THOUGHTS OF THE TIMES.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 March 1931, Page 4

THOUGHTS OF THE TIMES.

NECESSITY AND OBSTRUCTION. In n national crisis like this, when the co-operation of all parties is required and the heads of legislators should be clear to do the work of the country, the spectacle of Parliament sitting all night as the result of a. "stonewall,” and discussing an important policy Bill at breakfast time, is a melancholy reflection on democracy. The responsibility for this state* of things rests with the Labour party. One may sympathise with its objections to the wages "cut’—though it is distressing to read the repetition of so many worn-out arguments and prejudices and to witness such an unwillingness to face facts—but not with its conclusions or its tactics. The* party has been holding up the business of the country and muddling the* brains of members outside and to win, votes from other parties. The no-con-fidence motion was nothing more than a party measure and a gesture to the oomtbry. The party knew perfectly well that it would not be carried, that the Reform party would combine with the Government to defeat it. Before the House met* the positions of theGovernment and of the Labour partyhad been clearly defined; each knew exactly what the other thought, and' the country was perfectly well informed! about both. —Auckland Star.