JUSTICE TO BOTH.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 248, 18 October 1924, Page 6

JUSTICE TO BOTH.

It is part of the anti-Liberal campaign in New Zealand as well as Britain to exaggerate what the Mac Donald Government has done and ignore the help it has received from the Liberals. Those who are playing this party game here, hope that by discrediting English Liberalism they will weaken Liberalism in New Zealand. The Christchurch "Press," for example, which used to have quite a liking for certain phases of English Liberalism, especially Free Trade, has become childish in the vehemence of its contention that the Liberal party at Home is useless and doomed. Its object is to hasten the end of the Liberal party here. The "Lyttelton Times" comments on a letter it has received from another quarter of the field—the Labour forces, to whose interest also it is to belittle Liberalism. This correspondent challenges the "Times' " suggestion that the good work done by the Labour Government was inspired by the Liberals and virtually undertaken at their dictation. He asserts that "the Augean stables of Europe and Turkey" have been "cleaned out," and that the housing problem, the Irish boundary issue, and the taxation burden have been "cleverly handled," all without any real assistance from the Liberals. Let us admit cheerfully what we have often stated, that in some respects Mr. Mac Donald's Government has done well. When the New Zealand Labour party, in its message to the British party, aays: "Your masterly handling of the European situation has changed the world outlook from war to peace, chaos to order, menace to promise, and has placed Britain in the forefront of nations who desire international peace, scientific reconstruction and social welfare," it exaggerates an acknowledged truth. Putting the Russian treaty aside, Mr. Mac Donald has handled foreign affairs well. His opponents have paid handsome tributes to what he did in bringing about an agreement between the Allies at the London Conference. It is, however, absurd to give his Government the whole of the credit for this. To begin with, there was no great difference between the attitudes of the three parties—excluding the "die-hard" wing of the Conservatives—towards the Franco-German problem; at least, both the other parties stood behind Mr. MacDonald, and Mr. Baldwin, the Leader of the Unionists, went out of his way, before the conference, to assure the Government publicly of his support. To suggest that the Labour Government had a monopoly of desire for peace would he ridiculous and impudent. A still more potent fact, however, was the fall of M. Poincare in France, which changed the whole situation. Mr. MacDonald deserves all credit for what he did, but the medium in which he worked had suddenly become more pliable. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that this is only the beginning of what everybody hopes is an era of peace and reconstruction. To talk of Britain "cleaning out" Turkey is amusing in view of what is happening on the Iraq frontier. As for domestic legislation, the Budget was in substance and spirit a purely Liberal Budget, -which might have been framed by Mr. Asquith just as -well as by Mr. Snowden. Had the Liberals been in office they would have brought in the Irish Boundary Bill. The Housing Act ia the one outstanding constructive domestic measure of the Labour Government, end H has yet to bo proved that it Jβ workable. The liberals criticised it »everely, and did their beet to

amend it. The Liberals put Labour in office, and helped it on numerous questions, and for tho most part the acts of the Government were what would have been expected from a Liberal Administration. Today Labour reserves 1 its bitterest reproaches for the Liberal?, ■ and tho tactic in Britain and elsewhere is to give Labour all the credit for what has been done since it took office.