OAMARU BY-ELECTION.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 81, 5 April 1923, Page 9

OAMARU BY-ELECTION.

LABOUR STANDS OUT. MX. HOLLAND'S STATEMENT. ■ ::y Telegraph.—Tress Association i CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday. At the Labour party's conference reference was made to the position in connection with the Oamaru by-election ihe matter came up in connection with the following resolution, moved by Mr 11. E. Holland. M.P., '"That it be an instruction to the incoming executive to take ste-ps to organise brunches of tlie party in all constituencies not contested last December, and in which branches at present do not e\ist." Mr. Holland drew attention to the statement alleged to have been made by Mr .1. A. Macpherson. the Liberal candidate for Oamaru. "that any candidate in the Labour interest would be instigated only through the auspices of the Reform party." Mr. Holland said he was strongly of opinion that the Labour party should have bad a candidate in the field at Oamaru last December, but that had not been done, and now that they were having a second fight, arising out of n technicality, he did not think they should enter into it. He was satistied Mr. Macpherson had been properly elected in December, but that did not justify the foolish statement made by Mr. Macpherson. which was an insult to every man and woman in the Labour movement. When Labour entered the field in any electorate it entered in opposition both to the Reform and Liberal parties, and would not come in or stay out nt the instigation of either of them. A statement like that came with somewhat bad grace from Mr. Macpherson. whose record in the short session was hardly that of an opponent of the Government. Mr. Macpherson three times out of four helped Mr. Massey in the few days of the short session, and, in the-light of fundamentals, it made no difference whether Mr. Macpherson or the Hon. E. P. Lee was elected. In either case Mr. Massey had a supporter against Labour. What they had to sec was that a branch of the party was formed in the electorate and a candidate placed in the field at the next election. Mr. Holland's remarks were favourably received, and it was generally agTeed that there should be no participation in the present contest, but that the Oamaru electorate be organised for future elections.