FUSION EXPECTED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 512, 15 November 1928, Page 1

FUSION EXPECTED

LABOUR LEADER’S STATEMENT REFORM’S CRUSHING DEFEAT Press Association WESTPORT, To-day. “Never in the history of Australasia has there been so crushing a defeat of a Government as that experienced by the Coates Administration yesterday. In 1925, ad- ,, vertised and extolled in almost every newspaper, Mr. Coates went up like a rocket, and yesterday came down like a stone, and even in his own constituency his majority has been considerably reduced.” Mr. H. E. Holland. Lea>:r of the Labour Party, said this in a statement made available for the Press to-day. “While I am extremely gratified at the substantial increase in Labour representation in the House, and by : the fact that my own constituency has given me the largest straight-out ! majority in the Dominion,” said Mr. Holland, "I regret very much the de- ! feat of Mr. Lee and -Mr. Bartram for Auckland East and Grey Lynn respectively. They were both valued mpm- i

i bera, and I have no doubt whatever ! that in good time both seats will be I recovered. “In a number of cases where we failed to win. our own organisation was lacking. We left selection of some of our candidates all too late, and, unlike our opponents of both other parties, we were heavily handicapped by lack of funds. Indeed, there were not a few constituencies I which we were compelled to leave un- | contested, because we were unable to ; finance candidatures. Notwithstanding these mistakes and difficulties, which I hope will be avoided and overcome in future contests, we have made a most significant forward move, and now find ourselves in a position where we are masters of the situation for the time being, for the result of yesterday’% poll leaves matters where neither of the other two parties can carry on without our consent. “It goes without saying that we will not under any circumstances vote to hold the present Government in power and, in any case, I do not anticipate that Mr. Coates and his Ministers will seek to continue in office. “After the debacle yesterday the country is entitled to expect that the Prime Minister will meet Parliament immediately, or alternatively, that he will lose no time in tendering the resignation of his Cabinet. It has been suggested that prior to going out of office the Government will make a certain number of appointments to the Legislative Council. It is hardly necessary to say that in face of the people’s verdict such a move would amount to abuse of the powers held by the defeated Government, and would, moreover, constitute a grave political scandal.” “Sir Joseph Ward could only hold office at the will of the Labour Party, and since the majority of his followers have made public statements repudiating the idea that they would rote with Labour, it does not appear to be likely that they would agree to a Ward Government that would be largely subject to the dictation of the Labour Party. This being so, and since 'under the circumstances a Labour Government is not a possioility, it follows that, failing the fusion of the two anti-Labour parties, 1

the re must be another appeal to the electorates very shortly. In my opinion there is no material line of dems rcation between the policies of the Reform and the United parties, and an amalgamation of those parties is both logical and likely, and more especially since during quite a number of years they have voted together in the House in opposition to the Labour Party. At the same time I would warn Labour organisations that if a fusion of our opponents is not consummated, we must be prepared to face another General Election at short notice.”