"A POLITICAL PLOT"

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 September 1916, Page 3

"A POLITICAL PLOT"

"BETRAYAL OF LIBERALISM."' "NATIONAL GOyERNMENT TO CONTINUE." (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, September 11. These arc the startling head-lines under which the "New Zealand Times" presents to its readers a story of a. shameless conspiracy anu.'iig the m«m.. bevs of (ho Cabinet to betray Liberalism "body and soul to its hereditary enemies." and to instal the liefoj mcrg firmly in office after the war under the leadership of Mr. Massey. Tins story begins with an. allusion to the downfall of the "iiist really Liberal Ministry, under the leadership of Sir George Grey," which it attributes "to the ratting of four Auckland mem-

bers of the party who gave their votes to the Conservatives in exchange for a grant of £IO,OOO for roads ant', bridgt.s In the Noith and other

political considerations'," and proceeds to trace, stage by stage, the progreKs of the still greater party perfidy which is, if declares, rampant in these days. The •'National Cabinet," it days in effect, win; engineered by Mr, Massey and his friends t.> s-ave their party and themselves from extinction and ever since has 1 be-in employed to magnify Reform above Liberalism and to defeat the democratic aspirations of a liberty-loving

people. The Liberals in the Cabinet, it seems, are ready to submit to any indignity so long as their seats and their salaries are secure and only two of them remain faithful to their former political professions. Now, as the culminating step in the conspiracy, Sir Joseph Ward is to be established in a high office at Home, Mr. Herdman is to be made a judge, and the remaining ten Ministers, all on full salaries, eve to bo cm reached behind a solid phalanx of Masseyites l and Warclites, calling themselves Libcuals. safe I';l'm all the malign force;-; of Labor and Socialism. THE CONSPIMTOKS.

That, briefly, is the story t .Id, apparently in sober earnestness, by thfc local exponent of Liberalism. It is embellished, of course, with many details of a personal character, no more liaUering to oine side' than tiK-y are t.> the oilier, but these need not be i'epiat; d In re. [\u haps the most effective answer to the whole ridiculous concoction is the annulment i; has occasioned to Ministers themselves. Mr. Alhn, who is mvi bl'-sse-d with a very acute s, ns. of humor, regards the story a« a joke— ''a poor one," he confesses, hut he has seen worse in the Mann- place. Dr. McNab laughs' a( it outright. "I do'n'l s.'o what I. iini going to get oul of liie arrangement," he say;;, 'and absence of motive must Ik accepted as prima facie i videnei of mv innocence.' (Hhcr Minist'i ir, when told the story protect (hey haw no (im: In v.i.vsy alvatl such nonsense. Mi-. Mae Donald thinks h- must ho o:io or i!i> steadfast member:; of the Cabinet who are holding on to their former convictions and on that account has not b< en appvoach- ( d by the t (inspirators. ''Tint, jesting es'de." he adds 1 , ''it's very deplorable thai we should have stivft' of thin s ■■ t thrown at us just now. We can laugh at il In re, but I suppose stray e pics of (hi ■ paper gel !o olio r countries and give the people there (he idea, we arc a pack of political brigands." This practically is the at-, (ifude of a.ll Ilic Ministers. They wi'ili at tit' suggest ion Ik.'il they are plotting against the political lihcrl ies of the country, but they rcxenl such a suggestion being made a' a time when the iiiidividualsi principally concerned are unable to deal with ii themselves 1 . THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MATTER. But afte,- all the publication of the story will do good rather than harm if it serves to remind the public of i he cireums fauces connected with th« formation of the National Cabinet. It may be quite true that Mr. iUasscy welcomed the party- truce, even on H'r Joseph Ward's own terms', a'- a means of saviiug himself and h' j friends, but no politician need bo isfihanved of having accepted au honor iililo compromise in preference; to an. inevitable defeat. Being in the arrangement with th" approval of th i-' respective followers it- became the party It-adds' duty to observe it to the best of their ability without counting how it was going to profit this side or that. Their present critic does not scruple io distort the inos! obvious facts- in order to make it appear they are proving unfaithful to their trust. He says, for instance, referring to Mr. Maasey, that he in taking '-'all kind;; of care'' to emuuv that the measure "applying the principle of the referendum" to the Legislative Council though' jSaoed on the Statute Book is not allowed to come into operation.' As a matter of fact, there' b no measure on the Statute Book or anywhere else applying tho principle of th? referendum to the Council, but doubtless this delightfully irrenponsibie perVn intends to refer to- the measure which made the

chamber elective', and the operation of 'this, as ought to know, was suspended on the express demand of lite Liberal Party at the time the "party truce" was ratified. It would be' possible to bring charge;; against tire Prime Minister which oould not be so easily refuted.as this one ea" be, but to depict him as conspiring with- Liberal Ministers to betray their party to its hereditary enemies implied a much graver charge against Sir Joseph Ward a-lnl bis colleagiUH than it docs against-Mr. Masscy ;i nd the rest of (heir p litical opponents'. The Liberal leader has sinTered enough already, both personally and politically, from bis reluctant as: via ion with toe' Nations! Cabinet without being In Id up to public opp; cbruini for his devotion to what he conceived to be the interests of the Empire. A SCUAP OF HISTORY. Perhaps the allusion to the downfall of the first Liberal Ministry in 1870 with which this strange story

opens might have been parcu naole a quarter cj a century ago when party feeling rati high and the facts of this historical incident were not generally known. But at this time oi day. when the truth is open for' everyor.e I- read, to stigmatise Mr. William Swanson and his three Auckland colleagues as "rats" who ;v h! their ; arty f. r'a. paltry grant of £IO,OOO to their district and "other political consideration:;" is an infamous aspt rsion upon litc memory of these high-spirited pioneers of Liberalism. The downfall of the first Liberal Ministry was rot due to anything these gentlemen did or left undone, but to the temp'TameMta! inability of its gieat leader to retain the assistance of colleagues, such as Mr. Ballancf and Sir

Robert.' Stout, who wished to res!rain his in re extravagant impulses! and who would have wived liini l'roni the cat.a: - ,{:np!io wliicii overtook him al the polls wlica lie appealed to the country from a vote in the House. Tin 1 negotiations between Sir Joliii Hall, the new Premier, and the four Auckland members are* now a familiar story. They resulted in Sir John and his colleagues beino pledged t. ; the "Liberal meastre.-T, manhood suft'iair nud triennial Parliauioats aiuouu, 1 them, and in these measured behej pi-seed upon the Statute Ho ik. Mr .Swans >n and Ins 1 col-loao-ues had been returned to Hie House as supporters of Sir (> i ;•;•••■ G-vy jind of ih,. "Libera! mea.smrs/' l'uc'when Sir (leorp.-o dcelmed to i" ; " ;!if load' ndib- of the how < h-po.-dt io;i nl'tor tin' election i.hcy deemed it belter to secure Ilu* p.o;-'or "f the men.- ;;,,.,,,, i !V o-iviuu' tlieir s'.ipp H i<» the p:M'{ v iii pn\v< :• Ilia,-, In join in tin inirio'ues over tii ■ leadership ' wh.eh were proceeding on their own side of •ihc ].|ou-:<\ The agreement did -ml provide IW i! e:;;:-:! - f L'lo,ooo | . the Auckland district, hut f -r a '•pm-nv-tionat! share of pul'lie exuenditur ' o'oine,' to thai provuny, ami il expre:'siy stipulated iiiat on pcrs' <! advau-t.-...vr y.\\< nUI ''' ''li'e'ed ." (ho nrnt--1,.. ~;,:,■,;■:•.•! in tin- ;;era':•."■••!!sent.