POLITICAL SITUATION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1318, 22 December 1911, Page 6

POLITICAL SITUATION.

i ' — -H ■ —. STATE OF PARTIES. WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT MOYE? : SOME PRESS OPINIONS. ' Now that the Maori elections arc over (says tho'"Wriirarnpa Times") it is inter- ' esting to once more consider, the state of ' parties.' After going in'td.Jilw prubabili- ' fi s- s itl detail, tho.paper concludes:—Tin's division ol' forces, fives the Government only 3(i to the Opposition's.'-!!, .with three votes Unaccounted for. assured the Kniparii electors that .if Sir 1 .fosepliWariL is not returned to', power, he will maintain an absolutely indepenI dent attitude. .No,, one. vet knows what «"' 0 tho opinions and intentions'of Mr. Rhodes (Plmmes), but it is generally be- : heved that ho will vote for the \Vanl party in a crisis. We cannot see. thcreiore, how the Government, can possiblv Set ii majority of votes, milch less the" support, necessary to carry on the busiW.f f the. country; and we" nro. satisfied that Sir-Joseph.'Ward's' decision will be to the effect tliat Parliament will I*' ; called .tO'.'other at, the earliest possible i moment. . . '- , ; ;.THE SIMPLEST WAY. '. —,' \ ; .•J:"st'how the political to ■ jump in the immediate future few !p«iJP,£ c ;', u S 'V with any degree of certainty. : ino Ir.emier says ho is wailing for the ; results of the Maori- elections'",to... Jic-. j known before' arriving at a. decision, but I- declares ho will abide by the-decision of 1 tho peojlle and do the right tiling: '.-.-'. No Government, in our.view. should ,- hold office, without it can rely-on a'work- • :. lng tnnjovity of representatives of the dominant, race. The .results of the elec-tion;-show'that there is. a desire for-a. i change of Administration, and to .that ; . feeling Sir.Joseph Ward'-should'-submit. Whatever may be said as to the peculiar public attitude shown in -the-North Is- - land of favouring, aii' alliance of Torv and Labourite, .the public is entitled to - whatever brand of politics it desires and asks -for. Obviously' the simplest and best'way" ig-.fp.r the Government to resign and permit Mr. Massey to form a Government.—"Taiariaki Daily News." LABOUR AND REFORM; ,Tho Wardist press has- offered - varied excuses for, the defeat of the Governwent lit the general election.: -In . the main it blames the workers and aij energetic effort is to be made-.to patch, up the breach between Labour and sham liberalism. Tho H'ardist press and' tho political hangers-on who 'have'''toadied to the Government for twenty • years are beginning to rub their eyes-after a'rude awakening.' Labour whs'.evidently supposed to walk at the apron-strings of fvery Government candidate and to.prop tho AVard party in power because it had assumed the name! of Liberalism. , Labour, however, has torn the mask of - Liberalism from the Government, . aiul has shown that it wishes to attach-itself ' to something inoro genuine than a'nanie- ----- Libel. The most gnllins; thing' to the Wardist party is that it has been re- . pudia'tcd by Labour. . .:. On .the other ' Jiand, where Labour has associated -it- ' self with the R'-eform party it -lias' prov--cd acceptable to the people. Mr. Veifch at Wimganui, Mr. Robertson at Otaki, ] and Mr. Payne at Grey Lynn all owe ' their seats, in. Pnrlianiicnt to their re- ' pudiation of the Ward Government, .ami ' tho fact of these nien associating thorn-, ' pelves with Mr.--Massey stamps .him as '. a true friend of thio.'workers. -.We'd"'." o '' ' think that Labour is-over-represent'ed".in the new Parliament; nor do! wo'very niuch , fear the Labour representatives holding ] the balance of power. The fact of three , Labour renresenlatives being as>oeiatod j ■with, tho Reform party 'should lead to satisfactory industrial legislation and should explode the idea, of the. Ward Government h-ing tho_ only party cap- ' able.,of .guarding tV ' interests-.of the. ] .worklc-r.?.—Danne-virke "Evening News." i THE NATIVE ELECTIONS... . ' The-information we have received re- < gpecUng tho results of the elections for I tlio. throo Native constituencies that are noccssa-ry to. complete the.composition of i the House of Representatives is not abso- ( lately complete, but indicates approxi- | mately what tho verdict of tho electorates j has been. Never before was so much , interest taken in theso elections ivs at , tho present time, sinco it'--is assumed.in | •some quarters that tho results may vit- i fl-lly affect the position, of/the parties in j tho House. This wo believe- In be an er- ( Toneous assumption,,. since",the -'Ministry' j is, to all appearances,; in a'minority in , the new Parliament even if it.receives the support of. all the Native .representatives. And it is not an .unreasonable.- ! conclusion that if .Mr. .Massey conies into ' power one af. least of the 'Maori mem- l iKrs will join his parly.—"Olngo Daily ' Times." ■ f EMPHATICALLY AGAINST' THE CON- " TIN COL'S MINISTRY; V" t Tho "New Zealand . Times" seeks to r , show (says tho--»\V»iraraTKr-Ag<)"-);-be- '-'' causo tho Ministerial candidates in tho ' general election secured a greater num- s Wr. of votes.in the aggregate than tho c Opposition candidates, the latter cannot t claim to havo tho support of the eoun- '' try. The "Times" conveniently omits to a take notice of tho fact that, in a number I " " of tho electorates, thero worjj.no Oppoti- ° tion candidates. It also forgets, to men- i tion that, in the aggregate thero were a igreater number of votes recorded against <' Ministerial candidates than for them, 'I and that in those electorates whore thero t was u contest between representatives of I'Mr. Massey and. Sir Josenh Ward tho c former had overwhelming majorities. No k juggling with figures' can - disprove tho y fact that (lie,country- has-declared'em- a phatically, against tho Continuous Minis- t try. : i,r-;:...-':; ■.- : c WILL THE "LORDS': GIVE TROUBLE? ? ■-... /V ..curious-suggestion.-has- Wen made d newspaper in. discussing b Iwliiical-possibiliHes.-:--This -.is to -the si effect-that owing to .the present Govern- p Jiient' liavin; a large majority in the n Upper House, estimated as being'.-muc- U thiug like. 30 to I, J.t might _bv. action tl there .force a dissolution on the now n Government and Ho-use. Tho pro- I ocdurc .'suggested is that tho v,ouncil ci might reject a, policy measure carried a through.'the I.ower House by-a Massey ei Administration, nud that as the Gover- fi Tinr. could • not" he presumed to accept n novice of t -fre«h nominations to give the t( Government the necessary majority :u n the TJpixir Housel- there iiiust.be aii ap- o peal to the country. One would have > thought that ; the. prtsumntion would bo v just the contrary;'. .'. Mr. Massey may b have a go'od deal, of trouble ill -tlio"House y nf Repri'Sentatives, but if he comes out a on ton there he need have lio fear about t the Coiinoil. . Tljcy can be very easily h dealt with', aml'-we dare say he would t jiot be .sorry' of an 'opportunity, to e, .strengthen its personnel, which, it."mu»t e b? confessed, is, taken, as a whole, c . capable of ft good deal of impruvcJneiit.—"llawera Star." c c MR. MASSEY AND "THE LORDS." n One of the problems that confront Mr. n Massey immediately he succeeds in form- j, ing a stable -'Administration fsavs" tho r "Pahiatuu" Herald") will bo that of dealing with tho Legislative Council; in fact, the position- in-New -Zealnnd'vyill " have, a curious, resemblance to that which recently confronted Ast|iiith in Great Britain. When Air. Asquith's Admirastration took office in Great Hritain it was found that th? House of Lords was strongly Conservative -and used its powors to mutilate and reject Liberal .legislation. The position* eventually-became a so intolerable' that ' it. s crisis arose, urn! in the. end the House 1 ; of Lords.had to submit to the will of c the people and consent to its powers being restrieted| so thai"Literal lesislation c might reach tho Statute Hook. The .rela- d tions between the two Houses in New s Zealand ill tho evont of Mr. Massey as- f, siiming power -would, be curiously like those that .existed between tho House of j ( Commons and the House of Lords. Thus while Mr. Massey would have a majority in tho . House •of Representatives, tho Ward party would still have a large ma- ? iority in the Legislative Council, which has boon stuffed for years with men who muld be depended upon to foUow the Government of the. day. An analysis of the Legislative Council as at present I constituted shows. that'theTeare 28 Ward- , ists, 1 Labour member?. ahd~7'ODpo;i-. tion. It is anr^ircn^. therefore that -ifJ.-.<

the Legislative Cotmcil took it into it 9 i head to obstruct legislation, it could, do 50 effectually as ever tlio House of Lords Nut Home did. Whether the'Legislative .Council would euro to incite the anger of tlio democracy by following the .suicidal coiu.so. recently, adopted . by tlio -llpuso of Lords in the Old■ Country is a very open question, but if it did it would certainly set Mr. Masscy a very tough proposition to solve. ;." "a; change needed. Br Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, December 20. "Truth" states that.a change of admin- , istnition is greatly needed in jNpw Zealand. If it occurs, "Truth" hopes that the unfortunate Mr. Joshua .Tones wilt bo granted compensation for the monstrous injustice of the Mokau case. -WEST COAST AND WARDISM. j "CONTINUED ■ CONFIDENCE." (By Tcletrraph—Press. Association.! Hokitika, December 21.' At a large and enthusiastic complimentary "social," tendored to Mr. T. Y. iSeddon, M.R, at Kumara, i,n-honour of his '.....re-election,. the. following resolution was moved by the Mayor of Kumara (Mr. J. A. Murdoch): "That this largo and re r preventative gathering of-citizens.of Kumara. and surrounding districts desires to extend to Sir Joseph Ward-its-continued confidence in tlio: Liberal Government. Wo.trust, thnt tho Premier .will-emerge triumphant from the present political crisis to continue'in the work of .progressive" and hirmafiitaiiair'legislaficTi commenced by the' party twenty years;, ago." The motion was. seconded'" by the president- of the Kumara -Miliars'"Association (Mr... W... IT. Evehdon) .arid..carried..unanimously, with ringing cheers for Sir Joseph'and:Lady Ward and Mr. Scddon.,