THE PARTY TRUCE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 70, 19 September 1914, Page 6

THE PARTY TRUCE

For some weeks the public must have noticed that various politicians have been balancing" precariously on the edge of the party cockpit, and many will be glad that those members have at last fallen in. With a lightening of the war anxiety, sundry Ministerialists and Oppositionists have evidently found the political truce a little irksome. They have energy to spare for some fighting— and they mean to have it. Yesterday's squabble in the House of Representatives may appear petty to the general public, but it was an important sign of the times. It is true that the Minister for Marine did a little sly tail-twisting when he presented the returns for the Government advertising, but the clash was bound to come in any case ; it was overdue. When we discussed this subject of party and patriotism at the beginning of the war, the special desire of The Post and of the whole public was to have a proper, saaie co-operation of the party leaders to onable New Zealand to fit, with a minimum of inconvenience, into the changing condition of the world. Tho personal misunderstandings at 'the outset were exceedingly vexatious, and put New Zealand into a ridiculous position at a time of the greatest struggle in history. While Europe was shaking under the tramp of mighty armies and the smoke and roar of war were rolling over Europe, Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward were having a daily verbal duel about matters of etiquette and courtesy, and suchlike. Now that New Zealand has an Expeditionary Force ready to take ship, and ordinary business has to go on, Parliament must forge ahead with its tasks. If an election is to happen early in December, it will be impossible to conclude the session without the intrusion of party factors. The truce, which has recently become farcical, should be called off, and individual members should be free to act in accordance with their code of the decencies} the people will judge them. It should be surely possible to have honest party differences, without offensive personalities. Men can differ rationally on questions of land, industrial or fiscal policy, without a diminution of patriotism. Is it to be supposed that either the Government or the Opposition, or some other persons, known or unknown, will injure the Empire if the political truce is broken? The Opposition can reasonably offer fair criticism o{ the Government's policy, and We feel sure that the Government vrih prefer to have the Opposition in a straight-out political working- mood. The recent mock-peace has been no good whatever to the public, no good to Parliament, and no good to the Empire.

There are now only eighteen patients in the Wellington Fever Hospital. All are eufisnng from BCaiiet.fever a