TEMPORARY PREMIER

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 May 1925, Page 5

TEMPORARY PREMIER

SIR F. D. BELL TO ACL PENDING REFORM MEETING, (Per Pres# Association.) ' i.. • .'//"' WELLINGTON, May 14. ; After the conclusion ‘of. the, fuperal 'obsequies to-dav, the Hon. Sir Francis Dillon Bell waited on His Excellency tlie Govrirndr-General at Government Buildings, and was duly sworn in as ■Prime. Minister? . ■ . ■

‘ The new/P/rime 'Miriirier, on his re. turn to Parliament House, issued,, the following statement to the press:- — ' “Mr Massey had for many years Held an Unquestioned supremacy in the Government, and, in his Pa?’ty within and without the walls of Parliament. Until his health recently so seriously failed, and it became evident that his recovery was. hopeless, .no question had even arisen of a successor to his place, and thence forward, so long as life lasted, discussion of that question was silenced by common consent. 'Tire death'of the Prime Min. ister, though it does not automatically terminate the (enure the ether Members of the Government and the Executive Council, creates at once the right', and. indeed the duty of the Crown in England, or the representative of the Crqwn in a dominion —to ■call upon some person to take that of. fice. the holder of which has special constitutional functions and duties. Until the members of the Party in the House of Representatives, which had placed the Ministry in power, could £>3 . duly consulted, and .themselves choose their own 1 leader, it was not possible for His Excellency to select, or for Ministers (if their advice was asked) to come to His Excellency and propose a member of the Party who should, by the common consent of all, finally take -Mr Massey’s place as Leader and Head of the Government.”

“His Excellency was pleased to communicate with me, and to accept my advice that the surviving members of the Government should, for the present be confirmed in their respective offices. His Excellency was also pleased, to appoint me to be Prime Minister, and, so, to continue the official duties which I have recently, as - on various previous occasions, been called upon to undertake during Mr Massey’s lifetime. The offices of Minister of Finance and Minister of Starnp Duties were held by Mr Massey, and have become vacant by hjs death. His Excellency has been pleased to appoint the Hon. William Nosworthy to both offices.”” , , ' “A meeting of those members of the House of Representatives who. have supported M*r Massey’s Government during, ; the recent Parliament will b? .convened at a very early date, and that meeting will be asked to choose a Party leader in the House, and in the country. I will then tender to His Excellency the resignation of the Government, and if His Excellency thinks fit to ask my advice, I shall be in a position to speak confidently on behalf of the Party, and to name the Leader to .whom it is desired that the duty of forming a new Reform Governnient should be entrusted.”

“TIMES” CONVERTED. (Special to “Star.”) \ CHRISTCHURCH May, 15. Discussing th 0 political situation, the “Lyttelton Times” this morning says:—“The Labour group pursues its own ends, but the speeches of .both Liberals and Reformers in tlie House and the country indicate strongly that whatever differences they may have on other matters, they are agreed concerning the main needs of the community. In these circumstances, common sense should surely suggest that an effort should be made to ascertain whether a basis could be found on which, to build a new National Liberal Party. Our own view is that a basis already exists and that the main" lines d: .-policy could be. written down almost at a moment’s notice. The difficulty may be to secure the adherence of meniber.s of the existing parties in Parliamirit, who may feel that they are deserting the organisation built up by years of labour and self-sacrifice, oi’ that their adherence to a new party would imply a contradiction of their past attitude; but we are sure that such a new party affirming its loyalty to''‘Liberal principles would be. welcomed by the country and would secure emphatic approval' from the constituencies.”