DIVISION TAKEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 16 October 1942, Page 2

DIVISION TAKEN

NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION DEFEATED 47 VOTES TO 17 AIR FRASER’S AMENDMENT ADOPTED 1 From Oui Own Parliamentary importer I Wellington, This Day. The No-Uonlidenee motion in the Government moved by the Leader of the Opposition, Air S. G. Holland, was defeated by 47 votes to 17 in the House of Representatives in the early hours of this morning. An amendment moved by the Prime Minister, Air Fraser, was then adopted by a similar vote. This amendment invited the House to pledge anew its united and wholehearted support for the Government and War Cabinet in the eonduet of the war effort and to express its determination to prosecute that war effort with singleness of purpose and undiminish*_d energy until victory for the cause of democracy and freedom is won. Before the division was taken the Prime Minister made it plain that he was not asking the House to express confidence in the Government in its ordinary domestic policy. The amendment, he said, was confined exclusively to the war effort. This explanation apparently made it possible for Messrs J. G. Coates, A. Hamilton, J. N. Massey, H. S. S. Kyle and C. A. Wilkinson to ignore party lines and vote with the Prime Minister. Main features of yesterday’s debate were speeches by Mr Coates, who stressed the critical nature of the war situation in the Pacific, Mr Hamilton, who made a point of the unsuitability of the time for an election test, and by Mr Kyle, who challenged the Leader of the Opposition to a by-election test against himself in Mr Hollands constituency in Christchurch North. The debate concluded with divisions at 2.35 a.m. and the House adjourned until 2.30 this afternoon. The House will also sit to-night. MR FRASER’S “BITTER ATTACK” Astonishment at the bitter attack made by the Prime Minister upon the Leader of the Opposition was made by Mr G. W. Forbes (National, Hurunui). He adversely criticised the Government for their lack of firmness in handling the strike. Mr Forbes said he had read a statement which had been prepared for publication by Mr Holland and stopped by the Censor, and he could find nothing in it that savoured of disloyalty or of an attack upon others in the War Cabinet. The Prime Minister’s attack upon Mr Holland concerning this matter was one of the most bitter tha? could be made. Mr Holland could not be expected to remain in the War Cabinet when he was treated as he had been treated over the censorship of his statement and the handling of the strike. It was more than any hqman being could stand. He could not understand the reason for the hostility shown by the Prime Minister and others in the War Cabinet to Mr Holland. It almost seemed as though they wanted to drive him out. Mr Forbes said that he would not vote for the Prime Minister’s amendment. It was dragging the war effort in, to associate it in the way it was. with the amendment. STATE CONTROL OF MINES “If State control is introduced in the Waikato, why not in the mines on the West Coast?” queried Sir Alfred Ran--1 som (National, Pahiatua). He suggested that what applied to one set of mines

should apply to the others. The Minister of Public Works. Mr H. T. Armstrong, said the Opposition Leader’s idea was to select the ringleaders for imprisonment, but he was convinced this would not have got the rest of the miners back to work. If the Government had gone as far as nationalisation it would not have been too far fer his liking. Mr W. S. Goosman (National, Waikato) said the real blame for the Waikato strike lay with some of the men, at any rate, who occupied the foremost positions on the Government Benches. When these men were younger they were hot headed. They were leaders in industrial unrest “My position is one of benevolent neutrality,” said Mr J. A. Lee (Independent, Grey Lynn). He made a plea that the Government should extend the clemency it had shown to the miners to include another group of I New Zealanders who had been severeI ly punished, and who had a legitimate I grievance in being allowed to visit their i homes only once every four months. : NATIONALISATION SUGGESTED If the No-Confidence motion was j carried, said the Minister of Health, I Mj- A. H. Nordmeyer. the Leader of the i Opposition knew that it would mean i dissolution of Parliament and an election at once. In July, when the War Administration was formed, the Leader of the Opposition had said that he could find no sentiment in favour of an election and the president of the National Party had expressed himself in similar terms. Mr Nordmeyer said he believed the time would come when the Government would recognise that one of the industries that should be nationalised and should belong to the people ; was the coal mining industry. Troubles j in the Waikato were indicative of a feel-

| in 8 of dissatisfaction towards the manj agement. in the Government’s opinion the change in the management would I create a feeling of goodwill, j T he Minister 0 f Railways (Mr ! Semple) said that the blame for the trouble in the coal mines was not all 1 on one side. The other side of the 1 House could castigate the toilers but : they never looked at the dividend kings. I Mr Semple said he stood for the con--1 trol of the coal mines of New Zealand, j "to be handed over to the people.” I Mr W. J. Poison (National, Stratford) repudiated the statement that he had deserted his leader at any time in connection with the Waikato coal trouble. The National Party both inside and outside the House unanimously felt that they could not compromise on such an important question as the eight of the State to rule. If it were inadvisable to have an election in the near future every effort should be made to form a truly National Government, declared Mr J. N. Massey 'Nat.. Franklin). He was convinced that the only course the Government could have taken in settling the dispute was in making arrangements with the coal mine owners so that the coal could be produced. “NO JUSTIFICATION FOR MOTION” “In my opinion there is no justification ; for any no-confidence motion against a Government carrying on the conduct of a war, except when the Government failed in its duty in the prosecution of the war, ’ said Mr C. A. Wilkinson (Ind., Egmont). He did not think that the Government had failed in its prosecution of the war. Many people were of the opinion that the Government had gone too far. The imprisonment of i the miners would have done immeasur- | able harm, and the withdrawal of th» I Opposition members from the War | Cabinet was a sad mistake. He had ; never supported Labour but he considered it his bounden duty to support the I Government in the present case. Mr A. Hamilton (a member of the

War Cabinet) expressed his disappointment that the War Administration had lasted only three months. The work was going on well and the Leader of the Opposition was doing good work. The Ministers who resigned would certainly be missed and their offices were still vacant. Would an election clear the air? asked Mr Hamilton who added that he did not think so. An election in a democracy was not the way of bringing about sound and stable control during war conditions. Therefore his hearers, as public men, should get together and settle their differences. He asked the Prime Minister if he would explain whether his amendment involved an expression of confidence in the Government? Mr Fraser: “In ordinary civil matters, no. We do not want a vote of confidence in the Government in its ordinary civil policy.” Mr Hamilton: “It might have been taken as a vote of confidence in the Government.” Mr Fraser: ‘No, it is exclusively confined to the war effort.’ ’ DIVISION LISTS The division lists were as follows: For the Opposition amendment —Acland, Bodkin, Broadfoot, Cobbe, Doidge, Forbes, Goosman, Gordon , Grigg, Harker. Holland, Kidd. Poison, Ransom, Roy. W. Sullivan. Sutherland. Against the amendment —Anderton. Armstrong. Atmore, Barrell. Boswell. Clyde-Carr, P. Carr. Chapman. Coates. Coleman. Combs, Cotterill. Cullen, Denham. Dreaver, Fraser, E’rost, Hamilton. Jones, Kyle. Lowry, McCombs, McKeen. McMillan. Mason. Massey. Meachen. Moncur Munro. Neilson. Nordmeyer, O’Brien. Osborne. Paikea. Parry Petrie. Richards. Roberts. Robertson, Schramm, Semple. Stewart. D. G. Sullivan, Thorne. Webb, Wilkinson, Williams. Pairs, for the amendment. Dickie, Endean and Ngata: against. Barclay, Mar tin. Hodgens. The above vote was reversed on the second division.