The Hokitika Guardian THURSDAY. JANUARY 25, 1923 LIBERAL POLICY.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 January 1923, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian THURSDAY. JANUARY 25, 1923 LIBERAL POLICY.

In the course of an address at Now Plymouth last week at a gathering of supporters of Air S. G. Smith, member for Taranaki. Mr T. AT. Milford said the Liberal-Labour Pai ty stood four square for loyalty to King and Empire. It knew only one flag, the Union Jack. AA'hile it did not e ti-id-er lio service t 0 the dag was any indication of. true patriotism, it stood four square for King and Empire and wr. |ov>l •, , H he'll i" Home, H"

wanted l hem in undoisland that they realised that in this far Hung part of the great Empire they were able lo make experiments in social legislation which older countries with traditional and conservative ideas might not he easily able to assimilate. New Zealand Up to Bill had been in the forefront in the social legislation of the Parliaments of the world, hut the foster parcuts of to-day were not administering the legislation with the sympathy with which the real parent if in control would exhibit in regard to it. The Liberal-Labour Party realised that a one-man Governmo.it was no good lor representative Government. I hey held that the difference between the LiberalLabour Party and tlie Reform Party or the Labour Party led by Mr Holland was that while these stood lor class, the party of which he was leader declined to recognise class. The I.ih-enti-haboiir Party’s creed i- an inclusive one. and not an exclusive olio. They believed extremists on either side were a pestilence to society. They believed that the man who talked direct action was as much a rlang'er to the State as a body of men who at a time of industrial crisis said ‘mow is the time to smash the union-." Both were a danger to the community and the State. His party stood and his watchword was for tile whole of the people and not for some of the people. They believed that rich or poor, great or small, should not control the destinies of this country, hut that the bnltuice should he belli evenly. They also believed that progress liv evolution was the only sound and sale way. Mr Wilford said the party had fought a fight with practically the whole o! the Press ol New Zealand against it. hut they had this satisfaction that they knee and did knot, that tin wit-e lor which they "ere limiting would beat any newspaper propaganda in the world. Without the expenditure of one single penny on behalf of the party through the Press of New Zealand they had succeeded in coining hack v live force. The tide <>!' r.VjV'rnlism is rising surely and steadily, and when the workers of this Dominion came to realise that the Liberal-Labour Party held out their hands to the workers and were willing to help them as the Liberal-Labour Party iff the old days helped the workers, they would see • hat while Reform fanned the llame ol "xtren.ism Liberalism diluted ii and rendered it ineffective. There was recently a Reform caucus. He was not present, hut ho bad road the pub.

oil resolution with great interest, and a little bird whispered that things were not all as smooth as they would appear. He could imagine Air Afarsev walking up and down the depleted ranks of his party when the members wore called together and saying as AA’ellington said : “Well, T don’t, know what sort of effect it will have on the enemy hut it- frightens me.” They proposed, he continued, having in the course of a few days a gathering of thi> Liberal-Labour Party, when the policy they intended to adopt and the attitude they intended to fake in the coming session and for the future would be dearly and definitely outlined. He asked all those who supported the party to have faith in the party in the meantime; that it would do what would Isa acceptable to the majority of the Liberals in ibis country. The executive had met and had decided upon a course of action to be submitted to the party, but it would he unfair, wrong and unjust that lie should in

my way indicate what the ex-c n had considered for submission to the party uniil every member of the party hnd/had an opportunity of expressing bis opinion as to the course to he adopted. Tbeir’s was not an autocratic party. They did not intend to force the opinion of the executive, or «»» the loader, on the party. They wauled to discuss carefully what they considered to he the right and proper course to take in the interests of New Zealand. The executive proposed to submit to the party the lines that it believed would he best in these very serious times of financial stress and nnieh trouble, for it to follow not in the interests of party, but of the Dominion. There was not a member of the Liberal-Labour Party returned to Parliament who Mas not capable of giving that thought and consideration to the difficult problems which had to be faced. He attributed the failure of the Afnssev Government to the fact that they could not shake off I’ahits engendered during the war when they had millions of pounds at their disposal.