MR. COATES AND MR. DAVY

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 92, 16 October 1934, Page 8

MR. COATES AND MR. DAVY

(To the Editor.) Sir, —The public of Wellington must feel grateful to "The Post" for having published Mr. Davy's letter. It is a study. I read it most carefully, most of it twice. The letter is an attack on Mr. Coates; but who is Mr. Davy— Beform—United —.Reform again, and now Democratic. Mr. Coates, -according to Mr. Davy, has not one redeeming feature. My view of Mr. Coates is that he is gifted with, courage in a high degree. His grave fault is that since ho came into office as a Coalitionist he has shown no ability whatever as a student and interpreter of history. Had he carefully studied the history of New Zealand, or of the United Kingdom, and applied its salutary lessons with the wisdom and prescience expected of a statesman the Dominion today would not be in the miserable plight it is now in.

Now for Mr. Davy. In his long letter, did ho make one statement to prove that his "Democratic Government" could do better? The fact is that Mr. Davy is going to appeal to the electors to hurl New Zealand back into the arms of tho outworn and discredited Toryism that did so muck mischief in days now happily almost forgotten. He has one platitude—"the general good of the people"—that sounds so sweet, but we all know how much that amounts to, if once those Tories were in office. If Mr. Coates failed, Mr. Davy's Toryism would spell ruin and bankruptcy for 80 per cent, of the people.

But I have just one grain of hope: Mr. Davjr has changed his political coat (of many colours) so rapidly and so often, that before the election comes he may shed his coat once more, and next time, we hope, it will be the com-mon-sense party, with common-sense principles.—l am, etc., A STUDENT OF DAVYISM.