THE ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2262, 23 September 1914, Page 7

THE ELECTIONS

MR. MASSEY'S STATEMENT TO BE HELD THIS YEAR IN NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER OPPOSITION LEADER PROTESTS The Prime Minister made his promised statement in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon regarding the date of the elections. His announcement was that the elections will ■be held this year, in November or December., as usual.

Mr. Massey said it would be recollected 'that last week he had indicated that he would make a statement as from the Government with Tegard' to the date of the elections. A suggestion was made that in view of the war tlie strain and excitement' of the elections should b'e postponed for some time. Tho subject was one that had been given a great deal of serious and anxious consideration. Personally he had never given such serious thought to anything else since he had been in Parliament. It had been the subject of a conference between the Leader of the Opposition arid himself, and later between certain members of tho Opposition Party, including the Leader, and certain members of his own party, including himself. They had not been able to come' to any conclusion, because the matter was an exceedingly difficult one to deal "with. There was practically no precedent for what was proposed. His recollection was that there were only two precedents in British history for extending the term of a Parliament—one in tlfe time of the Long Parliament, and one very .much later. From a' democratic point of view, ho , thought it would be admitted that the electors had the right once in every three years to choose tho men to manage the affairs of the country for the next three years. Jhis was the constitutional position.. He would like to say further that no self-respecting Government could consent to hold office without the expressed approval of the electors of the Dominion unless there were very strong reasons for so doing.

Slackening of Hostilities. He had taken the opportunity of consulting one or two gentlemen -who knew very much more about warfare than ho did as to what would take pket, during the next few months in Europe, and the opinion had been expressed to him that it would be impossible to cany on a campaign, as it was now being carried on, over the winter months,'and that a large number of the contending forces would have to go into winter quarters. If this should happen,, then there would be a mitigation of hostilities early in the usual date for the elections. From another point of view, the position had very considerably changed lately. There was not now existing the stress and excitement that was general threo weeks ago. People iiad made up their minds that there could be only one 'possiblo outcome of the war, but they had also made up their minds that the war would not coino to an end quickly. As a consequence, people wero settling, down to their normal and ordinary business in a normal and ordinary way. Under those circumstances his colleagues and ,hin|self r had come to the conclusion that the' proper -thing-'to , do was to 'go ■on with the elections early in December— at the ordinary time. It was -impossible, now to fix a date definitely. After mature consideration, he could not help thinking that this was the best solution of the' difficulty that had arisen. fle assured honourable members that the 'Ministry had not looked upon the matter from a party point ofyiew, but from the people's point of view, and from the constitutional point of view.

The Opposition's Attitude. Sir Joseph Ward (Leader of the Opposition) said that he was strongly dpposed to the idea of holding the elections this year. He had not changed the_ views which he expressed in the House a month ago. , The fir6t reason he' would give was that every part ■■ of the Empire waa to-day involved in a war of unparalleled magnitude and unparalleled consequences, to the British Empire and the world as a whole. Our kith and kin were making enormous sacrifices on the Continent and on the sea, and in a little while our own men would be on their way to 'the front. Before the end of the year, thousands of people in this .country would be gravely anxious as to the. welfare- of their husbands, brothers, or relatives, even if those men were not actually at tho front at that time—the time at which the Government proposed to hold the elections. In hie opinion, people of the Dominion should' he entirely free from the disturbing effects and the bitterness which was usually engendered by political contests in this or any. other country. From the practical standpoint of trade and commerce, it appeared unfair to add to tho war trouble the upsetting consequences and influences of a general election. Parliament's duty was to minimise; not'to add to, the turmoil. The question of whether the time at which the Government proposed to hold the elections was favourable or unfavourable to any party was beside the question. It was an Empire question, and Parliament, should defer the elections till at..least March next.

The Prime Minister: Do you- think tho war will be over by March ?

Sir Joseph Ward said that if it was I'.not it would be easy to postpone the elections for another three months. He went on to say that he realised tiho enormous , difficulties which stood in the way of going beyond the triennial period which the people had been accustomed to, and that nothing but great difficulties in Empire affairs would justify it. He differed to some extent from the opinion uttered by the Primo Minister as to what tho position would be on the Continont'in November next. His opinion was that fighting would bo going on as vigorously in November and December as it was to-day. But he did not believe that fighting would be in progress for somo time after February; a period of calm would then ensue. He accepted no responsibility for the time chosen for tho holding of the elections; the Government must accept that, but tlie Opposition must acquiesce in whatever the Government proposed even if they did not agree with it. To him (Sir Joseph Ward) nothing was so obnoxious v as to contemplate a general election between now and the end of the year. It meant letting loose the war dogs of party politioa. The New Zealand Government's action was in great contrast to the action of the British Government. In tho Old Country, moreover, they had decided not to contest by-elections. As far as the Opposition was concerned, they acquiesced in tho Government's proposal, and accepted it with perfect equanimity: they were bound to, Ho regretted the decision, and would approach the general election with very great regret.' So far as. his party was concerned he had every confidence in tho result of the elections, and he wished to say that without bringing in party. In conclusion lie said he would rather be the leader of a party that sustained an honourable- defeat than of one that gained a mean victory.

The Sting in the Tall. The Right Hon. Mr. Mnssoy said he was sorry the Leader of the Opposition had concluded his speech with a reference to a mean victory. He had

not heard the Leader of the Opposition say that he would be willing, to postpone- tho elections until tho war was at an end. If ho could not do that then tho whole of his argument fell to the ground. Supposing the war lasted—as Lord Kitchener said it might—for three years, would tlic Leader of the Opposition be willing to postpone them and all the other elections till then ? He (Mr. Massoy) did not think he would. But to bo logical he must go the whole length. He (Mr. Massey) had himself at first thought that it might be advisable to hold the. elections in March, but so faor as he had been able to judge and from Svhat Sir Joseph Ward liimself now said March would be a very unsuitable* month because it was one of tlie busiest months in the Dominion, being one of the- harvest months. There was one thing he was convinced of, namely, that in Now Zealand they could not "hold a General Election in cither the winter or the harvest months. The Leader of the Opposition had, however, stated that if owing to tho war it was not still possible to hold tho elections they could be deferred for another three months. That would bring them to June, a winter month, when there were short days and bad roads and tracks that were almost impassable—certainly for women voters.

The Government's Dilemma. Hβ had looked_ at this matter from every point of view 'possible and had come to the conclusion that the elections should be held at the usual time. As to the Home Parliament, there had been no suggestion whatever about prolonging its life, and he felt sure that the elections thereMvould be held without any alteration of the life of the present Parliament, or any suggestion of postponing them, because the Home authorities fnll>) recognised thai it would be a very serious thing to tamper with the Constitution in this respect. He would like to ask the Leader of the Opposition what would be said if tho Government were to lengthen the term/of the present Parliament. They would bo charged with hanging on to their billets or their offioes. That had been said already. Mr. Russell (Avon) said he had never heard of it. 'Mr. Wilson: One of the pipers has already stated it. It has been said that some of tho North Island members are afraid to face their constituents. Mr. Massey said the fact had been communicated to Rim by a candidate ■who was not on his side. . Sir Joseph Ward: Perhaps he will be. Mr. Massey: .No, it is quite impossible for him to be a supporter of the party in power at the present time. Mr. Veitch: He may change his views as others have done.

Mr. Massey (looking at Mr. Veitch): Yes, I haye heard of people changing their opinions. (Laughter.) • The Government, continued Mr. Massoy, had been asking the people to go quietly on with their business and they themselves should set the people a good example. It had been stated, that 'only "10 per cent, of electors had voted in the Commonwealth elections. He had cabled tho head of the Commonwealth Government and had found out that that was not correct. The voting was 71 per cent., and that was the second highest poll on record there. Moreover, it must ho remembered that that election' took place at the height of the crisis. Tlie position now was quite changed and he believed that in December next the usual percentage of votes would be polled in New Zealand. Tlie Government was not for one moment seeking any party advantage;'they had considered the question from all points of view and had come to the conclusion that from tho Imperial point of view, and in the ,interests of the Dominion, it was desirable to hold tho elections at the usual time. . | . j ■ ! ..Sir':Josnpli' ;; Wa'rd !l s!iid>New Zealand and Australia could not'he compared in this matter. Australia was such a big country that there could .not bo a personal' campaign there! ■■■■?-■■-■