DEMOCRACY AND THE LABOUR PARTY

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 184, 1 May 1940, Page 6

DEMOCRACY AND THE LABOUR PARTY

Masterton M.P.’s Views

MEETING’S SUPPORT FOR

MR. FRASER

Dominion Special Service

MASTERTON, April 30.

Au address entitled “Democracy and the Labour Barty” was given iu Alastertou hist night by Mr. Robertson, M.l’. The meeting concluded with a resolution, adopted without dissent, pledging support and loyalty to the Prime Minister and the parly he leads, and recording appreciation of bis services during Mr. Savage's illness. The meeting also reaffirmed its loyally to I he speaker at the meeting as the New Zealand Labour Party’s representative in Mastertou. Mr. Robertson referred to the dilheulties confronting the party, the principal ones, he said, being that it h-ad just suffered the death of a great leader, the fact that Britain was at war, and that amid these difficulties drastic steps had to be taken to deal with treachery within the party. Immediately after the 1935 election, said Mr. Robertson, the Parliamentary party had empowered Mr. Savage to appoint his own Cabinet. During the life of the 1938 Parliament no suggestion was made to alter this arrangement, but immediately after the 1938 elections a resolution was moved at caucus that caucus should then proceed Io the election of a Cabinet. The late Prime Minister opposed this, but it was carried by two votes. Mr. Savage refused to accept the decision on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, and caucus was terminated. Provision was made in the constitution of the party for dealing with such a situation as had. arisen, said Mr. Robertson, and the constitutional course was followed and a settlement of the difficulties was arrived at, this settlement being unanimously, agreed to by all members of caucus. This settlement was endorsed at the 1939 annual conference of the party. The subsequent actions of Air. Lee, his failure to abide by decisions to which he had previously agreed, and the attacks made by him on his own Government, its leader and his colleagues in newspapers and in other ways had eventually developed into the situation which led to his expulsion at the last conference.

Mr. Robertson said the resignation of Mr. Barnard and the expulsion of Air. Lee both arose from their refusal to accept a democratic decision of the party as a whole. It was the antithesis of democracy for a small group of members of Parliament to claim the right to decide who was going to be Prime Minister of New Zealand when only a mouth previously caucus had unmistakably decided the issue. “I readily acknowledge the great ability and' talents expressed by Mr. Lee, which make it all the more regrettable that a badly-controlled egoism should have led to his taking an attitude calculated to undo all the good work he has done in the Labour movement in the past,” concluded Air. Robertson.