The Dominion. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1912. THE FACTS OF THE POSITION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1373, 26 February 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1912. THE FACTS OF THE POSITION.

The break in the political week will have afforded members an opportunity to review the Parliamentary situation with' cooler judgment and in a truer perspective than was perhaps possible during the heat of the no-confidence debate which has been occupying their attention since Tuesday last. Parliament, they will no doubt have recalled, was summoned for one specific purpose, and one only. The general elections left the Ward Government in a minority—there was, as everyone knows, a majority of members elected pledged to- their, constituents to turn the Ward Government out of office. The only possible hope for the party in power was for it to be able to induce some of these pledged members to dishonour their pledges and betray those who had elected them as their representatives. In other words to retain office by virtue of dishonoured votes. Parliament was called together by his Excellency the Governor so that members might give effect to the verdict of the people disclosed at the polls—to carry out the sentence of death passed upon an Administration which had lost the confidence of the country. Nothing could be plainer than this, and it would hardly bo worth while recapitulating such obvious facts were it not for the attempts which have been made to obscure the situation and confuse the issue. The position to-day, so far as the main issue is concerned, is exactly as it was when Parliament was summoned, and differs only in details to the further detriment of the Ward Oovernment. Members must realise when they review the situation dispassionately that since Parliament met a few days ago the whole energies of the Government have been devoted to the one end. Regardless of every other consideration it has striven to prevent the decision of the people recorded against it in December being jriven effect to. Every.interest outside the purely selfish desire to cling to office has been sacrificed in nn endeavour to trick tln> rnuntrv. The di-epfst depths of pctliliral degradation have b'jcn sounded in the. desperate eiulo.ivoni , to win a temporary reprieve. Xol only lias tlm base appeal been made to nfiiibcrs to dishonour tln.'ir plorlgrs: not. only have thr; public.funds. \\v> limo of members, aurl the dignify of Parliament been sacrificed by ncccilrssly prolonging the no-confidenrc d?b«to , in the ho'po that outside oressuve

might be brought to liear on members to break their pledged word! but tin; I'isniK MiMSiKi; has even the length of offering to resign his position as Leader of tin , party; if mcmbi'i's will only first enable him to flout public opinion by giving him a majority on the vital division. Ik any greater confession of weakness possible I Members looking back over the proceedings of Parliament since, the opening day cannot, fail to realise that the thoughts farthest from the mind of the Ward Government, throughout- have, been the wish of the, people and the public interest. There are members on the Government side of the House as well as thousands of .supporters of Liberalism outside of Parliament who must feel the position keenly and realise the hopelessness of thy outlook for the, party under its present leaders. What hope can so decadent a party have of winning fresh recruits to its ranks'! Who would be so foolish as to ally himself to a party so lost to decency and so open to contempt; a party containing so many of the elements which make for disintegration and so few ol those qualities which arouM enthusiasm and win public approval. The ' Wabd Government has never been conspicuous for its courage and it is "making its exit under circumstances which will still further besmirch the name of Liberalism and render still more- difficult the work of those on whom will fall the' task of seeking to rehabilitate it in the eyes of tlv people of New Zealand. All the scheming, all the trickery of tlv Government, we are convinced, wil' , come to nought, for the simple reason that the members of the party know that their leaders stand condemned by the public and that caeh day that passes in such circumstances as at present prevail in Parliament must sink the party still lower i<public esteem. Members, during the current -week, will have to face : simple issue, and face it frankly. Either they are going to break their election pledges to their constituents and make their nnmes and their cause a by-word in the politics o' the country, or they are going to keep faith with those ;who elected them and vote the Ward Government out of office as the people willed. There is no room for subterfuge or quibbling and the sooner the vote is taken the better pleased the country will bo.