FUSION OF PARTIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 1 July 1924, Page 12

FUSION OF PARTIES.

i, (To the Editor.) Sir,—-The letter of Mr M. R. Murphy, of' Patea,. published ,in your issue of th(s .evening, is an astonishing 'contribution .to the campaign in favour of a fusion between the/Liberal and Reform parties. In urging such a fusion Mr . Murphy now his' support to the maintained -by the New Zealand Labour Party for the past five or six years in insisting thati no’ real distinction separates the Liberal and Reform Parties, and that such a fusion has long been inevitable arid is essential tbo a clearing of the political issues before, this country. But the chief interest of Mr Murphy’s letter arises from, the fact' that he was at last election one of the chief protagonists of Liberalism in this constituency, and Ayas even mote insistent than Mr Corrigan in emphasising the great ' gulf that divided Liberal from Reform; It is iriterestirig to recall that Mr Wilford, Avho is now roundly condemned' as a vacillating rail-sitter, condemned by his OAVn .action to political death, was hailed .as the only possible saviour of this country, while Mr Massey, who is pow ,ranked as the first financier of Australasia, ivas then dismissed as a financial nonentity; Let us compare sotrie typical statements of 1922 with some, of his latest: pronouncements: .Star, June 26, 1924.—“ What of Mr . Wilford in his interview with the press at the tiriie of the strike ?.. . hris- ;700 good railway servants in; h'JS constituency, and they are 700 good reasons; why lie should ride the rail, because there is not the slightest doubt he did, and, to my mind, for ever condemn himself to political ' death, arid lost all chance he' ever had of becoming a political leader. Impersonally would he sorry to see any ri’acillatihg. railTsitter iri, charge of ' this’'Country during a strike of any pf 'our national services. There is not the slightest doubt that Mr Massey made mistakes. .. . But in spite of this to-da,y . the credit, of this country stands higher than any otfier British State or Dominion, arid the name of Mr Massey stands higher in financial circles than any other leader at the present time in Australasia.” . .Star, August, 1922.—“1, personally, am' quite satisfied that Tom Wilford, who has proved, himself a capable Mayor of Wellington, a capable chairman of the Wellington Harbour Boara, arid the most efficient Minister of Justice that this Dominion has ever had, is quite capabe of-run-' li jug this country, and,' further, I have no£ heard anyone yet with , greater ability than he has sorry (sic) • v that he' could- not. ” ... Star; October 26, ,1922.—“ His (Mr Massey’s) years of office have been barren of measures and ideas. He has . not in any way improved the . conditon of any one grade of society or'the country as a whole. I would like , you : to point to one measure which has benefited the country. Can any farmer show! how the Massey Government has increased bur - credit?” - ' No more -complete change of attitude could be imagined. The Labour Party welcomes Mr Murphy’s frank expression of. opinion, which --may' he- accepted as evidence of a much wider change of opinion throughout the country. If the railAA’ay strike has'done nothing more than convince some erstivhile Liberals that the ‘‘middle-of-the-road” attitude is no longer a possible one, and that the only issue is now that between Labour and anti-Labour, that strike may yet rirove to have been a turning point: In the history of New Zealand politics, resulting in the tearing off of the mask of Liberal hypocrisy,. and a. narrowing of the political issue to the clear-cut alternative which the Labour Party has ■-always striven to establish. —I Sin, etc., W. BROWN, Secretary Hawera Branch N.Z. Labour Party. June 26. 1924.