Evening Post. THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1919. THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 32, 7 August 1919, Page 6

Evening Post. THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1919. THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK

The people of New. Zealand have much to learn from the returning leaders regarding the, great work which kept them '30 long in Paris, and the process was begun in a small way in their speeches at Auckland. On the other hand, the leaders have also much to learn about the changes that have taken place in local conditions during their long absence, and. it is to be hoped that some progress has been made with this process also during their brief stay in^ Auckland. The reticence of both Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward with regard to local affairs may be taken as due in part to a recognition of the limitations of their knowledge, and a desire to extend it before committing themselves to any irrevocable decision or compromising expression.- This caution is to be highly commended. Even the most copious and regular communications from colleagues and supporters could not possibly keep leaders on the other side of the world fully posted in all the essential points. And so rapidly have conditions changed that even the time taken by the return journey must necessarily have considerably enlarged the gaps in their already imperfect knowledge. The outlpok is appreciably graver now than it was a month or two ago, and conclusions which may have been formed on all the information then available should be calmly reviewed under the conditions of to-day. The reticence displayed by the Prime Mini»ter and his colleague at Auckland may be wisely prolonged until their knowledge has been brought up to date and they have fully reviewed the whole position. If this process of reconsideration is conducted conscientiously and thoroughly, we cannot see how either of the political leaders can fail to arrive at the conclusion that political and industrial conditions are so unsettled that an immediate resumption of party warfare would be attended with very grave risk, and that the interests of the country demand, as clearly as they did four years ago, the subordination of party prejudices and sectional interests to a combined national effort for the common good. The political truce which was establish«d at the beginning of the second year of the war has served its purpose. Its immediate effect was to put an end to the deplorable contentions and bickerings with which Parliament was belying the essential unity of national feeling, and threatening the country with a deadlock and a dissolution ■at the very time when it needed to muster every ounce of power for the winning of the war.' The compact,was faithfully observed. The war has been won, and, thanks to the compact, New Zealand played her part in it faithfully to. the end. It has, of course, been painfully patent, especially during the last twelve months, that many of the politicians have been chafing under, the restraints imposed by the necessities of the coalition, and have been yearning for the time when they would be free to exchange the tedium and the inaction 'of the present position for the delights of party warfare. They are tired of marking time, and want to be doing something. If the choice were between a continuance of the recent suspension oE domestic legislation and a reversion to the' old conditions, it would be hopeless, and porhnps umvise, tu avgue against the v&ecofll alternative.. Political.aiagftation.

has had much to do with the present discontents, and they are certainly not to ■be cured by any combination of broadminded politicians and good citizens who ,are not alert enough to see that a policy of inertia anci negation will merely aggravate the evil. What is needed^ is a positive and constructive programme. .The best antidote to the discontent and the unrest which in hard times always favour the spread of revolutionary doctrines is not conservatism but reform. The legacy of trouble that the war has left supplies a unique opening for constructive statesmanship, but the problems are too great and too complicated for adequate settlement on party lines. For the moment, the idea of a coalition has been discredited by the lack of domestic legislation during the war. But that was the necessary price of a coalition which' undertook to concentrate all the energies of the nation on the'task of winning the war. It is,' however, a fallacy to suppose that the conditions of a war coalition and a peace coalition are the same, or that the latter would necessarily be distinguished by the legislative sterility of the former. On the contrary, it is from the civil warfare of the party system that we have more reason to fear this weakness under existing conditions. The country looks to its leaders -to provide some means for grappling on national lines with the great problems on the essentials of which most reasonable men are agreed. It is no disparagement of the patriotism of the Liberals to say that at the present time it is more difficult for them than for their opponents to substitute a national for a party poiift of view. A period of inaction is naturally more distasteful to the party which is the more eager for progress;. and has not a Liberal caucus declared unanimously for a free hand at the coming General Election?! That, however, was nearly three months ago, and both those who were responsible for that/leeision, and those,on the other side who welcomed the challenge, will surely admit that the conditions have materially changed during the interval. The peace that has been signed does not promise even the degree of stability which.was expected in May. The economic troubles of the.jworld are seen to be much more acute and, more deeprooted than they then appeared, and our own particular comer of the world no longer, enjoys the remark'able immunity which was its privilege during the war. Political unrest and'industeial upheavals are .rampant everywhere. •' The troubles of Great- Britain alone will put a severe strain on our endurance and our statesmanship if they are not speedily checked, and whether they are checked or not we must expect similar troubles on our own account if the sti-ingency of.. economic problems increases at, the present.pace and Parliament offers no Telief. It is doubtful, however, whether Parliament can even satisfy the urgent requirements of the nexfj_ few months if thfc coming session is to be distracted by preparations for.party strife. A unique crisis gives our-'leaders a unique opportunity for statesmanship, and we trust that in both of them the statesman" will take precedence of the politician'.