POLITICAL RUMOURS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 314, 30 August 1932, Page 4

POLITICAL RUMOURS

Mr. A. D. McLeod, M.P., former Minister of Lands in the Reform Government, has taken upon his ample shoulders the mantle of political prophet and has forcast with oralcular obliqueness, a schism in the Unit-ed-Reform ranks. Mr. McLeod was delightfully guarded in his statement as telegraphed from Masterton, and his dark and direful utterances savoured more than a little of the very much censored official bulletins from the Ottawa Conference which prompted a well-known English daily to cable its Ottawa representative enquiring whether "he could produce any direct evidence that a conference was being held." Mr. McLeod forecast that if any schism takes place, the parties will not fall back upon the old groups but will divide upon the issues of Town v. Oountry. He contended that I since the general election, there [ have been marked drfferences of I opinion between the rural and ! urban representatives, and that it is along the lines of divergence laid down by these differences that the parties are likely I to divide. As Reform Minister of ! Lands, Mr. McLeod was not distinguished for his vision, but however carefully he has phrased it, he has given some inkling ; of the truth. Despite the reasj suring and heartening official j b1 atements by the respective par- ! L'es, it has been increasingly apjparent that the Coalition Party I does not speak with one undivided voice. During the past emergency session, the energies of the whips were fully absorbed in hringing the stragglers into line and it is only the proraised absence of further emergency measures which is likely to save these endeavours at the coming session. The Coalition forces were sharply divided on the pensions and economy issues during the past session and however paternal Mr. Forbes> statements may be, there is still a distinct possibility of these issues obtruding themselves upon the promised harmony of the approaching session. There has, from time to time, been talk of new parties, of schisms within the existing i party, and all the rest of the inevitahle rumours which attend a Coalition. Very many of these rumours have been smoke but there has been a certain amount of fire to create the smoke. There has been apparent a growing discontent with the administration of the Government among the farming community. This discontent has not been confined to the farmers but their's is the more noticeable because it is ap~ plied to an administration which has claims to be considered a farmers' government. The critical attitude of the Farmers' Union toward various of the Government proposals is one very signficant indication, while despite the claims which have been made on the farmers' behalf, the man on the land has still made his voice heard in protestation. Once again, it may be pointed out that the man on the land is not the only member of the eommu'nity with cause for protest, but he is undoubtedly the one to whom the most attention must be paid. Mr. McLeod, whatever his shortcomings as, Minister of Lands may have been, is a farmer in touch with farmers' problems. Deprived of a substantial measure oi the farmers' support, the Coalition will have a difficult task to weather the storm and even so guarded an indication as that 'given by Mr. McLeod, may be regarded as significant.