THE SINKING OF PARTY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2512, 13 July 1915, Page 4

THE SINKING OF PARTY

Signs arenot wanting that a scction of 'the Opposition, arc very anxious to present tho 'National Ministry proposal coming to anything. Those members who are working in this direction are prompted by , different motives, but they .have one thing in common, and that is an inability to sink their party prejudices for the common good. Some think that the smallness of the Government's majority may lead to embarrassments, which will be helpful to the Opposition cause; others, on the fringe of tho front benches, with hopes oi Ministerial .office should their party ever get into power again, realise that a National Ministry would leave them out in the cold for the time being; a few'probably are intimidated by tho atti-tude-of tho Labour-Socialists, who refuse, to'recognise any National Ministry, and threaten all sorts of possibilities should 'one be formed. Instead of members approaching the question with tho sole, purpose in mind of aiming at a workable agreement under which the Dominion would havo the benefit of complete unity of effort on the part of the leading members of both . parties while the present crisis lasts, there is evident an unworthy spirit of petty scheming. . It is, a pleasing feature of the situation that this appears to be largely confined to the rank and file of the party. Some of tho leading members of the Opposition have 1 given evidence that they recognise that the issues at stake transcend in importance the smaller matters of domestic politics. Whether they will havo the strength to resist the pressure which may be expected to bo exerted on them will remain to be seen. So far as the effect of a temporary working arrangement is concerned, while it would necessarily be of very great advantage . in enabling the reconstructed Cabinet to concentrate their whole energies on the -tasks which lie. ahead, it would neither prejudice nor benefit to any material extent either of tho parties. /Ihe Government can carry on with ' its .present, following, though it must necessarily do -so under some difficulty, owing to the narrowness of its majority and the heavy burden of work it must cnij-ry. The Opposition, on the other hand, can gain nothing by attempting at a time like the present to prejudice the Government by attacks which however much they may seek to conceal the purpose in view, must be plainly rccogniscd as being made with the object of' securing, a party advantage. By refusing to' co-opcr-ato with the Government during the period of tho war the Opposition will not only prove itself unable to „sct its jyu'ty, bias oven when.

tho fate of the whole, nation .may be at stake, but its future actions will be judged in the light of its refusal. In other words, it cannot hope to pursue its customary tactics of seeking to embarrass the Government without laying itself open to the charge that its refusal to assist with the formation of a National Ministry was prompted by the unworthy motive of seeking to profit by the difficulties which have arisen out of the. war to score a party advantage. Wo are assuming, of course, that, the proposals now under discussion by Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward are of a more equitable nature than those originally put forward. Six to three is not a fair proportion in a National Ministry under any circumstances, and. in view of tho largo amount of extra, work thrown on Ministers as tho result of tho war, six to five would not be unreasonable. That, however, is a detail which should bo easily arranged if both parties approach the question in a proper spirit.