NATIONAL PARTY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 125, 28 May 1937, Page 11

NATIONAL PARTY

MAIN PRINCIPLES POLITICAL SITUATION MR. MAZENGARB'S REVIEW Some of the principles for which the National Party stood were examined and considered by Mr. O. C. Mazengarb in the course of an address to business- men yesterday at a li incheon presided over by the Hon. Adam Hamilton, Leader of the Opposition. Various causes such as vote-splitting, the unpopularity of the leaders, and monetai-y manipulation had been assigned for the rout of the Coalitionist^ at the last election, said Mr. Mazengarb. ! No good purpose would be served by seeking the real cause of the defeat. The plain fact was that the people of New Zealand wanted a change of some sort. But of this he was convinced—that they did not consciously and deliberately choose to make a change in the entire economic fabric, nor did they seek a change which meant the abandonment of enterprise, freedom, and thrift. Mr. Mazengarb said that after the election, when business men found an improvement in their own economic position, there was a disposition to regard the new Government benevolently and to hope that it would not depart too far from orthodox and sound policy. Men felt thst, perhaps, after all, there was something in the" view that increased buying power meant increased prosperity. But they were now finding out that the feast of good things which they were enjoying was being provided out of their own small store houses. If the present expansionist policy were pursued too far it would lead into financial difficulties from which it might be hard to extricate ourselves. The present time was a useful one in which to do a little stocktaking. "We have to face the realities of the situation." said Mr. Mazengarb, "to examine the principles of the party, to acknowledge the mistakes which have been made, and to restate our principles in a form to meet the needs of modern democracy." PROTECTION OF PROPERTY. "If I were asked to name the main purposes for which the party stood I would say, firstly, the protection of property and proprietary rights." This at first sight might not appear to bevery popular, especially having regard to the course of the legislation over the past few years! But it had to be remembered that the possession of property was very widely distributed among the people of New Zealand— from those who possessed merely small' savings in the Post Office Bank up to those who owned their own homes and invested in industrial and endowment policies to help them in the evening of their lives. Secondly, the National Party should encourage individual initiative and thrift and oppose all legislation which was calculated to dissipate the savings of the people. Thirdly, no policy should be written: which did not pay a proper regard for, the poor, the aged, and the feeble, for these were dominant considerations among those who sought to be-Statesmen and leaders of a great political party. ' ■ . Mr. Mazengarb' said that there 'had been much talk after the election regarding the possibilities of forming an entirely new party. In the speaker's opinion there was neither need nor room for a third party. The Nationalists could regain their influence in the community if heed were paid to the lessons of the election. It was significant that the people most affected by recent legislation were those who were dependent upon fixed incomes—superannuitants and others whc. had provided for the future or who hoped by their own exertions, to avoid the necessity' of casting themselves and their families on the , charity of the State.. ' SKILLED WORKERS PENALISED. Some of these had voted against the National Party at last election and they were the very people who were the first to feel the reactions of the recent legislation, because their buying power had been reduced. Another group of people who would rue the march of Socialism comprised the skilled and expert workers who were being levelled down in the attempt to level up the untrained and unskilled. Mr. Mazengarb concluded with an appeal to the younger business men present to abandon criticism in the face of the dangers which confronted society, dangers which arose from the tendency to make the -State the supreme arbiter in matters which had hitherto not been regarded as a legitimate sphere of State interference. ■ The address was enthusiastically received, and on the motion of Sir Alexander Roberts, Mr. Mazengarb was accorded a vote of thanks for his "eloquent and forceful address."