47 VOTES TO 17

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20916, 16 October 1942, Page 2

47 VOTES TO 17

CONFIDENCE TEST WAR POLICY ONLY NATIONAL PARTY RIFT (P.R.) WELLINGTON, this day. The r.o-confidence motion in the Government moved by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. S. G. Holland, was defeated by 47 votes to 17 in the House of Representatives in the early hours of this morning. The .'amendment moved by the' Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, was then adopted by a similar vote. This amendment invited the House to “pledge anew its united and whole-hearted support for the Government and the War Cabinet in the conduct of the war effort and to express its determination to prosecute that war effort with a singleness of purpose and undiminished energy until victory for the cause of democracy and freedom is won.” Before the division was taken, the Prime Minister made it plain that he was not asking the House to express confidence in the Government in its ordinary domestic policy. The amendment, he said, was confined exclusively to the war effort. This explanation apparently made it possible for the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, the Hon. A. Hamilton, Mr. J. N. Massey, Mr., IT. S. S. Kyle, and Mr. C. A. Winkinson to ignore party lines and vote with the Prime Minister. The main feature of yesterday's debate were the speeches by Mr. Coates, who stressed the critical nature of the war situato'n in the Pacific, Mr. Hamilton, who made a point of the unsuitability of the time for an election test, and Mr. Kyle, who challenged the. Leader of the Opposition to a by-election, test against himself in Mr. Holland’s constituency, Christchurch North. The debate concluded with divisions at 2.35 a.m. and the house adjourned until 2.30 o’clock "this afternoon. The House will also sit to-night. National Government If it were inadvisable to have an election in the hear future every effort should be made to form a truly National Government, declared Mr. Massey. He was convinced that the anly course the Government could have taken in settling the dispute was in making errangpmejlts with the coal mine owners so that the coal could be produced. “In my opinion, there is ho justification for any no-confidence motion against a Government carrying on the conduct, of >a war, except When the Government has failed in its duty in the prosecution of the War,” said Mr Wilkinson. He did hot think that the Government had failed in its prosecution of the war. Many people were of the opinion that the Government had gone -trio far. The im-pri4rinmeh%of-the ihihe'rs would have done -immeasurable harm and the withdrawal of_.the ..Opposition 'members from the War Cabinet was a sad mistake. He had never supported Labour, but he considered it -his bound’en. duty to supprirt the Government in the preseht- ease. Mr. Hamilton expressed his disappointment that the War Administration had lasted only three months. The work wgs going on well and the Leader of the .Opposition was. doing aqod 'work. The Ministers who .resigned ;would certainly he missed and their riffiffes Were 'still iyacant. Would an ''election .'Sear the air? asked Mr Hamilton, who added that fie.did hot think so. An electiqn in a democracy Was hot the way of bringing about sriuhd and stable crint'rril during war cohditirins. Therefore, his hearers, as public men, should get together and settle their differences. He asked the Prime Minister if he would explain whether his amendment involved an expression of confidence in the Government? The Division Lists Mr. Fraser: In ordinary civil matters. no. We do not want a vote of confidence in ’the Government in its ordinary civil policy. Mr. Hamilton: It might have been taken as a vote of -confidence in the Government.

Mr. Fraser: No, -it is exclusively confined to the war effort. The division lists Were as follows: For the Opposition amendment: Messrs. J. Acland, W. A. Bodkin, W. J Broadfoot. J. C. Cobbe. F. W. Doidge, G. .Forbes, W. S. Goosman, E. B. Gordon.. Mrs. A. ~N. Grigg, Messrs. 0. G. E. Marker, S. G. Holland. D. Kidd. W. J. Poison. Sir A. Ransom, Messrs. J. A. Roy, W. Sullivan. ah'd A. S. Sutherland.

Against the Amendment: Messrs. W. J. Anderton, H. T. Armstrong, H. At-, more, C. A. Barrell, C. W., Boswell, Clyde Carr, P. : Carr, C. "H. Chfipirtan, J. G. Coates, D. W. Coleman, H. Combs, J. B. Cotterill, E. L. Cullen, W. M. C. Denham, -Mrs. M. M. Dreaver, Messrs. P. Fraser,, F. W. Frost, A. Hamilton, F. Jones, H. S. S. Kyle. L. G. Lowry, T. H. McCombs, R. McKeen, D. G McMillan, H. G. ft. Mason, J. N. Massey, E. P. Meachen. A. F. Moncur, J. W. Munro. P. Neilson, A. H. Nordmeyer, J. O'Brien, A. G. Osborne. P. K. Paikea, W. E. Parry. C. R. Petrie, A. S. Richards, B. Roberts, J. Robertson, F. W. Schramm, R. Semple,. Mrs. C. Stewart, Messrs. D. G. .Sullivan. J. Thorne. P. C. Webb. C. A. Wilkinson, and C. M. Williams. Pairs were: .For the amendment: Messrs. H. G. Dickie, W. P. Rndean, arid Sir Apirana Ngata. AgOinst: J C. Barclay, W, Lee Martin, and J. Hodgens. The above vote was reversed on the second division.