The Liberals' position.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18135, 26 July 1924, Page 12

The Liberals' position.

The spokesmen of tho Liberal Party have been so unwilling to explain what their Party really stands for that wo must welcome an attempt by our morning contemporary to justify the Party's anxiety, to remain in politics as a separate Party, if it can- Hitherto the "diehard" Liberals have contented the m selvos with uttering the vaguest of generalities concerning "Liberalism," and have avoided coming to close quarters with the realities of present-day politics. * Of late they have seemed disinclined to go on with their claim that they are the trustees of the policies of Ballance and Seddon, but this we should ascribe Jess to their having thought out for themsolves the absurdity of a claim which implies a likeness between the political world of 30 years ago and the political world of to-day than to their having realised that the claim makes no appeal to practical people. They rely rather upon solemn invocations of the spirit of Liberalism, of which they give definitions as vague as they are various, but which they fail to represent as anything of which they are the special guardians. Our morning contemporary tells us no more of Liberalism than that "its first principle is equality of "opportunity." There it stops, because oven the slightest attempt to develop this point would bring it, and those whom it addresses, face to face with the plain fact that "equality "of opportunity" is perhaps the distinguishing mark of the political and social life of New Zealand. If "equality of opportunity" is the foundation of true Liberalism, then the present Government is more perfectly in harmony with true Liberalism than any Government of which there is anywhere a record. If this ia not true, it ought to be perfectly easy for tho Liberal .Party's "spokesmen to demonstrate its falsity l?y actual examples from the Government's administration and legislation. There is no reason, we are told, why New Zealand should not have three political parties, "since there are three ' 1 very distinct . schools of political '' thought in the country.'' Two schools of political thought we know: the Socialist and tho Moderate. What the third school is, and what its peculiar doctrines are, our contemporary is as unwilling as any other Liberal voice to tell us, It does not pause to explain, but hurries on to say that unless the Liberal Party remains in politics the Labour Party will come into power. This seems to imply that the supporters of the Liberal candidates are at heart Socialists. Nobody can really believe this. Tho majority of them, if the Liberal Party were voluntarily to go out of business —as ultimately it must under the compulsion of events—would support the Government, and the rest would go to the strengthening of Labour. If Labour is destined to come into office, no amount of manipulation of the moderate forces will prevent it. In the meantime the Liberals are sowing for Labour toe reap, and although Mr Holland professes a desire to see an amalgamation of the Liberal and Reform Parties, in his heart ho would be sorry to see the disappearance of a Liberal Party which has been so useful to him. We are glad, as we have said, that the Liberals are beginning to feel that they must make some attempt to explain themselves, and we trust that they will continue their efforts, since they may educate themselves to an understanding of the absurdity of their position. But we hope that they will do themselves the service of thinking and speaking and writing with candour and with a proper regard for facts. For instance, it is not candid to say that the attitude or opinion of Reformers. towards them was altered by the general election. We said, ia

1D22 that the tactics adopted by the official Liberals practically made them the allies and agents of Revolutionary Labour, and we say that this is true to-day. We said in 1922 that no reason based on political principles could be urged against the co-operation of the Liberals with the Reformers, and we repeat this now. A more serious misrepresentation by our contemporary remains to be noted. After the polls, it says, an appeal was made by the Government to the Liberals to "come "over and help us," "and three of "them, responding, gave Mr Massey a "further term of office." This statement is a gross libel upon Messrs Witty, Isitt, and Allen BelL They did not respond after the election to a call for help. They made it perfectly clear before the election that they would support the Government against any attempt to turn it out of office with the aid of the Reds. And in talcing up this attitude they showed a patriotism and an understanding of the feeling of the country and of the duty of moderate men of progressive outlook which the Liberals must acquire if they hope to be of any real service to the nation.