WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 215, 11 September 1925, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

FUSION FAILURE. ELECTION PROSPECTS. I ' r'From Our Special Correspondent.) ! WELLINGTON, September 10. I Speaking at Hawera on Saturday night, the Hon. A. D. McLeod, the Minister in charge of the Reform party s organisation—an efficient department, it may be well to state —returned to tha discussion of the "fusion failure" for the purpose, it would seem, of making it plain to his audience that but for the cupidity of the Liberals, the two old*r parties in the House would now be emulating the amity displayed by the scriptural lion and lamb. The Liberals, ho grieved to sa.y, had entered upon the ■ negotiations with a voracious appetite ' for portfolios and immunity from opposition at the polls, making it plain from the first they would accept nothing le 3s than their own demands. Mr. G. .W. Forbes, who was a Liberal delegate at the fusion conference, and now is leader of the Nationalists-Liberal Opposition, gave ! a prompt denial in emphatic terms to Mr. McLeod's version of the proceedings .at the conference. He declared thnt the allotment of portfolios had obtained no • prominence during the negotiations, and that a reasonable understanding between the Reformers and the Liberals during the impending election had been taken for granted. What Mr. McLeod will have to say in reply to this challenge re- ; mains to be heard, but it is certain he - . will not be easily driven from his guns. ' \ A Newspaper View. j Meanwhile, the "Evening Post," in its , I best judicial style makes a brave attempt i to hold the scales fairly between the ; disputants. "Having set out to show the , electors of Patea, that some of the LibeJ rals desired fusion for what they cOuld get out of it," the evening journal says, j "the Hon. A. D. McLeod lias given much ! more convincing proof of the obstructive spirit in which the issue was approached by at least some Reformers. We give Mr. McLeod himself credit for a considerable , measure of candour. He, at least, did not j attempt to disguise his own opinion of ! fusion, and even while the negotiations were in progress, made a statement which , could bear no other interpretation than | that fusion was possible only by the unconditional surrender of the Liberals;" The statement to which the "Post" refers was to the effect that the Government i would welcome recruits from either the j Liberal or the Labour ranks, but only on . condition that they accepted Reform principles and refrained from attacking Reform candidates already in the field. j The imposition of conditions of this kind, ■ which appear to haA'e been endorsed by Mr. McLeod's colleagues, suggests, as tha "Post" says, "that there was much mora bluff than plain talking about the whole business;" • * S The Birth of the Idea. | The truth of the matter is that the idea of fusion between the two older parties was an inheritance from Mr. Massey. Had the great Reform leader lived and enjoyed good health for another year or two, in all probability ha | would have brought the idea to fruition. 'He realised after the election of 1922, that in spite of his generous concessions .to Liberalism and in spite of his continj ued personal popularity his own politlj cal maiia was waning. To some of his ; closest friends he admitted as much. He ] was not content to hold office by the j grace of the two members who had como jto him from the other side of the. House j and by the accident of the Maori vote. I His reiterated invitation to other members to follow the example of Mr. Isitt i and Mr. Witty had met with no response ■ and the outlook- in the constituencies at that time wns not encouraging. The gains of the Labour opposition at the polls had far outnumbered the losses of the I ilteral opposition, and there was no . si<m of a Reform revival on the horizon. Naturally Air. Masscy's colleagues viewed fusion in those days with some personal misgivings. The death of their leader, 'marvellous as it may seem, has brought I them their opportunity and they are not go i„j, to lightly s-t it aside. { At the Polls. What will be the ultimate outcome of I the present political confusion is a qilOS- ! f i on which no one. save perhaps Mr. 'McLeod. appears .-ilile tn answer with any confidence. The Minister of Lands, "to his creiiit. is always a cheery optimist and he sees the Reformers coming back aftc? the general election reinforced by half a dozen scats, which would give them a clear majority of ten independent of any unattached Fusionists who misiiit drift towards their side of the House. There is a feeling here, at any rate, that the prospects of the Liberals have been improved by the appointment of Mr Forbes to their leadership. Mr. I'orl.es is an old representative footballer and he plays polities much as he played Rugby, as hard as he knows how. but always with a smile on his lips and a glow of comprehensive friendship in hi* heart The Labour party is thought to have lost ground during the last month or two, through no fault of its own, but owing to industrial strife abroad Its members, however, are confident of maintaining their present representation in the House and hopeful of increasing it. If they do that Mr. McLeod's prediction will be unfulfilled. There _rfn££_ seats to be won from the Liberal*.