Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1911. "THE RIGHT THING."

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8258, 26 December 1911, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1911. "THE RIGHT THING."

Two weeks ago, wlien Sir \ Joseph Ward declared that, on • learning- the final results of the • general election polls, lie would : be prepared to do the rigjit thing, ) we, pointed out that there were 1 three perfectly legitimate courses J open to him, dependent to some . extent upon the definite shape i taken by the decision of the elec- ; tors. He might (1) hand in the resignation of himself and Ministry, or (2) call Parliament to- , gether at once to settle the question by a trial of strength, or (3) ! continue to. hold office until Par-' ; liament met in the usual course. | Immediate resignation would of j course have been-" the right thing" if the Prime Minister had found himself with a minority of supporters; an early meeting of Parliament would have been the proper course to pursue if the state of parties were doubtful or evenly balanced; but if Sir Joseph Ward could count upon a firm majority of even two or three, he would have been justified in assuming that he still possessed.'the confidence of the country and would be under no necessity to call. Parliament together before the ordinary time: No annb)iripement of his*intentions has so far been made, and the presumption is that he has not yet decided which of the three courses to follow. In the meantime Parliament stands prorogued till January 10. : The Prime Minister's waiting attitude, due chiefly to the indecisive nature of the electoral returns, may also be th,e reflex of a certain dubiety as to what is the true line of duty. He may be torn with doubt as to whether he | should do " the right thing" for' himself, or for the Liberal Party, or for, the country as a, whole. The personal equation can, we think, be altogether eliminated. If Sir Joseph were to consider only his own interests and inclinations, he would promptly drop the reins of office and might even resign his seat in Parliament and bid a cheerful good-bye to the political world; but this, we, feel assured, he will not do at : present. Inspired by loyalty to the Liberal cause, to his colleagues and to his many faithful supporters in Parliament and in the electorates, he will set, aside his own desires and aims and will no doubt carefully, consider what , he ought to do in the interests of the cause. Paramount over every other consideration he ought to place the consequences of his decision to the people of the Dominion. It is not good for any country to be in a state of political turmoil. New Zealanders, after a; keenly-fought electoral contest, in two separate acts, are not in a mood to face another general election within a few months. Farmers,, business: people ; and workers all desire of political , rest in order that they may devote themselves to the practical work of life; and in a country possessing a system of Triennial Parliaments there is really little need for making intermediate appeals ■, to the electors! All these matters 1 are r doubtless receiving from Sir Joseph Ward the careful consideration they deserve. - j What are the facts of tlie situation? It is really surprisiil? to find how diverse are the views, taken. Extreme Opposition journals claim that Mr Massey has a distinct majority of three votes in the new House of Representatives, while the Ministerial newspapers contend as strenuously that Sir Joseph Ward has a majority. The most reasonable view is that taken by the Southland " Times," an Opposition organ. That paper places the position as follows:— Government. Pledged Votes ... ... 33 Doubtful Independents 3 . Doubtful Labour ... ... 1 Native Jotes ... 3 40 Opposition. <; Pledged Votes 37 Labour Totes 3 40 On the assumption that Sir Arthur Guinness would be reelected Speaker, this would place the Government in a minority of'

one on a test division in the House of Representatives. If the Government, following the New South Wales precedent, were able to induce a memlber of the Opposition to accept the Speakership, the position would be reversed; but the condition of chaotic discontent created by the Sydney experiment will, we believe, discourage any resort to such an expedient here, even supposing a member of the Opposition were willing to "sell" his party by .accepting 1 the position of Speaker. In the classification above quoted, the Government is credited with the support of four ■" doubtful members, Messrs Coates, Rhodes, Atmore and Hindmarsh; but it has to be noted. that the firstnamed makes his support conditional upon Sir Joseph Ward having a majority, that Mr Atmore pledges himself to vote against the Government on a motion chal- 1 lenging its land policy, while j Messrs Rhodes and Hindmarsh lay emphasis upon their independence. On the other hand, the forty supporters of Mr Massey are all firm and unconditionakintheir allegiance to?him, or at least in Ilieir opposition to the ; Government. ■ .:■ , , The position is one that lends itself readily to underground intrigues, to offers of honours, rewards, concessions and other forms of political bribery. Sir Joseph Ward has a couple of portfolios in his gift; Mr Massey has many more. Both can bid for the. support of several members by definite promises of legislation in 'the interests of Labour. There is nothing to be gained by blinking j these facts. Everybody is aware of them, and everybody, knows that they constitute serious blots on the system of Party Government. It is useless at present to enlarge upon the need for reforming that system; we have to, deal with things' under existing conditiohsl No doubt the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are using every effort and art known to them to win over the Labour and Independent members to their respective parties. Deplorable and degrading "though* this is, it is what is done by^^ political leaders; of all times and places where the party system prevails-—which is," practically, everywhere except in. Switzerland. Things being as they are, the end may justify the use of these demoralising methods. The. end that is desired in this instance' is a condition of political stability. If that can be attained by either ; party, the people of the Dominion j will be reasonably content.- The suggestion of Mr Payne, the new-ly-elected member for Grey Lynn, that' the handful of Labour' j and Independent representatives should combine to force a Labour Ministry upon the country is.too absurd to call for serious comment. The Parliaments of Victoria and New South Wales have shown that it is possible for a Government to carry on business with a majority of one or two members. The same thing may be done in New Zealand. It is not of course a desirable condition, but it may be better. than throwing the country iiito the vortex of political conflict. The people of the Dominion, we believe, would be better pleased to look on while Parliament does the fighting, i Members of Parliament, also, jwill be happier to draw their salaries for three years rather than spend more money in a dubious electoral contest. The '' right thing 'J for Sir Joseph Ward to do therefore seems tolerably clear. If he can command a firm majority of two or j three votes in the House, he ought to retain office, re-construct his Cabinet and meet Parliament in the ordinary course./ If, on the other hand, he cannot; command the minimum majority necessary, he should at once call Parliament • together. He should not, for the sake of mere party, advantage, resign his position and throw upon Mr Massey the onus of framing a Cabinet and a policy.. In the balanced condition of parties, the responsibility of deciding whether or not there shall be a dissolution ought to be cast upon Parliament itself. If the "doubtful" members resist all bribes and blandishments, as they ought to do, nothing remains to be done but to summon Parliament together at the earliest possible date after the holidays and let the people's representatives discharge their duty according to their pledges and the trust- reposed in them.