ANOTHER WOBBLER

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 July 1912, Page 5

ANOTHER WOBBLER

THE MEMBER FOR THAMES

NOT PLEDGED TO ANY PARTY

[BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL TO THE STAR. I WELLINGTON, This Day.

Mr Rhodes, member for Thames, elected us an Independent Liberal, who voted for the retention of the Government last February, announces that he is now entirely unpledged, save in regard to the freehold tenure, which he strongly upholds and has promised to support. In a short session he fulfilled his pledge to support Sir Joseph Ward, but now intends, for a time at any rate, to maintain an attitude of independence. He will not attend the caucus meetings of any party. To use his own expression : “The vote o 1 ’ the member for Thames in the cominr no-confidence division is ‘an open question.’ ’’ The question would be determined, he stated, by the nature of the amendment which Mr Massey was to move to the Ad-dress-in-Reply, and by the merits of the case as demonstrated during the progress of.the no-confidence debate. Mr Rhodes mentioned that he was not pledged, even by inference, to support the Ministry." For that reason, he had not attended the caucus in March which elected Mr T. Mackenzie as leader.