POLITICAL POSITION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 80, 3 April 1912, Page 10

POLITICAL POSITION.

MR. MASSEY INTERVIEWED. [BT TELEOBAPH— PBESB ASSOCIATION.] AUCKLAND, 2nd April. Several aspects, of the political situation were discussed by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. W. F. Massey) in an interview to-day. When the reconstruction of the Go* vernmeni was announced, Mr. Maesey was travelling in Taranaki, and his return to Auckland to-day afforded the first apportunity for a pressman to ascertain' his opinions upon the new Ministry. " So iar as I am able to judge," said Mr. Mass*}, " the. position k thoroughly well understood. Peopl« see a set ol men in power who have got there as the result of methods which are not creditable to them, and are certainly not creditable to the country. These men make up a Ministry without any opinions on which its members art) agreed, and so far as it is possible to judge, without a majority behind it. .Therefore it appears as a Ministry which does nob possess the confidence of the country, and which is apparently afraid to' face the House until the last possible moment. "The new Ministry ha» advised the Governor to prorogue Parliament until 27th June. That date falls on a Thursday. The Government has no authority to spend .money after 30th June, so it will ask for Supply on Friday, 28th June, and the real business of the. session will not commence until the following week, or the .beginning of July. 1 am confident such tactics will not commend themselves to the Tight-thinking people of the community, and 1 also express th« opinion that no Ministry worthy of the country would adopt them. Discussing the position of the Opposition, Mr. Massejr Bald that the Relorm Party, both outside Parliament and innde, was never more determined and never more enthusiastic than it is to-day. "There waa a feeling of disappointment at the result of the want-of-confi-deno* motion during the short session," he remarked, " but that has been succeeded by a determination to have sentenced at the bar of public opinion those who did the wire-pulling, who brought pressure to bear on inexperienced members, and who are in that and otherrespect* responsible for one of the darkest pages in the political* history of New Zealand." 4 ' Asked if he could give some indication of the future tactics of the Reform Party, Mr. Massey said "he could hardly answer that queetion. " All I can say," he added, "is that we shall do our duty to the country to the best of our ability and judgment. When the time comes for a majority to place us on the Treasury Benches we shall not shirk our responsibilities, and let m« assure you that when we get there there will be no hiding behina a fence. Th« present Ministry is now in the humiliating position in which I foresaw ib would be landed by the unworthy tactics employed by its party prior to and' during last session, ft is probably just as well that it should remain tfnere for some little time to came. What hat» happened! suits us exactly." POSSIBILITY OF A DISSOLUTION. - The possibility of a dissolution was discussed by Mr. Massey. "My own opinion i»,. there will be no election for .Bomfl time," he said. "Still, itis well to be ready for a General Election, and by.tbe way, on« of the an oft encouraging Indications is the fact that in several districts where on the last .occasion, the Reform Party had a difficulty in securing candidates, good men have already announced themselves to me as willing ,U>' come forward at the first opportunity." Mr. Massey will leave 'Auckland at the end of this week for Wellington, where he has some private business. He will go on . South, having accepted an invitation to attend the banquet in honour of Mr. C. A. C. Hardy (former member for Selwyn) at Methven on 10th April. Mr. Massey expects to be away from Auckland 1 about a fortnight.