MR. ROBERTSON.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1375, 28 February 1912, Page 6

MR. ROBERTSON.

WILL BREAK HIS PLEDGE. HIS EXPLANATION. Mr. J. ROBERTSON (Otalti) said that ono conclusion to which he had been led by the debate was that he with other new membeTS was fortunate in having no political past that could bo raked up against them. Tho debate had been almost a replica of tho controversy that had been carried on prior to the last oloction, when tho Opposition had criticised the administration of tho Government, and apologists for the Ministry had urged the people to remember its legislative record. One party asked to bo returned to power becauso of what it had done in tho past, and the other party asked to be returned to power because of what it had not done in the past. Mr. Robertson expressed a hope that tho influence of the Labour party would Lw to bring politics back once nioro to questions of principle, and that the great political fights of the future would be along particularly defined lines of principle rather than on lines of party or persons. Mr. Robertson was proceeding to discuss the announcement by the Prime Minister of his intention to resign when he was interrupted by tho adjournment. When tho House resumed last evening, tho gallorics were crowded, and there was an atmosphere of restrained excitement over the House due to the penoral opinion that members were at last to divide upon the fateful amendment. Every member was in his place when Mr. Robertson continued liis speech. He said that Opposition criticism of the present Government had been directed mainly at its administration. Ho took it that if the Opposition partv could find little in the legislation of the Government to criticise, and, on tho other hand, directed criticism ntrainst its administration, and if the feeling of the country was on the same lines, giving it a new Administration did nnt necossjrilv mean going back on the Liberal legislation of tho past. (Government henr, hears.) As ono of those n'ewlv returned to Tonresent labour in the Ho"-"e he desired to Mio tho words of his colleague, tho member for Wanganui. to the effect that the Labour party-in this jTouso did not stand as representing organised Labour only, but must represent all sections of tho community, which rendered useful service and made their livelihood by their labour as distinct from that section whoso Income was dorivwl chiefly from unearned increment and from the labour of tho /real working mass of the cornmunitv. The small farmer would find a placo in tlm Labour party. He was in asreennent with mor.lv.of the criticism of the Government. Tie attributed nuieh oC the ('issatisfaction in the Railway Service to the determination of tho Government to make the railways a commercial proposition intended to return a profit instead of Tecognising thnt their primarv importance was as o. public service. While anything in (he direction of setting r.p a hereditary, aristocracy Mr, Robertson said Hint he could not see that the'ncnonlnnco of a baronetcy hv the Prime 'Minister mattered verv much. The Defence. Act. he stated, had Ibeen carried in an undemocratic way. He held that to take lads of H and remove them from parental authority they were going tho right iw to work to interfere

with tho sanctity of tho home. He believed that tho principle embodied in the Act destroyed or took precedence of tho other relationships of life in a most unjustifiable degree,

About Pledges. Mr. Robertson concluded his speech with a long Statement regarding the attitude ho intended to take up in tho forthcoming division. He had never given any pledgo to, nor endeavoured to secure tho voto of, thoso who were merely opposed to the Government. Whatever pledges ho gave to his constituents were given for tho first time on August 20, over threo months before tho election came on, and when tho matter of one's pledge in a division such as this could not have had any power on a candidate's chances whatever. Ho took up tho attitudo at that time—becnuso thoso responsible for his nomination had a grievance against tho Administration—that ho would assist to turn tho Ward Administration out of office. He also took care to state that he was just as strongly opposed lo the party led by Mr. Mnssoy. "I find myself in this position," said Mr. Robertson. "The Administration has given an undertaking to this Houso that it is going to resign. I tako it that the amendment now before this House thus becomes an amendment which will have the effect not of turning tho Ward Administration out of those benches because it is going out in any case, but it is really a resolution to put Mr. Massey into power. (Ministerialists: Hear, hear.) I would never give a pledge to assist Mr. Massey or his party into power. When the time conies that that party can come into this House with a mandate from tho people of the country I would bo the last to grudge them.their seats on the Treasury benches'. (Hear, hear.)" Mr. Robertson continued that the letter of his pledge rsnuired him to supvote of no-confidence in the Ward Administration. Either he must keep to the letter of. his pledge and break the spirit of it or he must net in accordance with the spirit and break the letter. When tho issue almost depended on the votes of one or two members, the attitude of every member and particularly a member placed as ho was was one for very serious consideration. He claimed that ho had thought seriously about the matter.

Those Meetings. Hon. members might hare seen that meetings had been held with the object of releasing him from his pledges, but ho did not think that any meeting could release him from a pledge. He had thought the matter through,' and had arrived at the decision which he had adopted simply through' taking various factors into account. As he had stated right through ho was opposed to the Ward Administration. He was opposed to the policy of the Opposition party. Sinco they were to get rid of the Ward Administration, he did not see why ho should give a new lease of life to the Opposition party, and assist it to get into power. Further than this the position of parties in the House at the present time did not correctly show the expressed views of the electors.' The member for one constituency could not be present through illness, and, iu addition to this, a majority of the votes cast at the election were given for the Liberal rarty, and not for the Opposition He felt sure that it was best that a majority of people should rule in the country, and that a party supported only by a minority should not occupy tho Ministerial benches. Whatever might be said in regard to tho position he had taken up, he knew—and it was an unfortunate thing in the public life of this country that it. was so—that whatever way he had elected to go in this division, there would be the same vile innuendo and slanders. This was nart of what he would have to face, and it was unfortunate that the, great mass of the people could understand more of the mere letter of a pledge than of what was implied in the whole pledge or of the spirit underlying the words used. He believed that, in the course of a few months, as tho party in power realised the pass to which they had brought themselves, and how they had failed to maintain tho principles for which they wero supposed to stand, and when tliey enmo to understand that the people required a lead, politics in this would bo revivified, and it would find itself once moro upon the path of real progress and of democratic reform. (Applause from Government members.)