The Hawera Star. TUESDAY, MAY 19, 1925. THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 19 May 1925, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

TUESDAY, MAY 19, 1925. THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

Delivered every evening by 5 o’clock -n Hawera, Manaia Normnnby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga Alton. Hnrleyvillc, Patea, Waverley, * Mokoia, Wbakamara, Uhar.sai. Meremere, Fraser Road, an Ararata.

Quite possibly the men least concerned about the. appointment- of a Reform leader to succeed the late Mr Massey are the. Reform memt>ers of the House. Those who will be called upon to make the selection can afford to stand quietly by and watch half the rest of the country working itself up into a high state of prophetic excitement. But it would be too much to suppose that the ordinary ranker of the Reform Party is any more “in the know” than liis' fellow-citizen at the street corner. Doubtless the claims of possible leaders are being canvassed within the party by their friends and keen supporters, and each canvasser will be, as canvassers invariably are, fully convinced that his lists account correctly for the vote, of every member; but so often it is the fate of preliminary calculations to be upset that the decision will be more than likely still in the air when the doors close' on the Reform caucus. Three names have, been mentioned for some time—those, of Messrs Downie Stewart, Coates and McLeod —and yesterday we had a Christchurch Labour member adding Sir James Parr to'the list. Not one member of the party is likely to be in any way pushing his own candidature, so that the selection may be expected .to be free from any unnecessary feeling, and should result in placing at the helm the man considered to be best for the party and, more especially, for the country. Viewing all the circumstance", it seems more than probable that the final choice will lie between Mr Coates and Mr Stewart. Each has special qualifications of his own, and either could be trusted to do his best in the interests of New Zealand. Mr Coates appears to be favourite, but it would be difficult to prove that Mr. Stewart, is not the better statesman. Taking Dominion politics in the abstract, two distinct schools of thought may be said to exist. On the one hand are those who look upon the country as a gigantic business enterprise, to be run on business lines by business men. These are not the advocates of State control of industry, but they have become so imbued with the idea of efficiency—and the extent to which State services have developed in New Zealand has been partly responsible —that in their eyes a Prime Minister becomes a kind of general manager, Mr Coates would make a good general manager. On the other hand are' those who see something deeper and wider—it may be something nobler —in the conduct of the country’s affairs. Statesmanship is something apart from and above mere business ability. It demands a broader vision and higher ideals; it requires some acquaintance with the social sciences and. an appreciation of the- lessons of history, over and above an understanding of the principles of ordinary business. Mr Downie Stewart possesses the essential qualities of a statesman. If only the health which he sacrificed on the altar of his country’s need be sufficiently restored, he is the man to lead the Government and the people. His accomplishments are not exclusively academic, and they have never held him coldly aloof from the routine work of the House. A keen and ineisive debater, lie invariably commands the attention of members of all parties, and it is generally recognised that on questions of finance and general economics, as well as in matters of international moment, there is no better equipped mind in Dominion politics to-day. This is not to suggest that Mr Coates is ill equipped for- the leader’s position, or that lie would not, if chosen, make a good Prime Minister. But the need when a great figure passes from the stage of public life is not that he shall he succeeded by only a good man but rather by the best man available. The position which the late Prime Minister won for New Zealand in the wider fields of Imperial and international polities could not be placed in safer keeping than that of the lion, member for Dunedin West. But whatever be the choice of the party, it is to be hoped that it will be made with an eye, first, on the welfare Of the Dominion. Mr Massey founded the .Reform Party (as distinct from the old Conservative Party) in 1904. It would be a graceful tribute to his twenty years of devoted serv ; ee in its cause if the party banner could be furled at his death, if the Reform Party could live in history as the achievement and the glory of its founder and, strongest pillar On more than one occasion in the past few years feelers have been put. out, sometimes from one quarter, sometimes from another, to test opinion on the question of merging Reform and Liberal interests in direct opposition to the LabourSocialists. Hitherto the Liberals have refused to discuss the position unless on impossible terms, one of which was the deposing of Mr Massey. No man with eyes unblinded by the scales of party could have agreed to that. There are able men in all three parties represented in the present House, but the late Prime Minister stood out above all the others, and the idea of forming a National Party by brushing aside the man best qualified to lead it was wholly absurd. Now that Mr Massey has gone, however, and while the lustre of his work for the common good is still undimmed, the moment is opportune for a fusion of those interests in the Dominion which stand for King,

country, and the liiainteiiamie anti gradual improvement of the existing social order. It must be plain to most people that there is one definite line of cleavage in the present House, as in the countryj and the danger is very present,-if three or more parties go to the poll this year, that the result will be a parallel of' the 1923 election at Home —no party with a working majority and government only possible through a temporary alliance of parties. In such a position there is no security of office, and consequently no stability. That was bad' enough fpr Great Britain, but it would be infinitely wbrse for us. How may the danger be averted? Not by the lifting of the wing, of any one party to take another in. There is little to hope from an alliance of Reform and Liberal. There must be a fusing of the elements which go to make both of these parties, and that cannot be looked for while either name is retained. The common kinship of Reform and Liberal as at present existing is to be found in their loyalty to country, throne and Empire, in their national patriotism. Then why not abandon the present party labels and party trappings and pledge all to build a new Nationalist Party, which shall have as its motto: ‘‘For God, the King and New Zealand”? The astounding folly of bickering about such trifles as State banks, and vainly striving to preserve a show of distinction between Government and Liberal Opposition to-day, is equalled only by the apparent inability of some to profit from such lessons as that of the Christchurch Mayoralty. Leaving out of the reckoning an Independent candidate, who polled just, over 1000 votes, the position there was: Archer (Lab.) 9069 Flesher 7953 Beanland 4409

Mr Flesher and Mr Beanland had been both members of the Citizens’ Association in the past, but there was a difference regarding the official nominee of that body and both gentlemen went to the poll. Both were and are wholly opposed to the main planks in Mr Archer’s platform. Indeed, if Mr Flesher be taken as a representative Reformer and Mr Beanland as a representative Liberal, no better illustration could be found of the existing position in national politics. What happened? Nine thousand people voted for Mr Archer and twelve thousand against him. Yet Mr Archer was elected! At next general election we may have two hundred thousand people voting for Labour and three hundred thousand against it. In fairness Labour should not get in; but, if the anti-Labour vote is to be divided, as like as not the result will be Christchurch over again. Is it worth the risk, just for the sake of being able to say: “I was a Seddon man and I’ll stay a Seddon man,” or “I was a Massey man »f As a matter of fact, death has placed both those great leaders above party. Each will be remembered first as a leader of the country, and the example of both might well be used to urge their followers to come together for the good of the country. Since the Reformers muster the largest roll at pres'ent, the first move towards a real union of the forces opposed to Labour should come from them, and the truly great thing for the party caucus to do at its first meeting would be to hold over the question of leadership, pending consideration of the foundation of a new party altogether, a party whose leader and Ministers would be neither Liberals nor Reformers, but Nationalists every one.