PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 10 July 1924, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

DOMINATING FARMERS. (By Telegraph.—Special to the Star.) WELLINGTON, July 10. • To the numerous references to the three parties, to which the Hon. C. J. Parr (Minister of Education) made his own contribution, he added a survey of the present Parliament suggesting that the farmers dominate throughout. There were, he said, thirty-one farmers in the House, while the Ministry itself contained a majority of farmers or men who had been farmers, six out of the eleven in the Cabinet being of this class. Tn view of these figures he suggested that it did seem strange that a small misguided section of farmers were wanting a country party. In no Parliament of the world was there such a preponderance of agricultural and pastoral representation as in New Zealand. . When -the interests of fanners required to. be advocated it was noticeable that irrespective of party all the farmers in the House got close together. (Laughter).With three parties in the House it might be truly said, added Mr. Parr, that there was one too many, but heaven help us if wo added a fourth. Mr. Smith: Tt would he good-bye'to you.

Mr. Parr: And a long farewell to public life for the member for Taranaki. (Laughter). HON. MR. NGATA ON LABOUR, On Labour suggestions for reform, the Hon. A. T. Ngata, who as Eastern Maori member may take a dispassionate view of the- three party controversy, to which nearly every speaker in the House contributes, discussed this subject to-night. According to Labour, he said, there was no difference between Reform and Liberal, and at the same time the utterance of the Leader of the Labour Party might give the impression that there was very little difference between the Liberal and Labour Parties. The fundamental difference between the Reform and Liberal Parties and the Labour Party had no great relation to our domestic politics, but related to the attitude of the respective parties towards Imperial affairs and the future destiny of the Empire. “I do not accuse the Labour Party of disloyalty.” continued Mr. Ngata, “but there is a form of disloyalty which is insiduous and creates a suspicion in the minds of the people that, although lip service of the Labour Party is given to the Empire ,a.s at present constituted, thev may do things injurious to the future" of the Empire and omit to do things for its future benefit.”

As an instance, Mr. Ngata quoted the attitude of the British Labour Government, one of the least disconcerting facts relating to its vieiv of Emmie being the turning down of the Singapore naval base scheme. They had also been coquetting with the Soviets. It was very well to be curioiis. about how the peasantry ancl middle classes upset Czardom, but it "as a factor common to Labour parties everywhere that they had leanings towards Russian literature, apd generally showed a. tendency in this respect to go outside ordinary British literature looking for the revolutionary literature of all countries. Their attitude was that war was evil, and the only wav to prevent it was by a universal brotherhood, which showed their ignorance of the lessons of history. The most disconcerting thing was the attitude of Labour, not only to present dav facts, but towards racial factors and their ignorance of the lessons taught bv tlm history of the British Empire^ Mr. Savage (Labour memher for Auckland West) : That is why people were voting for them.

Mr. Ngata, coining to the Reform Bai ty, suggested that there. ’ was alwnvs one disadvantage about a party which had been too long in office. This was the tendency of the big men of the country to climb on their back. Probably it was not their fault. Tt was because they had been in office a bit too long. Tt affected administration and had affected legislation during the Inst Few years. W hen a party came to that since it was time that/ some «»f the carbuncles were scraped off (Laughter).

P ' r|ri - v ; T °J' lia,! your turn. Mr. Massev: Your people were in for twenty-one years. Mr Ngata : And then went out Yon Imve boon there ten years, and it itime yon went.