NO COMPROMISE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 7 January 1928, Page 7

NO COMPROMISE.

ON LICENSING ISSUE RUMOURS or NEGOTIATIONS. ATTITUDE OF N.Z. ALLIANCE. (BY TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL TO “THE STAR.”) WELLINGTON, Jan. 7. Whether or not the licensing question is re-'opened by the calling of a special caucus of the Reform Party m the Parliamentary recess, as the Prime Minister has declared it may be necessary to do, the subject is sure to be warmly debated again next session it the Bill is again introduced on the same lines as it left the House last session. In the meantime efforts' are understood to be in train with a view to securing a modification of the attitude of those members of the House who have fought so strongly for the prohibition cause, with a view to a compromise being reached before the question again comes before . Parliament. Prominent men in the prohibition movement in Auckland and in Wellington are said to be making endeavours to influence prohibition supporters, especially the majority in the ranks of the Reform Party, so that a middle; course may bo steered and an agreement reached which will satisfy both sides. It is not clear Low far the negotiations have proceeded, but as the dominating prohibition faction in the Reform Party is pledged to the hilt to the New Zealand Alliance and those members could not change their attitude' unless they made a volte face and broke their pledge. For the present, at any rate, it seems a remote possibility that the alliance will budge from the policy it adopted when the Licensing Amendment Bill was before Parliament recently. Inquiries made to-day from the New Zealand Alliance as to whether there was any ground for the rumours that a compromise had been reached elicited the reply from the executive secretary (Mr J. Malton Murray) distinctly in the negative. He said that if _ any change in the attitude of the alliance had been decided upon, it would have been announced immediately to . the public, for the policy of the alliance was to place all its cards on the table. The alliance declared emphatically, stood pat on the platforms it had fought rip on last session. The fundamental plank of that platform was the bare majority issue, and there could be no change in that policy until the annual conference of the alliance, which would probably not be held until May or thereabouts. For the present then, there could be no question of a compromise. It was not a matter. of expediency for the alliance was lighting for principle and it intended to stand solidly where it was until it gained its objective, national prohibition, Mr. Murray said that as the policy had been determined by the annual conference, the alliance could not be influenced by the negotiations which might be set afoot by members of Parliament or others, who had the cause of prohibition at heart and wished to see some modification of the present policy brought about. If Reform members of Parliament, who have made pledges to the alliance adhere as strongly to their commitments as they did last session, there appears to be as little likelyhood of their being influenced towards the compromise as there is of persuading the alliance to change its policy, so that the position is still one of stalemate. On the other hand, there may be some members who are not bound absolutely to the alliance and with them a reasonable compromise may be affected. As far as can be gathered, however, no definite progress has been made in that direction. No direct suggestion has yet been made by the Prime Minister for the caucus which, lie said, it might be necessary to call for the purpose of discussing the matter further and local Reformers declared that they have not heard anything further than Mr. Coates’s intimation that such meeting might be necessary. The opinion is held by some that it w-ould be useless to call a' special meeting of the caucus in the recess in order to discuss a subject such as the licensing issue, for it would result absolutely as Mr. Coates remarked, when he made his reply to the last prohibition deputation: "It is time for calm thinking. ”