SOLDIERS & POLITICS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 23, 22 October 1919, Page 7

SOLDIERS & POLITICS

MONDAY NIGHT'S DEBATE

THE REAL ISSUES INVOLVED

The. five hours' debate on political action which was brought to it conclusion at the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association's annual conference at an early hour yesterday morning settled n very vexed question. The actual result, and tlio effect of that result, could not be disclosed very clearly to tho lay mind by tile necessarily condensed report published in yesterday's issue. The position may be summarised r.s follows:— The constitution as it stood at the. opening of the conference read: "The association' shall be non-sec-tarian and non-political." .Mr. W. B. Lcadley's motion, if earvied, would have made the clause in question read: "The. association shall be non-see-tari hi." .Mr R. B. Bell's amendment—an addition to Mr. Loadlcy's motion—which was carried Ijy 50 to li(i and became the substantive motion, and, as such, was adopted, enacts that the constitution shall now provide: ' The association shall lie (a), nonsMtariaii; and (b) non-paTty-poli-tical, in that it shall not, except ,by the submission of questions and the publication of the answers thereto, influence or seek to influence the views of its members regarding any candidate l'or public office, or any political or municipal party." It remains to be added that, had t.io amendmoiit---"The association shall J)e non-sectarian and non-party-political"— moved by Mr. 'J'. Long (Auckland), to Mr. Cell's motion been adopted after it had been carried as an amendment, but before.i' became the substantive molion, the effect would have been very open. The point then at issue was that, the conference having already affirmed in principle (though as yet not formally) that four provincial executives should' be set up to relieve tho present pressure on headquarters, and that these provisional executives should in eft'eft be subject to the. New Zealand Association m conference assembled and not to the New Zealand executive, it was necessary for the conference to define absolutely the vital points, of policy of these subsidiary provincial associations. The precise terms of the basic principle, involved are as follow: "The provincial associations shall work under a common constitution to bs laid down by the Don .in ion Council, and the provincial associations shall bo subject to tho control of tlw Dominion. Council and the constitution bo altered accordingly.' Tito'("Oiu'erence had also decided that tho following was the construction to he placed on the amendment: "The. provincial associations shall be subject to control of the N.Z.R.S.A. Council (that is, conference) in general meeting. Iho executive of the N.Z.R.S.A. shall hare full nower to enforce, upon provincial associations the resolutions of the council, i>ut otherwise shall not control provincial associations." A? Mr. Long explained that Ins amendment would , allow cach provincial association to decide for itself what attitude it should take on the question, or, in other words, what interpretation it would place on the words "non-party-political," the importance of strictly defining the exact meaning of the words was vital.' Conferences cannot be called without some notice or without considerable expense; nnd in. tho interim it .would ,hive been possible for any ono provincial association to have adopted and put into practical effect, on the eve of thq general (lection, an interpretation of the words "non-uarty-iiolitical" entirely contrary to. that accepted by the remaining associations, . . As it originally stood the constitution could have been "interpreted very loosely. The position to-dav is that the. association has bolted its dcors against political action in the- commonly accepted sense of the term.