COALITION GOVERNMENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 23, 19 September 1931, Page 4

COALITION GOVERNMENT

The announcement made yesterday afternoon by the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes, that the interparty economy committee's enquiry had disclosed the necessity for immediate action in regard to the national finances and that, as a result of conferences between representatives of the United and Reform Parties it had been decided to form a coalition Government from the two parties will be received by the conntry with very mixed feelings. That action in the direction of rehabilitating the conntry's finances is immediately necessary is beyond dispute. With the coming of the era of low price levels —and there seems little doubt that such an era has definitely developed — the whole economic basis of the national life has changed and it has become urgently necessary to remodel financial policy and adapt the machinery of Government accordingly. Methods which passed muster when money was plentiful and ext^avagance locked upon w-ith indnlgence, |if not actually expected, by a people engaged individually in an orgy of extravagance, can now only lead to disaster. Indeed, there is some justification for the widely held belief that much of the difficulty now confronting the country is the result of the Government's failure to take action earlier to meet the altered conditions. Some action has, of course, been taken during the past few months, but what has been done has been hopelessly inadequate. Further, the Government has displayed all too frequently a lamentable lack of firmness in its handling of those economy measures which it has proposed. Its position as a minority Government admittedly has been difficult, but this does not excuse its procrastination and vacillation in face of the extremely grave financial situation into which the country has fallen. Its duty has been plain. If it possessed a policy to meet the needs of the time and a genuine faith in the policy, it should have advanced it and been prepared to stand or fall by it. What it actually did was to vacillate and manoeuvre and, by every means in its power delay the day of reckoning until the situation had become so bad that it no longer could even pretend to control it. The upshot was the appointment of the economy committee, comprised of members of all of the parties in Parliament including the little group of Independents. This committee has spent the past few weeks in hearing evidence from representative groups and citizens and in the light pf this, searching for a method of meeting the dangerous situation into which the country has been allowed to drift. The only result, apparently, is the decision of the Reform Party to accept Mr. Forbes's often repeated invitation and join forces to form a*coalition Government. Beyond the bare fact that the formation of such a government has been decided upon, nothing has yet been disclosed. Are Mr Forbes and Mr Coates waiting to see the country's reception of the proposal per se before deciding finally the details of their policy? If they are, they probably are wise. The country will not view with patience any proposal involving more than a policy to meet the immediate necessities and an early appeal to the electorate for its verdict. If this is proposed, the coalition will not lack support, though it will by many be considered un~ fortunate that the co-operation of Labour has not been secured. For the inclusion of all the Parties in a Government formed for the purpose for which, presumably, the coalition is being formed, there is ample precedent in recent events in Great Britain. Such a Government would at least represent all shades of opnion. The British lead, however, has not been followed, doubtless for reasons which seemed sound to the Party leaders. But there is another precedent to be drawn from recent political events at Home, and this the country will expect the new Government to follow. In England the National Government has taken the necessary measures to meet the emrgency which called it into being and having produced a Budget which may reasonably be expected to balance the national accounts is about to go to the country. In this country a similar course must be followed. Provision must immediately be made to place the Dominion's finances on a sourid footing and that done, the Government must go to the country for its verdict. Any other course will inevitably destroy what confidence in its bona fides the new Government may win and will be strongly resented by the country as a whole, irrespective of Party. • O