not a fair way to get into'power