THE TAIL WAGS THE PARTY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1879, 13 October 1913, Page 6

THE TAIL WAGS THE PARTY.

It has become increasingly' clear that tho "Liberal" party in the House of Representatives has been too long out of hand for Sir Joseph Ward or anyone else to control it. As a matter o£ fact, its Leader would seem to be a _ quite unimportant factor in shaping the policy and tactics of tho party, and .really exercises less influence than tho littlo tail of extreme Radicals who thrust themselves on all occasions into tho forefront of the party's onslaughts on the Government. The obstruction of the Estimates was forced on the party a few weeks ago through the tactics of the extremists in its ranks, and the obstruction on Friday and Saturday last started in the same quarter, and the more reasonable and responsible members were dragged in. It is generally known that Sir Joseph Ward threw over his leasehold following and tho Labour members who are dragged at the heels of the party when he declared in favour of the freehold and voted for the second reading of tho Massey Government's Land Bill. But the tail wagged the Opposition party. Only nine of the party followed its Leader into the lobby with the Government, while fifteen and tho Labour membors deserted him and voted in opposition to the policy for which ho had declared himself. During the obstruction which the tail of his party dragged him into Sik Joseph Ward endeavoured to make it appear that what ho was objecting to was tho attempt of the Government to force business through. It was tho best excuse he could find, no doubt, but there was not a member of tho House who did not know that tho obstruction was being carried on in an endeavour to block the granting of the freehold— in other words, to block what Sir Joseph Ward, as Leader of the party, had declared himself to be in favour of. Speaker after speaker on the Opposition side of _ tho House declared their opposition to be based on those grounds. Ono member who has constantly voted with the Opposition went so far as to urge that tho obstruction should be continued indefinitely, in order to force a dissolution on the question of tenure. It has been plain to everyone who has given any close study to what has been going on in Parliament that Sir Joseph WAnn is quite out of sympathy with the extremo views of the Radical tail of his party, and that they equally feel that they are more at home with tho Labour-Social-ists than with him. At present their common desire to injuro the Government holds them together, but Sir Joseph Ward, with his experience of the responsibilities of office, cannot fail to realise that while tho party is so largely swayed by such irresponsibles as Messrs. Isitt, Wittv. M'G'allum, Russell, and others of that talkative type, and is dependent on tho support of such an clement as is represented by Messrs. Payne and Rohertson, there iB little if any hope for either building up a solid party, or of commanding tho respect of the country. There are members on the Opposition side of tho Houso who, like Bib Jobumi Ward,, must rcj..

sent tho farcical behaviour and 6cnseless obstruction which tho extremists of their party persist in practising, and it is only a question of time when matters must come to an issue between the different sections. The party is divided in its sympathies, and is full of conflicting elements which can never hope to unite for any length of time. Wo have long held the view that the big change ahead in New Zealand politics is the splitting up of the present so-called Liberal party into two sections—one of which, the moderates, will find a place with the Government, while tho other, tho extreme Radicals, will throw _in their lot with the Labour-Socialists. The division in tho House of Representatives on the second reading of tho Laud Bill afforded an indication of iiw nature of tho cleavage in the ranks of the "Liberals," but we believe that the re-casting of parties on tho lines wq have stated is progressing more rapidly amongst the electors than it is within Parliament itself; and that before next election day members will realise this more clearly than they do to-day. In tho meantime it may be expected that in tho House of Representatives the extremists who constitute tho tail of tho Opposition will continue to wag the party and lead it into further indiscretions.