MR. VEITCH, M.P.

Dominion, Issue 1337, 15 January 1912, Page 6

MR. VEITCH, M.P.

+ GATHERING IN HIS HONOUR. INTERESTING SPEECHES. • THE GUEST AND CABINET BANK. ' (Br Teiczrar>h.-Special Correspondent.) Wanganui, January 13. A complimentary social was tendered to Mr. W. A. Veitch, M.P., by the Wanga- ,. niii Labour party last evening in tho j Druids' Hall, which was crowded. Ini foresting speeches were delivered by promj iiient members-of the party and others. ' In tho course of si thoughtful speech on the future of tho Labour party, Mr. Wal- [ ter Grey, referring to the report that Mr. , Veitch Had been offered.a portfolio in the [ present Government, said that he did not , think it. possible that Mr. Veitch could 3 ever accept a portfolio in tho Ward Govt eminent, but lie gave it as his own per- . sonal opinion, and without in any way t binding; tho party, that .Mr. Veitch could r accept a portfolio under Mr. Massey, al- , ways provided : tkat he was allowed to ; keep his Labour principles intact. Mr. ; Vt-itch believed in an elective 'Executive, I and he understood that Mr. Massey favV ourcd giving it a trial. . There was no reason why he should. not. Mr. Veitch , would be quite entitled.to accept a place . m Mr. Massey's Cabinet on condition that ' Mr. Massey brought down an Elective , Executive Bill, and, after that was pass--1 ed, Mr. Massey, Mr. Veitch, and evenother Minister would have to take) his chance with tho House. Mr. Grey predicted that every future election "would seo tho Labour party receiving fresh ac- ; cessions of strength. In. the meantime, ? however, they must keep their organisation going. Ho hoped they would give Mr. Veitch a chance, and that thev would j bo patient and tolerant, and ■attract to their ranks every decent citizen who would do his share in working for the-good of the whole country. The Portfolio Temptation. r Mr. W. Loo Martin, a prominent uniont ist, referring to a suggestion that tho 1 Liberal and.Labour parties should unite, i indicated that there was no possibility of 1 their ever doing so. The Labour party , would be prepared to accept anyone who ii was willing to join its ranks, but in fuf turo it would stand only as a Labour l party. ... " . Another well-known unionist,' Mr. T. G. . Love, said that Wanganui had done well » in so emphatically returning a Labour ~ member who had declared against Sir 8 Joseph Ward. Mr. Veitch had done no bending, and, unlike some Labour candidates, did not try to get in by sticking to Sir Joseph Ward. Mr. L'.-N. Liffiton, a member of the Ke- , form party, regretted that all politicians were not like Mr. Veitch. If they were ' there would be no need for different par- . ties, and there would be. only one party. ' l'hey had all heard of the temptation of • St. Anthony, and he (the speaker) looked ™ on Mr. Veitch as the political St. An- ■ thony, for he had had the strength .of r mind to resist the tremendous temptation - recently placed before him. All honour to him foT it! j "When they had Outed Wardism." 1 ' Mr. Geo. Hutchison, who was loudly . applaudel. expressed pleasure at being j present. Once ho himself was out of the , way, after the first ballot, lie had taken a great interest in Mr. Veitch's return, and would follow his career in Parliament with interest The lieform party knew that Mr. Veitch was an out-and-out Labour member, and would follow his own t ideals, but it looked to him to do his best under tho circumstances, and ho had no doubt that when Mr. Massey formed Ins Cabinet, he would bring down . a. programme that both the Roform and Labour parties could support. That, at any rate, was his hone, and when they had outed the Ward Government, Mr. Veitch would bo quite at liberty to follow his own ideals, and do what he thought was best. He (Mr. Hutchison) recognised the growing force of Labour. f He agreed that it ought to be more represented, and he looked to Mr. Veitch proving himself the best Labour member _ in the New Zealand Parliament. jj ' Mr. Veitch's Address. Mr. Veitch, who was accorded a fine re- - ception, laid stress on the need of the - Labour party organising for the future. - It was work and enthusiasm that won a - hard fight nowadays, for .-,. candidate - could accomplish little by himself. It - seemed still to be believed that it was - the head of a political party that did l everything, but that was a mistake, be- . cause even the greatest of men were but ■• ordinary mortals after all. To-day was J the day of great'movements, rather than ■ pf great men. in older times it was the . leaders who stood out, because tho rank - and file were ignorant and had no say 3 but to-day pe.iple thought, and they had - votes, and in future it would be the groat 1 parties themselves which would win fights - rather than leaders. They must recognise - that, or the Labour party would not siic- ' coed. _ rhey must get together, organise, ' and sink their differences and jealousies. f One of their first duties was to learn to 5 trust each other. He was proud of tho 3 result of the election in Wanganui, not merely as a compliment to himself, but v because it was another sten forward for ■ Labour, which would be stronger in every - successive Parliament. When "people thorJ oughly understood what the party and its l aspirations were it would secure'and retain ' its hold. It was natural that tho party • should be misunderstood at first, because • hitherto, extremists and those with tho 3 loudest voices had been the most active, in it, and the opinions of the extremists had, unfortunately, be->n attributed to the whole party. They must avoid tho danger of allowing these extremists and ;. loud-mouthed men to run the show. Thev must be reasonable and just above all s things. Tor himself he was not break- • nig his neck' to bo a Cabinet Minister, e His object was to devote himself, to the e Labour movement, and he wanted to do e his. share to help it on. If he could pet a a portfolio without sacrificing his prinf oiples he would take it, but not otherwise 0 His first duty was to the Labour party 1 ?"•« ??}" could rest , i \ ss '»'<"l that he would t faithfully carry out his platform pledges \ Ho had seen good men,ri«e and then go 5 down, and nearly always thev went dnwn . because they acquired a habit of actin" " SJ, f x P Klien fJ'. instead of on principle", e J hat was tho dancer that confronted „ every public man. If a man continued to . act on principle, tho people would learn , t to trust him, and though his career ;> might not Ik so brilliant as the man who . followed expediency, it would reflect j greater credit on him, and last longer