THE Kaipara Advertiser. AND WAITEMATA CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1912. LAND AT LAST.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 10 July 1912, Page 2

THE Kaipara Advertiser. AND WAITEMATA CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 1912. LAND AT LAST.

All shades of politics can congratulate Mr Massey on the victory he won on Saturday morning, for the simple reason that he stands in the unique position of the man who has waited two and twenty years for the smile of fortune. He has not been all that time leader of the " Reform" Party, neither has he been so many years in Parliament. But he has for a large bulk of those years carried the burdens of the party without a solitary turn of good fortune. Indeed he seemed to lose ground as regularly as the elections came round. So much so that the election of last December found people for the most part unprepared to believe that any change had come. Throughout the whole time Mr Massey faced adversity with unflinching courage. From a hard fate which moved men to pity, he has now changed to a commanding position which extorts general admiration. The government must be relieved at the turn of affairs, for it has been in a somewhat false position since Februarys position undermined ready to let the building of the Cabinet crumble at any time after the House met. Fairness will compel all to admit that they did their best to work out the Liberal programme, and that the acceptance of defeat by the Prime Minister and his colleagues and party was as manly as their career was praiseworthy. It is difficult on reading the debate, to understand what has wrecked the party, for though there was much reply on one side, there was but little attack on the other. One ; can only conclude that it was one ' of those swings of the pendulum which are so characteristic of the politics of the Britisher. The fate of the Government leaves one moral behind it—the moral that caucuses are not ideal things for the formation of Cabinets. Tr« other side of the question is that the caucus to be effective must be applied completely or not at all. In this case the application was confined to the election of Prime Minister; hence the jealousies which wrecked the Government, whereas had the whole Cabinet been appointed by the caucus, its ability would have been secured. We confess we have no liking for subtleties of this kind. It seems clear that the caucus was tried | and found wanting. The fact is j that where there is no party sta- ! bility, nothing will make a stable ! government, except the genius of : a mastermind. The caucus dates ! from the days when mediocrity mistook its vocation, seeking to i set up an authority to make it the I | ruler of the world. !