The Dominion FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1923. THE BEST BRAINS WANTED

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 153, 16 March 1923, Page 6

The Dominion FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 1923. THE BEST BRAINS WANTED

Ik opening his campaign lor the 1 fo , “ o/wor™ Ward appears to have indicated that Parties To use his ing ngrfemont between the Be onn , 1 toown words, “the best brains of the House must puu SethC With this view most people will be in agreement The opinion alter the existing state of parties and would merely be a costly disturbing influence. T n sFPH Ward lays on the asserTiie special emphasis which Sir JOSEPH WARD y t, that tion that his election would not mean a dissolution su SS e ® ts he is one of those who Believe that a dissolution would be unpopular. But i? also implies that he is confident that his election wou d result in some form of fusion between existing parties which would ensure a Government with a working majonty. As we have mentioned, the inference to be drawn from his words is that he contemplates a fusion or working agreement between the Reform and Liberal Parties; but he does not say so ini as many words. Ho merely says that the best brains must get togethe While this is satisfactory enough so far as it goes, it still leaves the position somewhat obscure. What has Sir .] 0S ® PH „ rea . 1 V “ Does he favour a fusion of the Ketorm Mel Libera 1 arties, or what other form of working agreement does he sugges I ln „ pp „ w »nn There are many people who would like to see biR Joseph Ward back in politics-some because they believe in him politically, others because they think his re-entry would lead to a linking up of tie two anti-Socialist parties in our Parliament to-day. Some of the comments of the Liberal Press, however, seem to suggest that the first consideration behind his candidature is the confounding of o If Sin Joseph’s purpose in coming forward to contest the Tauranga seat is “animated by the single desire to do his part to help the country out of its difficulties,” he might as an effort indicate quite clearly what he means by his proposal for the best brains of the House putting their heads together. Those not behind tne scenes will be inclined to ask why there should be an election at all, or at least why there should be a contest between Sir Joseph Ward and an official Reform candidate, it Sir Joseph is prepared to work with the Government. A contest on the lines now proceeding might have been avoided by agreement between the parties. , An effort is being made in some quarters to sene the opportunity of Sir Joseph Ward’s candidature to indulge in exaggerated and somewhat fulsome eulogies of his past achievements. Sir Joseph has been a prominent figure in our politics for a great many years, and he has a lengthy record of public service to his credit, but, unhappily, he is not the heaven-born genius as depicted by some of his admirers, and as a party leader he has always failed. He had the unfortunate knack of doing the wrong thing in time of emergency or of only half-doing the right thing. In the present contest for the Tauranga scat ho had a great opportunity of taking a leading part in smoothing out the difficulties of the existing political situation and bringing about a working agreement between Liberal and Reform members which would have ensured a period of stable Government. This is what the country wants. „ Instead of taking a bold course and declaring his intentions openly, he has started out timidly. He believes the best brains in the House should get together, but he sets out to fight the election without taking the electors or the public generally into his confidence as to what this pious belief means. Possibly as the campaign develops ho may indicate his plan—if he has a plan—for bringing the best brains together. If there is anything in his plan it might have saved him a lot of trouble and worry in the present election contest if he had disclosed it frankly a week ago.