The Hawera Star. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1929. HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 5 November 1929, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1929. HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Delivered every evening by 6 o’clock in Hawera, Manaia, Kaupokonui. Otakeho. Oec Pihama. Opunake. Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Ngaere, Mangatoki, Kapouga, Awatnna, Te Kiri, Mahoe, Lowgarth, Manutahi, Kakaramea, Alton, Hurleyville. Patea, Whenuakura, Waverley. Mokoia, Whakamara, Ohangai, Meieinere. Fraser Road and Ararata

The appeal of Mr Ramsay MacDonald to members of all parties in t he House of Commons “ to regard themselves less as armies arrayed against each other and more as friendly collaborators' in the cause of the nation,” expresses an ideal which is, under democracy’s party system, unattainable. Nevertheless. the appeal will not fall upon deaf ears ,iust now, when the opposition parties know themselves to be too weak to turn the Government out of otiie.e; there is a possibility that regard for expediency may bring about some measure of that happy state desired by the Prime Minister. There are very good reasons why members of the two parties opposed to Labour may deem it. desirable to act in the Toles of collaborators and counsellors, and the most important of these is, of course, that neither 'has sufficient strength to •oust Labour from office and, until, or unless, something “turns up” to throw public opinion and sentiment into a state of turmoil, neither has immediate prospects of rallying sufficient support to its banner to seize the reins should •the opportunity to go to t'he country be manufactured. England is content to wait and see what the .Labour Party can do for her, so long as she is not subjected to any risky, experimental legislation on Communistic lines—and. that risk is not great so long as the power of the Labour Left Wing does not grow beyond its present proportions. The Labour Party realised long before the last election that tire Reds were the. party’s deadliest enemy; it was not until the Red scare was defeated that there was any hope for Labour’s ambition to govern. The 1926 General .Strike did much to clear the air of those fears, for that upheaval, in the light of the sectional fears of revolution which preceded it, proved that though there ■were Communists in England, and that Russian Soviet money was being spent in England, the 'heart of .the English masses, even of those with most cause to be bitter, was sound. Since then the Labour Party lias been able to free itself of the shadow of the Red bogey and has been able to persuade the people t o give it. am opportunity to govern. The Labour Party’s prestige is now very much, higher than it was in 1924, when it held office for a> brief term. During its short second career as the Government it lias had opportunities to show the world where it stands between nationalism and internationalism, and it lias not missed those opportunities. Fears of what would be the outcome of Labour’s 1 “sloppy internationalism” robbed the party of the support of many electors who, while

•not actively partisan in their polities, would do nothing to imperil Britain’s prestige in the eyes of the world. But Labour Cabinet Ministers have, been acting up to (the sturdiest British traditions so far in their dealings with the outside world and, what is more, have proved themselves capable of bringing •a, (healthy 'tolerance to bear in their consideration of the view 7 ® of the nations with which they have had to deal. Mr Ramsay MacDonald’s successful endeavours to promote Anglo-American concord are widely appreciated; Mr Philip Snowden’s resolute advocacy of the British viewpoint on reparations has earned him golden opinions; Mr J. H. Thomas’ trip to Canada, with samples of British coal in his bag and a strong plea for the strengthening of trade relations, has proved him to be an Imperialist who desires to cement ties by other means than flag-wagging. There is a feeling abroad that Labour will be sobered by responsibility and that Britain will be controlled by moderates in whose hands her interests will be reasonably safe and who wil Inot be overawed bv the things that “can’t be done” simply because they have never been done.