NATIONAL PARTY

Grey River Argus, 23 July 1942, Page 4

NATIONAL PARTY

President’s Admission

WIDER STATE PLANNING NEEDED

WELLINGTON, July 22. The National Party travelled in the middle of the road, seeking to represent the middle man’s point of view, opposed both to the extreme forms of capitalism and socialism, but seeking to find a via media, under a 'truly democratic system of representative government, which in co-opera-tion with the State and people, would confer the greatest good on the greatest number, stated Mr. Alexander Gordon, in a presidential address at the opening of the Dominion conference of the New Zealand National Party, to-day. The question whether measures of governmental control for war purposes would be relinquished in peace time was one of the most important in the political sphere in the immediate future. The National Party believed much of the activity of the community should be managed by individuals, ‘ free to follow their genius and enterprise, and on the other hand, they had to concede the necessity for planning and direction on a’ far wider scale than hitherto, to meet the basic ne.eds of the State and its citizens. He believed an overwhelming majority of the people were at one, and that a measure of sweet reasonableness would result in a 1 judicious combination of individualism and socialism, which in co-operation would be for the good of humanity as a whole.

The conference passed a' resolution thta “this conference of the New Zealand National Party wishes to express its admiration for the magnificent stand being made by the forcse of the Allies in their struggle against Axis aggression. We respectfully, tender our sympathy to those in New Zealand whose loved ones have fallen in the campaigns of the past year, and pay humble thanks to the gallantry and devotion to duty shown throughout the New Zealand Division. In the present hour of trial, we again affirm our .loyalty to Britain, and our support for our Allies, and pledge oursolves to the utmost in the cause of liberty and democracy, until victory is won.” In regard to the War Ministry, in referring in his presidential address to the formation of the War Ministry, Mr. Alexander Gordon said that many people professed to see in this the end of the National Party organisation. If the 'contesting of elections had been the only purpose for which the Party came into being, that may be true, but he had always tried to’ impress upon members that the contesting and even the winning of an election was merely incidental to the real task which, in part, was firstly to fit themselves to assume the responsibilities of government, Sand secondly, to create a public opinion educated not only in the privileges of democracy, but more particularly in its responsibilities, and the will to discharge those responsibilities.