Manawatu Daily Times SATURDAY, MAY 2, 1925. Parties and Politics.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2670, 2 May 1925, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times SATURDAY, MAY 2, 1925. Parties and Politics.

Sir Alfred Moml, a man of many activities and a Liberal politician of aoino little consequence, who hold olllco iii the Coalition Government, lias been expressing his opinions on (ho prospects of the party system. Jits predictions are Interesting but not specially convincing. According to the, cabled re,port. lie. said that so far from thinking that the three-party system was likely to end that is, .to glv6 place to the old two-party conditions M h o believed that a fourparty system would eventually develop.” Liberalism would revive, and Labour would split into the Communists and the. Moderates. Sir Alfred Mond’s views (acidly comments the Otago Daily Times) are conrtollcd by that, persistent faith in a great Liberal resurrection which is at once so touching and so forlorn whether regarded in connection with affairs at, Home or In New Zealand, Jn Hits matter faith Is certainly "(he substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There is not an observable trace of the likohood of a Liberal revival. Neither Mr. Lloyd George nor Mr. Wiiford has as much as "a sporting chance” of carrying the tattered banner to renewed triumph. It may reasonably be anticipated tluit Conservatism and Liberalism in the Home Country, and not there only, will eventually waive their differences, which in the main arc matters of name and tradition, and join forces in support of sou'nii constitutionalism and democratic .progress. A dolhiito cleavage ia the ranks of Labour is likely enough, but that is not to say that there will bo two distinct Labour parties in active operation. It is possible that in the long run the moderate Labourites will have to fall in with the destined constitntional alliance. Such developments would take time, and .there must inevitably bo Intermediate stages, but it may bo conjectured that a two-party system in effect will be restored long before the twentieth century has run its course. i “Emergencies.”

Before the All Blacks left for England quite a fuss was made over the intimation that, in pursuance of an overseas rule, players injured could not be replaced in the course of a game. Such was not the custom in New Zealand, and stern critics seized upon the English rule as but another illustration of convcrsatism in English Rugby. A decision by .the management committee of the Canterbury Rugby Union not to permit replacements of players after the half-time interval, therefore, is significant (says the "Sun”). Although the English law on the subject has Pot been followed in its entirety, the spirit of it has been accepted. That spirit lies in the old axiom that the virtue lies in the struggle, not the prize, and that an actual and unsporting advantage may bo reaped by introducing against, maybe, wearied opponents a fresh player or players, who have had the advantage of studying, as observers, the weaknesses of their opponents’ side. Better by far to accept any illluck in the game. New Zealand Rugby has been accused ,of. being imbued with the gladiatorial spirit. Such an accusation may be unjust, but one excuse for its being put forward will fall to the ground with the disappearance from the grandstands of the line of baro-kneed emergencies awaiting their chance of participation in the game. This “waiting list” will be merged in the ranks of the other teams of the clubs to tho benefit of the game. Bo far, the change applies to Canterbury only, but tho province has made a move which will be considered, and possibly followed, by 'ither unions In the Dominion,

Sydney’s Show Crowds. In the metropolis of Sydney 1,012,070 people live and have their being. A little world in itself. But when one thinks of tho huge army of people who poured into tho city for the show from nil parts of the State (says a corespondent) and for tho other holiday attractions, the extraordinary traffic at Easter by train and tram is not surprising. No fewer than 625,150 people went to tho show, for instance, or just on 15,000 more people than the attendance last year. On Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday, the trams alono, as distinct from the buses, now almost as common ns the trams, carried B,OOMOd passengers, and incidentally brought to tho State a rich harvest of £34,366 These figures have been exceeded onlj once namely, last year, when,on account of the visit of tho British fleet, tho carnival season extended practically a full fortnight. Easter Monday’s figures, however, constitute n record. On that day the trams carried 1,137,300 people. For the period which immediately preceded the Show and which found the "Royal” In full swing, the railways achieved tho revenue record of their history. For, in one week, there passed into tho gargantuan maw of tho department earnings totalling £455,000.