"PARTY POLITICS"

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 82, 23 April 1937, Page 3

"PARTY POLITICS"

Our Own Corresponden t.)

Interesting Debate At HATUMA

(From

WAIPUKURAU, Last Niglifc. "That 'Party Politics is a Failure " was the subject debated at the Hatuma Debating Society meeting to-day. The epeakers for the aiiirmative wero Messrs R. Edgecombe, R. Thomsen, aiid G. Edgecombe, while Messrs A. Fergusson, J. Edgar and C. Thomsen supported the negative. Mr.l). Thomsen took the chair. Mr R. Edgecombe in opening tho cass for the affirmative said that the essence of temocracy was 1'ost in party politics whieh was government by a seetion of the people for a. section of the people. Politics in business was a aieuace and owing to the bounds of party government being too cramped, successful business meii rarely st'ood for Parliament. Frequently ' there was no anity in a party and only the whips held the members together. Where a government was returned on a minority vote the country was not getting the greatest good for. the greatest numb'er. Mr Ferguson opened the case for the negative by saying tjhat as a country grew up under a systein of party politics it became used to it. "It is the only type of government which free thinking people will colerate," the speaker stated. Mr Fergusson traced the. origin of democracy from the .days of mob rule and oligarchies to the present type of government and cited the British Coustitution as the finest and most euccessful in the world. He said that the people of Italy, Russia and Germany had , sacrificed freedom and democracy. for a despotic type Of government and that although there was a remote possibility of Faseism or Communism devoloping in British countrics thoy could hardly bo callcd suitablo substitutes. Tho supporters of the negative wero declared the winners by a sinall majority. The ne.xt meeting of the soeiety will be held on April 29, when a mock court is to be held.