WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 March 1932, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS

FORMATION OF COALITION. LABOUR’S DETACHMENT. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, March 14. Speaking on the second reading of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Bill on Friday afternoon, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, the Minister of Lands, expressed regret that the Labour Party, in a time-of unparalleled difficulty, had not joined hands with the United Party and the Reform Party in forming a National Government that would have represented every group of the law abiding sections of the community. The words were scarcely out of the mouth of Mr Ransom when Mr H. E. Holland, the Leader of the Labour Party, reiterated a previous statement he had made to the effect that neither he nor the members of bis party had been invited to associate themselves with either of the other parties. No facilities, he declared, had been offered to his party at any stage of the proceedings for such an arrangement. Naturally (Mr Ransom, who had been with the Prime Minister when the invitation was extended verbally to the Labour Party, was taken back by Mr Holland’s assertion, but a. particularly alert Speaker allows no personal squabbling within his precincts.

THE FACTS. So far a s the observances of Parliament were concerned, Mr Holland s assertion had to be accepted for truth and Mr Ransom’s assertion for what it was worth, which appears to have been a good deal in actual fact. The members of the House of Representatives called to the Economic Committee, which preceded the formation of the Coalition Government, were the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, Sir Apirana Ngata (United). Right Hon. J. ‘G. Coates, the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, Mr David Jones (Reform) and Mr H. E. Holland, Mr J. McCombs and Mr J. Savage (Labour). These mne gentlemen assisted by a small army of public servants, and a number of private individuals able to give information concerning the financial condition of th' 1 Dominion, spent some weeks over their task investigating every possible source of information and accumulating -v,• • ~e of data, exceeded in magnitude only by the stacks oi manuscript and print, gathered by the Railway Commission a year or two ago, and now, probably, resting in some hired .building at the cost ol the taxlayers.

A BIGGER TASK. The fruit of the labours of the Parliamentary .Economic Committee was no more than a conviction on the part ot the Prime Minister and hi,s colleagues, ' \fr (E. A. Ransom and Sir Apirana Ngafa, that the first step towards the economic resuscitation' of the Dominion ,vouid be a consolidation of political parties that woud set minor differences aside and concentrate the efforts of the community upon restoration of the •i?curity and progress of the country. The facts as they stood were placed before Mr J. G. Coa'tes and bis two o|leagues; Mr Downie Stewart and Mr David Jones, and within iort.y-eigut ■lours these gentlemen, having consulted the other members of their party, returned to Mr Forbes with an approval of his .suggestion and an assurance of loyal association and effort. Needless to say the two parties have since worked amicably and earnestly together and, though by no means overcoming all the difficulties besetting the community, iave gone, far towards restoring popular •mirage and earnest effort which, aitei all, are the two things necessary for tile restoration of national stability.

LABOUR’S POSITION

The pity of the position is the refusal >f the Labour' Party in Parliament to n'n hands with the United Party and he Reform Party in extricating the Dominion from the grave position in Inch it has been placed by the worldtie economic disturbance. It is quite idle for the leader of the Labour Party ro say ihe was never invited by Mr Forbes to bring his followers over to the Coalition Government and so conert it into a National Government, as he six Labour members did seventeen years ago after the outbreak of the sit War. Mr H. E. Holland was invited to join hands with the United Party just as Mr CJoates was invited; but the only retort he vouchsafed was. -l ell'cct, that he and his followers could not associate themselves with any larty that did not subscribe to their stereotyped policy. The United laity and the Reform Party were to conform to the policy of the Labour Party befoie Vlr Holland and his colleagues could think of' associating themselves with a National Government.