WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 15 February 1930, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

OPPOSITION PROPAGANDA,

MANY INVENTIONS

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, February 11

The “Dojninion” this morning by means of its “Special Service” from Dunedin reggles its readers with twothirds of.- a colomun of print speculat iug in regard to the iailure of the United Party in the politics of the coun try. “Will the party,” it asks, “con tinue as an amalgamation of the Unit ed and the Reform parties?” “Wi! there be an attempt to form an entire ]y new party?” Then there is an appn priate pause for reflection. Then tl story unfolds. “In regard to this poi sibilitv,” the special service proceeds “it is common among,s those who knowing what is going 01 behind the scenes that an attempt i? being made in certain quarters to forn such a party and that Sir Charles Statham is to be asked to take tin leadership.” It is said ,that this move is meeting with little favour from members of the Reform Party, and it is quite certain it is receiving no encouragement from Sir Charles Statham, one of the most punctilious of the great Speakers who have presided over the proceedings of the country’s Parlifiment. THE AUTHORITIES. At this stage Mr Waite, the member for Clutha, is introduced to the readers of the morning paper as a gentleman “with an intimate knowledge of the activities of the Opposition,” “who gives it as his decided opinion that the Reform Party would not change Mr Coates for -any other leader, and is backed up by Mr Ansell,” the member for Chalmers. “Moreover,” the breathless reader is told, “Mr Waite states that he has no knowledge that Mr Coates would he prepared to stand aside in favour of any other leader, of his party,” and again, of course, Mi' Ansell is in a similar plight. Mr Waite and Mr AnSell, it may lie mentioned, are. two new members of the House of Representatives, who still have something to learn of the tortuous seas on which they have embarked; but Mi’ Waite cheerily affects the airs of a seasoned party leader with only one working session of Parliament at bis back. But he really is a very humourous person, or made out to be one by his chronicler.

WAITING THEIR OPPORTUNITY Mr Waite knows all about the United Party, as well as all about the Reform Party, and, - indeed, all about the Labour Party. His party, he says is well content to retain its own entity “in the meantime at any rate,” while the United Party is anxious to obtain the assistance off the Reform Party in combating socialistic and communistic measures, “Only the other day,” he declares, .‘ a well knqw.fi.member of,the United Party told mep.thntwe would have to get together to meet these in-

fluences. I told him, in reply, that Mr Coates stated definitely iii the House last session that he was quite prepared to work with the United Party to some extent, but the only reply to that friendly gesture was that the United Party preferred to work with the Labour Party.” Warming to iis subject Mr Waite, throwing disereion to the winds, told of a section of lie. United Party, going to Mr Coates vith a proposal for fusion and failing t the last moment to deliver their oods. What an opportunity was lost! DOWN TO EARTH. Giving more thought to the obvious cts of the situation, Mr Waite said did not think the members of the •'form Party were averse to a fusion th some element of the United Party t they were not going to drop their ,-n trusted leader just to oblige some United members who for be time being did not know where they food politicnlllv. Like so many other lembers of Reform Party Mr Waitr eenis to imagine that the activities of he United Party have been directed uninly against Mr Coates and Mr Oownie Stewart 1 personally. So far p rom this being the case the late Prime Minister and the late Minister of Finance are held in high esteem by the members of the other parties. The charge against the Reform Government was that it was lethargic, that it was living in the past, that it was lacking ’’n conrno-e and enterprise, and that it. was waitin'* lor something to turn up. without taking much trouble to disco"°v how and where and when it would +urn. And then the general election happened along.