GENERAL ELECTION

Evening Star, Issue 16515, 29 August 1917, Page 7

GENERAL ELECTION

■ i ■.»» ■ ■ ■ POLITICIANS PRETEND TO WANT IT. PRIME MINISTER WILLING. [FBOM OtJR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER-] WELLINGTON, August 29. The desirability of having a General Election this vear was urged in the House yesterday, when caustic comments were made about the eagerness of politicians to hoia on to their honorarium at all costs and to the faults of the National Government. It may be said, however, that the discussion appeared to be more of an exercise of electioneering than a serious attempt to force on an election. The opportunity was obtained to take a division on the Bill, but members were not enthusiastic, and the measure was introduced and Wad a first time. The question was brought up by , , Mr Wittv, who said he sought leave to Introduce "the Parliamentary Election Postponement Amendment Bill, wn ich, he explained, was to repeal the Act of last vear, which extended the term of Parliament for a year. He reminded members that he divided the ttbase on the Bill last year and got 16 supporters, and pointed out that, although Parliament refused local bodies the opportunity of postponing their election, members 'had been onlv too eager to preserve their own seats. Other countries had held elections, and an election would shortly be held in Canada, and probably even in Britain. . The Prime Minister: That remains to be Mr Witty: Let us go to the country and give the people a chance to say whether we should be here. (Hear, hear.) Is it that we are afraid! I know it is not the matter of expense. Dr Thacker: It's the £3OO a year. Mr Witty: " That's so. But the people have a right to say -n-hother we earn it." There was widespread discontent throughout the Dominion with regard to the Government's administration respecting nearly all their activities. For instance, there was waste in the camps; also the failure of the Defence Department to get men. into camp who were drawn in the ballot and were dodging their duty. Then there was the setting up of all these useless boards behind which the Government were sheltering. The people did not want to be governed by boards. What on earth was Parliament elected, for but to control the affairs of the people, and if this Parliament could not do so, then it was time it gave way to a House that could. He pleaded with the Government to take up the Bill and show the country that members were not afraid to face the people. The Prime Minister: Do you want a division? Mr Witty: Certainly. I'll never shirk a division. Dr Thacker seconded the motion. He acid that he was absent last year when the division was talien. or he would have been one of the glorious minority. The country ■arcs being governed by red tabs and spurs, ?ai tape and quills, the president of the Efficiency Board, and the chairman of the farmers' Union. (Laughter.) There had l)een a great change of opinion in the country since the election of 1914, and the people should have the right to express their opinion of board rule and the policy of drift and muddle. If all these board members were such efficient persons, why did the Government not hold an election and pat them up as candidates? An Hon. Member; They would never ~et there.

" Tjr Thacker: Of course they wouldn't. It was the duty of the Prime Minister to give the country an opportunity to say whether or not he should remain in office. The Prime Minister: Don't make too ;nre vou won't get your election. (Cries of "Oh!")

The Minister of Defence said that he TTould not take either of the two hon. genClemen seriously; perhaps they didn't exs»ct to be. They were merely wasting £he valuable time "of the country. They liked to pose as iconoclasts, smashing up everything : but neither had. ever shown the slightest constructive ability. The whole of their criticism had been of a general nature, and they had never given a single instance. He"had been accused of sheltering officers who had made mistakes, but fhat was not so.

An Hon. Member: Yon said "Let my oncers alone."

Sir James Allen continued to say that he had never defended an officer who had c'one wrong. iCries of " Oh!") But he did defend from politioial oppression in the Mouse officers who were being unjustly rttacked. The Xatkmal Government had '.ackled some very great problems in a most efficient manner, and could ho not claim that there was no country in the T/orld where there was less industrial troufcl? than 2s"ew Zealand? Dr Thacker: You gaoled every m&n who opened his mouth. The 'Minister: It was necessary for the food of the public to imprison men who ad been guilty of sedition. (Many memfcrrs: "Hear, hear.") Mr Payne: It was an act of tyranny and cowardice. The Minister went on to defend the appointment of the Efficiency Board, and claimed that they had done very valuable work for the Dominion. Mr M'Combs heartily supported the Bill. There was neither justification nor excuse for the Act of last year. The Minister of Munitions (Hon. A. M. Myers) spoke in terms of high appreciation of the work of the Supplies Board of AdTice. The Prime Minister said that the time of the House had not "been wasted, is many important matters had been ventilated. As head of the Government he could say that the Efficiency Board had done invaluable work. The hr>n. members who had supported the Bill would not get much satisfaction out of this year's local elections, which had shown that people were not desirons of a change. A parliamentary election would show the same result. He would like to" tell the House this, in order to be understood : That he was not going to stand in the way of a General Election.

Mr Payne: That's really decent of you. The Prime Minister said that if members generally advocated the holding of an election he would give them one. Mr Harris: They would dead if yon gave it to them*. The Hon. Mr Massey went on to say that if sufficient members of the House asked it, and if the people showed that they wanted it, they would have an election. He was preparing for it now. The Representation Commissioners had been instructed to go on with their duties, and they had told him that before they could do so some legislation was necessary, and a Bill had been prepared, as hon. members would see very shortly. He was not afraid to face the music, but he felt it wrong to hold an election at this time. Three members had gone to the front on the understanding that there would be no election.

Mr Fletcher t Seventy-five thousand men have gone to the front. The Prime Minister went on to say that he had scan something of what went on at the front at the time the Australian election was held, and it had confirmed him in his opinion that it was a wron* thing to Introduce party politics. Canada had postponed her elections, and so had Britain. Mr Payne: But there was a great Cabinet change. Mr Massev said that Australia had had in election because it had become impossible to carry on. The Senate was antagonistic to the Government, and made it impossible to get important measures through? therefore the Government went to the country, and everyone knew what happened. The National Government had come back with a large majority, and they were all confident that it would help great I v to cany Australia through the war. Canada had formed a National Government, and it would have been a splendid thin" for Canada if that had been done much earlier, for one of the first things the National Government would have done would have been to through a Bill providing for Compulsory Service. As things were now, Canada, was not sending enough nwa to keep the men already at the front •efficiently reinforced. He drew attention to the fact that South Australia had followed New Zealand's example, and had a National Government. He

believed that %ifc vu the right thing to do. In a period like the present it wrfs not possible for party government to do what was necessary for the country to do for the Empire. It had to be admitted that mistakes had bean made by the Government since the outbreak of war—nobody could deny it—and he was prepared to take his full share of responsibilities therefor. But he would like to remind hou. members of what had been done. There was the Expeditionary Force, for example, to begin with. New Zealand had led the Dominions of the Empire as regards the number of men it had sent, and aa regarded their military capacity generally and good conduct that could not be denied. Then the Dominion had sent more supplies to Europe and.Britain than any other country in the Empire. This country was now second in respect of meat export, Argentine only being ahead of us. Then our Pensions and Allowances. Act, which would be improved this session, was the best in the Empire. All these things were done on the lead of the National Government. What about the financial position? Was there any other country in. the Empire whose financial position was better ? Not one; but the Government must expect pinpricks. Although they had been sitting quiet they were not going to sit quiet any longer; they were going to reply. (Hear, hear.) An Hon. Member: That is what we want. . A division was not forced, and the Bui was introduced and read a first time on the voices.