DATE OF ELECTIONS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 47, 17 October 1931, Page 5

DATE OF ELECTIONS

Special Commissioner).

postponement issue party differences settled and 12 months delay " " prob a'ble PREMIER NON-COMMITTAL

J ("Post"

I WELLINGTON, Friday. It is understood that tjhe differences of opinion between the

partners in the Coalition as to i wihen the general ejections ' should be held have been composed and that the necessary steps wijl now be taken lay the respective leaders, as [leads ojF the Government, to prepare legjslation prolonging the life of the present Parliament. The opinion amongst members j is that, in order to enable the | Government to fulfil the purpose of the Coalition, namely, the rei storation of the national finances, as an emergency measure a reaso'nable period should he alj lowed to enable the necessary j measures to be passed and to enable their effect to be seeri. An extension of the life of I Parliament by twelve months is, i therefore, regarded as being necessary to the fulfilment of the rej storation plan. It is gathered, however, that no definite period has yet been decided upon and that twelve months is the outsid'e estimate of the length of the period. of postponment of the election as the situation is viewed'at the moment. Thus, if the position of the country improves within a year, an appeal to the electorate may be made before next winter, say, at a convenient date after the close of the current financial year. The question as to whether the Coalition Government should go to the country as one party or as two r'ival parties will probably be determined at a later date, according to circumstances or the needs of the country at the time the election is taken. Further unsuccesful endeavours to extract a definite statement from the Prime Minister on the general election issue were made by Labour speakers in the House of Representatives to-day. The only satisfaction given members was a repetition of Mr Forbes's assurance that a statement would be made to the House in due course. Premier's Appeal

The protracted nature of the debate on the Labour no confidence motion and the amendments to it, v/as roundly condemned by the Prime Minister, who, entering the fray late this afternoon, earnestly appealed to the Opposition to allow the motions to go to diyision before the conclusion of the sitting. "What about the election?" interJ'ected Mr W. Lee Martin, (Labour, Raglan). ! The Leader of the Opposition (Mr H. E. Holland(: "If the Prime Minister will give us his assurance that the elections will take place at the ordinary time, we can curtail the present debate right away." The Prime Minister. Do you desire to continue the debate until there is an election? (Government laughter). Mr Holland: "No. Only until there is some assurance as to the date of the elections." The Prime Minister: We are in for a terribly long debate. The matter before the House does not affect the elections in any way. If all this time is to be taken up, then it is a question whether we should consider applying the closure; that is, if the debate is prolonged deliberately for the purpose of wasting time. Mr J. T. Hogan (Independe'nt, (Rangitikei) : "The proposals have not been debated yet." | The Prime Minister: I am one of the last to suggest the use of ' the closure, but the debate cannot be allowed to go on indefinitely. Mr Holland: "Now that an agreement has been arrived at between the United and Reform Parties, why should a statement not be made to the country? "In Due Course" The Prime Minister: "I have already said that I will make a statement in due course. (Opposition laughter). If the Opposition believes in a policy of delaying the business of the House with long-drawn-out speeches, that won't benefit anyone. I fail to see the object of it all." Mr Holland again suggested that a definite assurance should be given regarding the elections, to which Mr Forbes replied: "You will get the information in due course." "I have not said," he added, "that we are not going to have an election. The leader of the Opposition assumes a good deal in that respect. If he has an idea that there is going to be a postponement, he can work on that assumption. I repeat that I have not said there will he a postponement of the elections and until I say it, the leader of the Opposition can carry on in the belief that things go on in the ordinary way. When the Government comes to a deeision in the matter of setting aside the date of the election it will be corhmunicated to the House. In the meantime, you can carry on in the ordinry way." The Prime Minister's hope that the debate would end with the sitting was not realised and it was set down for resumption on Tuesday afternoon next.