PARTY POLITICS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3393, 24 January 1920, Page 5

PARTY POLITICS.

ARE THEY NECESSARY‘?

MR HANAN' FAVOURS COALITION

Among the .speakers at the farewell gathering to Sir Joseph Ward there was one who ventured to criticise the D3ll)’ System, though most of those who spoke referred rnost hopefully to the Liberal Party continuing as an active force in New Zealand politics, The (lissentlent was the Hon. J. A. Hanan, who remarked [that although he was not so‘ closely associated with the Liberal Party as in former years, everyone must acknowledge that Sir Joseph Ward must have rendered great service to New Zealand, and that those services were largely responsible for the count.ry’s social and industrial progress. “Good men,” he continued, “had fallen on both sides of the House, and the abuse and savage and discreditable attack on them is due to The fact: that we have a wretched system of party government in this country. I am out to destroy it. I recognise that in all countries where we have it men are lost to the public service who cannot be spared. We should ‘have the best brains and ability to steer the ship of State through the present troubled waters into the haven of safety. No party has a monopoly of brains or ideas.”

He went on to refer to the result of the elections, which had produced a House in which scarcely four members had a good knowledge of finance. For every member was expected to know something about everything, and had no chance to specialists.

j The contrary view was takién by Si-r jJOs;3-ph Ward, who in a subsequent jspaeeeh referred to national governmnnt as necessary under the circumstances, though nobody could deny there was dissension over it on both sides! of the-‘House. This opposition spread throughout New Zhaland, and the reason was that [the coalition brought about inertia and inactivity. There was no question that the National Governmgent was un'popu»l»ar throughout the country a long time before it ended, and there was the same \éxperie~nce in England, where they. removlxd‘ Ministers, and where at the present moment leading men were prophosying 21. g'ollC=l'aJl rsloction within 13 months. “You can only get a progressive Government,” declared Sir Joseph Ward, “by giving thbg people an opportunity of having great party interests, not of the personal nature, but for the promotion of the interests of the piecple a s a whole to ‘bring about the oquilibriuni of the State.”

Sir Joseph wbnit on to remark that the elections put the Liberals in a minority,’ but there was no reason to be disappointed ovter the position of the party. History W-as repeating itself. When he was returned in 1887 the Lib-c-.ra.l Party came back witlh‘o'l'l't its IL:-ader and the Conservative party came into power. The Liberals were in -a .minority in the House then, but when they wtant to the country three years; later they came back with a so—lid majority, -and wene impower for 20 years. If Liberals stood together and did not ‘allow the smeller side of political working to interfere with th;-air judgment and cooperation, his opinion was that as th)‘ party with the second largest number of votes behind it, Liberalism would become triumphant in the end. -