WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 November 1929, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

PRIMAGE INCREASE.

! reform opposition

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, Oct. 31

The discussion of the' Customs Amend ment Bill, providing for the increase of the primage duty from one per cent, to two per cent:, though it, ran on in the House until the small hours of the morning, was not. Sanguine members of the Opposition started out with a vain hope of embarrassing the Labour Party by reminding Mr H. E. Holland followers of their previous denunciations of primage duties in any shape 6r form. But the Labour leader was not to be diverted from his purpose by any gibe of that kind. ‘‘We will vote the United Government out of Office as.soon as,, the Labour Party is ready to take its place,” he assured his critics, “ but we won’t vote it out to put a worse Government in its place. We have to choose between the greater evil of Reform rule and the lesser evil of the'primage duty.” It is in retorts of this kind that Mr Holland excels every member of the House and leaves his critics dumb.

LABOUR’S ATTITUDE. Obviously, the refusal of the Labour Party to. join hands with the Reform Party in turning the United Government out ■of office has more than a passing significance. It does not mean that Labour from this time onward is going to dictate terms to the Government. Mr 1 Holland and his lieutenants are too good tacticians to dream of any such development as that just now. They expect to obtain recognition, but not to exact concessions. Their attitude in this respect has been recognised by a provision that the primage duty on foodstuffs, groceries and ’ fertilizers shall he removed'a..t ;tlie cjcise of the financial year, ;thhs ,'is. oip Matph, 31 next, only five- months this concession’has .deprived 'the Opposition of more than half of jts real and imaginary grievances Cnd left it with little effective;, material for .a sustained attack. Mr' Contests claim from the floor of the House that ‘‘His Majesty’s Opposition is to, be thanjted for the extraordinary cbhce’ssipns ,made by the Government” was greeted, with loud laughter in which the godd humoured claimant heartily' joined. ,

“MR HOLLAND'S CONFESSION.” Probably no ope' will be more amused than'Mr Holland-himself by the denunciation the “Dominion” pronounces this morning upon the leader of the Labour Farty for having voted with the Government on the primage duty issue rather than assist the Reform Party in'rebelling the Treasury Benches. “It is plainly a matter of officeseeking,” tiie champion cf the Opposition declares. “The national interest may be imperilled, the class which Mr

Holland stands for may suffer, Labour principles may be sacrifced, still Mr Holland >yill not vote the Government out. Instead, he and his party will repudiate all their past professions—their entire political 'faith.—and vote to keep their professed opponents in office. And, as a matter of sober fact, that is what happhed in the House early yesterday morning.” And so on and so in many lines of print ending up with the reflection that Mr Holland “has exposed not only his own party’s ‘ nakedness, > but the pathetic dependence of the United Party on Labour.” Thus “ Mr* Holland’s Confession ” is presented to the world at large. GOOD FORM. Mr Coates,himself and his colleagues in the direction of the affairs of the Reform Party need not be saddled with the narrow views that some of their friends would impose upon them. 'Only in ; . ; jest would they suggest that Labour should come over to their side of the Hoii.se to get. rid of the United Government and then leave them to do what they liked with their opportunity. There was no outcry from the Liberal Party in 1923 when two of its members crossed over.to the other side of the House and' saved the Reform Government from defeat. Incidents c<f the kind will, occur now and again, but it is not regarded as “good form” to discuss them in public. Mr CoateS did not commit himself to every tradition of the Refoym Party when he first took office in 1919, and he did not whilie when his big battalions deserted him in 1928. He' set about making the best he could of a bad job. That was cricket. •' f