THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

Northern Advocate, 9 January 1920, Page 3

THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

A LIBERAL OPINION,

NO FAITH IN MR MASSEY.

The member for Wairau (Mr R. McCallum) has been expressing his views upon the political future to the Auckland press. He professes to be in no way downcast by the results of tho election. He had never swerved from his opinion formed at the time of the formation of tho National Government, that Sir Joseph Ward personally should never have joined the Government, but should have retained his own independence and that of the rank and file of his party by remaining outside the Cabinet, and assisting it in exactly the same way as tho Liberal party had done during the recent short session.

After four years of the '' marriage of convenience," which, as all the world now knows, was not the outcome of affection, it was quite impossible to disassociate tho two leading parties' aims and objects, and the result was a decided success for the dominating party in the Coalition at the expense of the Liberal party, whilst affording the extreme Labour party an advantage they could not well help availing themselvos of.

''Three years," said Mr McCallum, "may sec a wonderful change, and that change will not operate in favour of extreme Labour or any other section that thinks it can fool all the people all the time."

He felt certain the majority of the Libera] opposition were just as anxious as the Reform party to bury party bitterness, recriminations, and strife, and work together for the good of the country. Any continuation of tho policy by which the rich were becoming richer and the poor poorer would be stoutly and persistently opposed and held up to ridicule, and the great bulk of the people who wanted a fair deal and public affairs dealt with from a "judicial" rather than a "class" standpoint would soon realise that for this they must look at the Liberals and the carrying out of a Liberal policy rather than to any body of extremists, no matter whether they represented propertied rights or labour.

As far as he was concerned, personally he thought the people of New Zealand were governed as well as they deserved to be. That profiteering monopoly and exploitation was rife there could be no question, and tho task of any Government honestly attempting to deal with these and many other difficulties would be heavy indeed.

It was needless for him to say he had no faith in any Government —reconstructed or otherwise—that Mr Massoy might control. The very most the people might expect during the next three years would accrue from the solid and united efforts of the Liberal Opposition banded together, not for party gain or the attainment of office emoluments or titles, but to force the Government with its solid majority to act fairly and squarely, and do the right thing by the masses of the people of the country, who are thrifty and deserving, and only ask for a fair opportunity to make good in the race of life.