BIGGER AND BETTER

Evening Post, Issue 149, 20 December 1935, Page 8

BIGGER AND BETTER

LABOUR PARTY'S AIM

DINNER TO HON. W. NASH

SVORK OF PARLIAMENT

The belief that they could build something bigger, and better than • the, country had ever had before, was expressed by the Hon. W. Nash, Minister of Finance, when replying latt night to the felicitations extended to him by the local bodies of. the Hut*; Valley at ; a compli.montary dinner held in the R.S.A. Hall, Lower Hutt. ' ' Mr. J. W. Andrews, Mayor of Lower Hutt, presided, and there was ,an attendance' of between, sixty and seventy, representing various local bodies of the Hutt Valley district. The Minister of Education (the' Hon. P. Fraser), the Hon. Mark Fagari, Leader .of the Legislative Council, and Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., were also present. In proposing the toast of "Parliament of .New-Zealand," Mr. Andrews said that they were highly honoured to have with them the guest of the evening. He (Mr. Andrews) was one of those who, when Parliament was in session, lived in fear of what Parliament would do next, and it was a relief to them when the session ended; But whatever one might think about the party system, one always honoured those who represented the people in Parliament, and made the laws to govern the country. He was sure that the Government would do its job with a singleness of purpose for the whole of the people for the whole of the time. , Response to the toast was made by Mr. Fraser. He thanked them for the very cordial antl generous manner inwhich.the toast had been honouredarid that in spite of the probably sincere but rather doleful remarks of the ■Mayor.- : . ' "Judging by his sentiments," said . Mr. Fraser, "I should say that he at least among this gathering would agree with Mr.. Bernard Shaw that the only man who ever entered Parliament with honest intention was Guy Fawkes. But I'do not think'that things are quite that bad.' The test of it is this: I never, yet knew a critic of Parliament on; the outside who did not want to be; on the and he very often went)to extreme lengths to get there. Our.difficulty istthat when, we are not in!session we are urged.to get into session, and when-we are in session we are told to adjourn. Members of Parliament get very, philosophical indeed about what is said about them outside." REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. Mr. Fraser said that what was wanted was some deep. thought about representative Government, and some logical thinking and continuity of thought about the matter. Bodies set up to perform certain duties had to conform to changes in economic and social conditions, and relationships; otherwise they were in danger of becoming obsolete. /'That is true of Parliament as of any other institution," said Mr. Fraser. "Unless Parliament is adapted to meet the, requirements of a rapidly developing economic system, and is shaped so that it can grapple effectively and promptly with problems as they arise, then^ its usefulness will be come curtailed, and to some extent obsolete. "How can our responsible institutions, national and local, be so shaped as to meet effectively and efficiently new conditions? It is a problem that is exercising the/best brains in the world today. The-alternative solution is enthroned tyranny—it,is called in other parts of the world dictatorship. We have got -to have either . effective democracy or dictatorship. "The toast, I take it, is in honour of Parliament as an institution, which, with all its faults is still the best form of government this world of ours knows. When I say that, I do not consider for a moment that Parliament in its present form is perfect; I do not say for one moment that some of its procedure is not-obsolete; I do not say it can grapple with .problems as effectively and as quickly under the present Standing Orders as I would like to see it do; but these can be amended and the •fornis can be altered, and'the Government, naturally can . conform to modern conditions and changes as they come along. "A REAL THING." ". - "Before the recent General Election, Mr. Savage, as Leader of the Opposition, announced that if the party he had the honour to lead were returned to power, he would endeavour to make Parliamentary government a real thing tor our' day, and generation, by trying so to arrange things that'at least all members of the party would have th° opportunity of working effectively in the service of the country. He went further, and said that he would endeavour to make every member of Parliament feel that he was not simply a'voting machine or a thinking machine, but actually an important part of the Government. I believe that that will be brought ab°ut, for it is quite evident that one of the most important questions to .study is how our representative institutions can function effectively at the present time.'. It behoves us not to approach Parliament in any awesome spirit, but to examine its weaknesses, to- discuss its weaknesses and to criticise fairly and keenly Parliament, as is the right of the citi- ; zens who elected it to power. But •there s.hould be some deliberation before representative institutions are attacked, or derided. It behoves everyone, in this age fraught with danger, to see, with Abraham Lincoln, that government of the people .tor the people, and by the people does hot perish. . • RESPONSIBILITIES REALISED. "The majority ot the present Parliament realise full well their responsibilities. They have a mandate front the people to make things better and they realise that the financial'and economic system is a very delicate mechanism. Before we take those steps that Parliament is empowered to take, the ground must be well surveyed. The steps to be taken have to be deliberate and well planned, because it will not benefit New Zealand to take rash steps' forward if that means ultimately faUinr backwards. There Is no danger of that happening with this Parliament." Mr. Fraser said that the Government would, carry.out its platform with the co-operation of every thinking, earnest, and honest person in the community, and he believed that New Zealand- could go forward to greater heights than it had ever attained before. Neither Parliament nor the Government would go forward in any spirit of. boastfulness. This was no time to talk about what they would do. Ths thing to do was to carry out the work with the help- of the people and then talk about it. ( The toast of the "Hon. W. Nash" was proposed by Mr. A. Scholefield, Mayor of petone, who referred to Mr. Nash's gift, for research and the manner in which he had made the benefits of his research available to his colleagues. It had been one of the greatest factors in the building up of the Labour Party. He also paid a tribute to Mr. Nash's spirit of service and unselfishness, and referred to the sacrifices these had entailed. These remarks were, .end i orsed._.by

Mr. C. H. Andrews, a member of the Eastbourne Borough Council; the Hon. M.| Fagan, and Mr. B. A. Wright. In replying, Mr. Nash thanked those present for the way in which they had responded to the things that had been said about him. He denied that he had made any sacrifices. He had lived the years in the Hutt Vailey in the way he had wanted. There had been troubles and difficulties, but no sacrifice. He had won through, and he had got out of life more than he had put into it. CO-OPERATION WANTED. He said that as Minister of Finance he would need all the co-operation he could get from the local bodies, which would be supremely important in the administration of national affairs. It was realised that national policy must be directed by a central authority, but nevertheless very responsible powers were delegated to local bodies in various fields. "We will need a tremendous amount of help to carry out our policy," said Mr. Nash. He said that he would try to live up to the responsibility and trust placed in him by the people and the GovernorGeneral. He was satisfied ihat this wonderful little country could provide better living for a greater number of people ■ than it had during the past few years. To achieve that goal would be difficult. He believed that it would be uphill all the way. . "The joy and the pleasure, however, come in the climb towards the sunlight that is going to give better things for everybody," said Mr. Nash. "The only real way to achieve ; happiness and the things that are worth while is to try and give happiness and the things that are worth while to somebody else. You have given me the supreme responsibility of helping to administer the country's affairs .and to take one of. the major parts in N the writing of its laws.' I believe we can build something better than we have ever had before/but that is not al'.. There is a wider vision. Our job is to make such a contribution in this little area of the world that the world may look at this little area and say, 'Well, if it can be'done there it can be done elsewhere.'" '■ Mr./ Nash added that they could go forward to something bigger and better. That could only be done when the individual had the right to live an1, abundant life, a creative life, and an' individual life. All the Government could, do was so to arrange the material, resources that the individual could enjoy them. The gathering closed, with three cheers for Mr.' Nash.