POLITICAL PARTIES

Hokitika Guardian, 29 October 1928, Page 2

POLITICAL PARTIES

(By X.)

(Written for the Guardian.)

In your kindly reference to my occasional contributions to your columns you have remarked that my articles are written quite disinterestedly and with the .sole object of provoking thought on national issues of great importance. 1 believe my sole endeavor has been to induce people to think for themselves, not to (force my opinions on them, but rather to explain its clearly as I may the facts on which these opinions are based.

The story of the building of the Tower of Babel has always appealed to me as remarkably applicable to every human endeavour to reach up to something higher and better than lias been hitherto attained. Wc all want to build up a better civilization on a solid basis and our efforts are frustrated not because the difficulties are insuperable, but because “ confusion of tongues ” leads to misunderstanding, misunderstandings lead to .mistrust, mistrust to hatred, and the forces which should he co-operating end in endeavouring to destroy one another and bring about chaos. I remember years ago when ill a debating society a certain' problem was set down for debate. It was decided as a preliminary to get the definitions clear. When this was done—and it took some time—it' was found there was nothing to debate the apparently debateable question being nothing but misunderstanding on either side as to what the other side meant.

At the present time we have a national issue df great important e before tue people. We arc faced with a very serious position. Population is drifting from the country into the towns, secondary industries are languishing, and dying out; employees are being dismissed and factories working witu reduced staffs and short time; unemployment has reached serious dimensions, and is accentuated by emigration ; and the rising generation is unfitted by the training and education it has received in the towns to take on work in the country, or carve out a career for itself—as the previous generation did—in a still young and undeveloped country. To a certain extent the same conditions applied years, ago, at the time of the Atkinson administration (the last admittedly Conservative Government). The solution was eventually found by the Liberal Party which brought down a policy so widely humanitarian and at the same time so economically sound that it brought New Zealand into, the fore front as leading the advanced legislation olf the world. More, important than this, however, it brought about :ii> era of prosperity ‘which continued 'o> years, and which, notwithstanding the disturbing factors of the war «.».d post-war problems would probably have ~t:ll continued had not the change of government caused some of the essential features of the great policy , as. la d down by Ballance, Pember Reeves and Seddon to be set aside.

The problem we have now to face is how to rectify the mistake made in departing if com the tenets of Liberalism. And we must look back at the factors which caused the mistake to be made. I do not think the people of New Zea-' land deliberately and ungratefully threw over Liberalism which had done so much for them. Several things happened. First, there was the death of Mr Seddon and the irreparable loss of his vigorous personality. Then the defection of what is known as the “Labor” party from Sir Joseph Ward, and the weakening of his party notwithstanding that as Air Seddon’s successor he brought down the broadest and most liberal manifesto ever submitted to the electors. Ibis was followed by a feeling of panic that the Labor Party would, if the two main political parties were weakened, become a source of instead of being negligible as hitherto. When the people become panicky they naturally play for safety. Thousands of liberal voters I am convinced cast their vote at last election for “ Reiform ” not that they believed that this party with the meaningless name was purged of the Conservative elements, hut because they thought it better for the country that they should vote Conservative than that the other party with the equally meaningless name should he in a position to dictate the policy of the country. “Coates and Safety” was an effective election cry, hut the Government obtained was not what New Zealand required. It was the lesser of two evils, however, and il there was no alternative between the conservatism of “ Reform ” and the radicalism, marxism, socialism, and communism, which masquerades under the name olf “Labor”—a name to which it has no title whatever—the decision of the people would be as before.

But the dissensions and divisions which weakened the Liberal Party at last election have now Iteen removed. The veteran leader Sir Joseph Ward has with a pluck and ■ self-sacrifice which has been acclaimed with a wave of enthusiasm from end to end of New Zealand decided to take the leadership of the “ Liberals.” The addition of “United” to the name of the party will not l>e meaningless, unnecessary, or it may sincerely be hoped misplaced. But it should have been unnecessary and if the necessity has arisen it is due to “Reiform” and “Labor” posing as Liberals—not of the original registered brand, but “ something just as good.” T will endeavour to show later on that neither “Reform ” nor “ Labor” can ever be exponents of true Liberalism. The former is handicapped by its compulsory loyalty to “ vested terests ” and the latter by its impracticable view of economics and its

“class consciousness,” To make this clear it will be necessary to refer briefly to the recognised policies of properly classified political parties, viz. Conservative, Liberal, Radical, Socialist, and Communist —the first three only being so far reckoned as practicable. But in the meantime it would be interesting to know by wluit process of reasoning the word “labor” can be applied to a political party, or labor isolated info a separate class, it certainly leads to contusion of thought when the word “ liberal ” is used by those who really belong to a different school of political thought and belief, but the monopoly of the word “labor” is still more misleading and unjustifiable. The representatives of Labor were politically the Radical wing of the Liberal party, and it was in- that capacity that all the legislative benefit that the worker has secured were obtained from the Liberal Government winch they caused later, by their defection to be defeated, to the loss not only of the worker.but of New Zealand.