THE NEW LEADER.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 71, 23 March 1912, Page 11

THE NEW LEADER.

DECISION OF PARTY CAUCUS. HON. T. MACKENZIE SELECTED. STATEMENT BY SIR JOSEPH WARD. GOVERNMENT POLICY REAFFIRMED.

The conference of membeis of the combined Liberal, Labour, and IndepenI dent parties, convened to select a leader in place of Sir Joseph Ward, did not reach a definite conclusion until nearly 6 o'clock yesterday evening. The doors of the Cabinet-room, where the caucus was being held, and the approaches thereto were throughout guarded against intrusion, but now and again word came out in a, more or less (chiefly less) indefinite manner that there was trouble in the camp, and that the party was seriously divided on a question of who should be the leader in' succession to Sir Joseph Ward. There- is no question that when the party met at 11 o'clock in the morning the general feeling was in favour of the Hon. J. A. Millar, and there is no question also that when the party resumed after the five hours' earnest talk of the previous night the three .Labour members present (Messrs. Veitch, Robertson, and Payne), with the help of Mr. lsitt, put up a big fight against the Minister of Railways, and the result is conclusive proof that they succeeded. It was 5.40 p.m. when the members emerged from the recesses of the Cabi-net-room, and they seemed very joyous. Presently from one of the rooms came the strains "He's a Jolly Good Fellow." Sir Joseph Ward subsequently made a statement to the press representatives. The party, he said, had, at the commencement of its sitting, unanimously reaffirmed the policy laid down in the Governor's Speech, delivered at the j opening of Parliament on the 16th of February. The party had then, after full consideration, voted upon v the question of the leadership. The Hon. J. A. Millar withdrew from nomination, and the Hon. T. Mackenzie scored 22 votes against 9 cast for Mr. G. Laurenson. The wholo of the proceedings, said Sir Joseph, were carried on with kindly feeliug between the members holding different opinions regarding those proposed for the leadership, and on the completion of the final ballot there was a unanimous expression of good will conveyed by Sir Joseph Ward to Mr. Mackenzie on behalf of the whoie party. "I said," stated Sir Joseph Ward, "that the position, which was a difficult one, had been approached from, n broadminded standpoint, and that it was necessary for the members of the party, if they wanted to succeed, to sink any minor difference and stand loyally by the new leader." He pointed out, he went on to say, that the selection of a Cabinet by fhe new leader was necessarily difficult, and that self-sacrifice from individual members was necessary, in order to ensure the solidarity of the party which_ would be behind the new Administration. Finally he took the opportunity of thanking the members of the party who were present, as well as the members of the old party who were absent, for the loyalty and bupport that they had given him during a long period of years. Sir Joseph Ward added that, before sending in his resignation, he would j give the new leader sufficient time to decide on whom he should take into his I Administration before tendering his own resignation to His Excellency the- Governor. That would be on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. It may be added that one of the first acts of the caucus was to pass a. resolution "that the members of the Liberal Party here present thankfully recognise the able, brilliant, and successful manner in which Sir Joseph Ward has led the party since he became Prime Minister, and also his assistance to the party during the Premiership of Mr. Ballanco and Mr. Seddon. They express deep regret that he considers it desirable to vacate office, and trust that he will continue to assist the party with, his wise counsel and mature experience." ''The official report of the conference also stated that the members of the Labour Party took part in the discussion, and in the election of a leader. TWO VIEWS. BANKER AND LABOUR MAN. [BY IELBG£APH — SPECIAL XO THE FOST.j CHRISTCHCJRCH, This Day. A prominent local banker, when asked hie views regarding the Hon. T. Mackenzie's appointuient, /said that he be-

lieved the new Leader would make an excellent Prime Minister. Mr. Mackenzie, he eaid£ is a man of high capacity ; he has many of the best characteristics' of the Scotch people ; he is earnest, thorough, 6traight-forward, dogged, and determined without being obstinate. As a worker he is absolutely indefatigable. He is broad-minded, level-headed, and sensible. Above all he is a sound man ; he is not likely to be led into reckless and foolish actions. Mr. D. G. Sullivan, president of the Trades and Labour Council, said that he was astonished. A few years previously Mr. Mackenzie had' been little short- of a pronounced Tory," displaying absolutely no sympathy with the progressive section of the community, and actually hostile to the principles of the Labour movement. "One feels," said Mr. Sullivan, "that all the talk about a progressive policy and harmonious work between the Labour and Liberal Parties is bosh and insincerity. All Mr. Mackenzie's utterances since he 'has been in public life indicate that he is an out and out individualist, and temperamentally opposed to collectivist ideals, yet it is towards collectivism that the whole Labour and progressive movement in this country is tending. The selection will be received with distrust by the workers of this country, and will strengthen them in their determination to build up a party of their own that will be strong enough to be careless whether the Liberal leader is a radical like Mr. Laurenson or a Liberal-cum-Conservative like Mr. Mackenzie." PRESS COMMENTS. INTERESTS OF THE COUNTRY" SAFE. [BY TELEGRAPH— SPECIAL 10 TH£ /POST.J CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. The Lyttelton Times says : , "Our friends of Opposition will ni>t fail to remind us that only a few years ago Mr. Mackenzie was -a very sturdy Independent with strong leaning towards their side of the House, and was wont to speak disparagingly of the party with which he is now associated ; but ' this kind •of criticism cuts both ways. We at least may be suie that the high ideals and practical common-sense which have shaped his political course in the past will continue to guide him in the responsible position to which he has been called. He does not pose as a Heaven-sent genius or even a great statesman, but wo are satisfied in his hands the inteersts of the country as well as the traditions of the Liberal Party will ba safe, and that when the time comes for him to lay down his trust, the popular verdict will be that he- has done his utmost to serve the Dominion and its people faithfully and well." "THE THIXG IS A FRAUD." fßt TELEGRAPH — PfIESS ASSOCIATION, j CHRISTCHURCH, 23rd March. "It is always the unexpected that happens in politics," says the Press, "but the whirligig of time has seldom brought round a stranger surprise than the selection of Mr. T. Mackenzie, the renegade from the so-called old v Tory Party as the leader of the Liberal-Labour coalition. In one sense there may be a certain amount- of appropriateness in the fact that a party which is temporarily in possession owing to the broken pledges of some of ita adherents should select a political turncoat- for its leader, it is impossible to believe that the country will recognise him as a heaven-sent leader capable of directing its affairs, and it is equally difficult to see how the heterogenous members of this present party can agree to serve under his banner. The chief reason why Mr. Mackenzie has been selected is, apart from the Labour Party's objection to Mr. Millar, that so far as he- remains true to any of his principles he is a freeholder, and the North Island members of the party have intimated that they will not have a leaseholder as their leader at any price. But what of the ardent leaseholders, Mr. La-urenson, Mr. Ell, and the rest. Are they content to follow blindly in the wako of the ex-member of the Tory Party, and say that they too are prepared to bink their principles in an attempt to get into office, and to that end they will as soon fight under the freehold banner as any other. The truth is the thing is a fraud which is bringing representative institutions in New Zealand into ridicule and contempt. We do not for one moment believe that Mr. Mackenzie can form a Ministry that is capable of ata-nding. 1 '-