The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1914. ANOTHER CHANGE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2335, 17 December 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1914. ANOTHER CHANGE

' The political situation shows another change duo to a happening in a most unexpected quarter. At latest advices Mr. Campbell had won tho Hawke's Bay seat for tho Government with a majority of some 200 odd votes, but the recount has changed the position. • It seems that a parcel of 100 votes was wrongly counted in Mr. Campdell's favour, whereas they should have been credited to Dr. M'Mab. The result is that Dr. M'Nab has now secured the seat by a small majority of nine votes. This makes the Government strength only equal to that of the Warcjists and the. Labour-Socialists combined.. There still remain uncertain the Taumarunui seat, in whicb the Opposition candidate has a lead of 110 votes, and seems unlikely to be unseated by. the 300 abteent votes yet to be counted, and the Dunediii Central seat, .wnero " the Labour candidate leads Mr. Statham by nine votes, and in connection with which developments may be looked for. In neither of these cases do the Government stand to lose and they have a remote possibility of gaining a seat. As the position is, however, it looks ■ as though' there would be a tie. The situation is a most unsatisfactory one for the two principal political parties and also for the general public, but must be extremely gratifying.'to the LabourSocialists. It is what they have been striving for. So far as the Reform Party is concerned, it is a united body of members elected on a common platform, arid pledged to a common policy, It consists of 40 members representing half the strength of the House of Representatives. Sir Joseph Ward on the other hand has a party of 33 members, and is forced to rely also on seven members of the Labour Party who owe him no allegiance, The Labour-Socialists how dominate the situation—up to a point. They have the Ward Party in their hands. Whatever Sir Joseph Ward may attempt to do in the way of defeating the Reform Party" oi" in securing office for. himself must bo dependent'on the Labour.-Socialista. So long as the Reform Party continues in office tho Labour extremists cannot dominate the situation. With ! Sir Joseph Ward in office the Lab-our-Socialists would havo the Government of the country at their mei;cy. That is the position that has been reached. Should the final counts leave the present positfon unchanged, neither the Reform Party nor the Ward Party could hope to carry on for any time. In the circumstances'two courses are open:'"• compromise or dissoluUnder ordinary conditions a dissolution would be the more satisfactory method of settling the difficulty.' But the circumstances are not ordinary., The country does not want another General Election, and if---it> can'bo possibly avoided then most people will be duly grateful. At , first sight any working arrangement between the Masbey and the Ward Parties might seem impossible of "adjustment,, but the only real obstacle is a certain bitterness of party feeling and the pronounced antagonism of a few extremists. Wβ have pointed out for the past two years that there are many men in the Ward Party much more in sympathy with the Reform Party's policy and programme' than they are with the ideas of the extremists air tached to their own side in politics. Sir John Findlay emphasised this point early in the present year. The only real difference between these members of, the Ward Party and. the Reform Party is the label which they attach to themselves. It is inevitable that if sorde readjustment of party divisions is not made now it must come within the next year or two. Sir Joseph Ward himself must see this. The Labour-Socialist Party is attaching to itself the extreme Radical element which formerly supported the Liberal Party while the moderates of the old Liberal Party are gradually drifting towarde Reform. This is a fact provod by election results for some years past, and the pace of the drift is likely to be accelerated by recent, happenings. Under ordinary conditions events might be allowed to take their course, and a period of political disturbance might be faced with equanimity in the certainty that out of the turmoil would emerge a new and more clear-cut division of partics making for a considerable term of settled government. But tho Dominion is passing through too critical a time to justify political parties allowing their party differences or personal ambitions to interfere with the close and careful administration of the country's, affairs. Few realise how miich the war has already cost New Zealand, and no one can tell how greatly our resources may yet be taxed before the end comes. Those Controlling tho country's affairs should be in a strong position and free to concentrate their whole energies on meeting the heavy responsibilities which must necessarily rest on them in the exceptional circumstances occasioned by the war. Neither Mr. Massey nor Sir Joseph War could hope to be in this position under tho existing state of partics, and a further appeal to tho electors would mean that Ministers would have to neglect for a time that closo attention to their official duties which is so necessary at tho present juncture, and the country would once more suffer from the disturbing effects of a General Election, possibly without' a sufficiently decisive result to remedy the existing disability. Under the conditions which now prevail it seems to us the obvious duty of the leaders of the two principal parties to come together to seo if some basis for a working agree-, ment mutually satisfactory cannot be arrived at. This may at first, sight appear distasteful to both partics, it would, involve sacrifices by .both parties; but, if there ever was a Lime when the party politician should rise superior to the narrow interests of party nnri place the inI lAiwfcs of his country above all others

it,is now ; It is not with any great hope of its acceptance that we put forward this suggestion, but we are confident that on reflection it -would meet with the approval of tho great bulk of the people of New Zealand.