WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, 28 January 1919, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS

THE NEW POLITICAL PARTY.

DISSATISFACTION.

(Special Corresp6ndent.fi

WELLINGTON, January 27

The statement concerning the foration of a new political party attributed to "two northern members of Parliament" and now going the round, of the newspapers, is merely an elaboration of other stories of the kind, that have been mentioned in this column from time to time. That the National Government is less popular with, the parties to-day than it was at the time of its formation, when it seemed to be the only alternative to another appeal to the constituencies to decide whether the Reformers or the Liberals should have charge of the affairs of the country during the course of the war, there can be no possible doubt. During three and a-half years of office it has had several disagreeable things to do, has committed many blunders, and "has left various pledges unfulfilled. These airs of commission and omission have brought it into mure or less - disfavour both in Parliament and in the country and the talk of a new party is one symptom of the prevailing dissatisfaction. DESIRE FOR CHANGE.

But whether or not the proposed new political party-will take Jefinite shape in time to make its appeal to the constituencies at the next general election will depend very largely upon what the absent party leaders do or leave undone on their return to the Dominion. A peculiar feature of position is that the dissatisfaction with, the National Government is associated with a much kiudlier personal doling towards the two party leaders, irrespective of political colour, than existed in" the days before the truce. This is a.good augury in that it suggests the public life of the country is to be placed on a higher plane than it soT.iethn'es has occupied in the past. But neither Mr. Massey nor Sir Joseph Ward will be accepted as the leader of the new party without 'first renouncing his allegiance to the coalition. Thepromoters are frankly tired of nonparty government and determined 'to get back to the old order of things" as early as possible. THE PEACE CONFERENCE. It is thought here that the cable messages referring to Mr. Massey'sprotests against New Zealand being represented by only one' delegate at the Peace Conference give a distorted idea of the manner in which the* Prime Minister has made his representations on the subject, to" the""lmperial authorities. ' His friends will not believe that Mr. Massey is basing his claim for a second delegate on New Zealand's war sacrifices or that he is declaring these sacrifices to be equal proportionately to those of the Mother Country. This they say might be the language of the section of the British press that is Always seeking to put Mr. Lloyd eGorge in the> wrong, but it would not be the. language of su representative of the Dominion wishing to make the way of the Imperial Government easy. The facts of the case will be awaited with some interest, and meanwhile Mr. Mussey's critics are making what capital they can out of the cable reports. THE EFFICIENCY BOARD.

The local papers, perhaps a little tardily, are waking up to the fact that the National Efficiency Board is in peril of being shunted into oblivion. The "Dominion" can find "no justification in reason or common-sense for Government's apparent intention of allowing the Board to wind up its activities in the near future," and the "Post" thinks it "amazing" that just when the Board is best qualified to help the State it should receive its marching orders from "an ungrateful unappreciative Government." The "Post" implies very broadly that certain politicians, "including a few in high places,;' are looking askance at the Board on account of its disposition 'to interfere with their prerogatives, and without attaching too much importance to a suggestion of this kind it is easy to believe that on occasions Ministers have found the commissioners' recommendations a little embarrassing.