THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1919. THE POLITICAL LEADERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17229, 4 August 1919, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1919. THE POLITICAL LEADERS.

, ji The Prime Minister and Sir Joseph Ward return to New Zealand tomorrow. The country is awaiting i them expectantly, for there is more lin this home-coming than the welcome that will be extended to them. I Their departure from Britain marked the conclusion of peace their arrival here raises issues in local politics which may not be easily solved. As the representatives of New Zealand to the most momentous conference of the nations the world has ever seen, they will be heartily congratulated on the successful outcome of that conference. All loyal citizens can join in this. Nor. need there be any distinction made between the two men. It has been said that one was enough, the second superfluous. < This is an obvious truth which will serve us better if we use it as an illustration .of the folly of our own political divisions than as a means of minimising the part played by either of the returning leaders. The double delegation was one of the i results of our parly rivalries, and, taken itself, is insignificant compared with other and more grievous wrongs and disabilities which can be traced unmistakably to the same causey It should, therefore, be a simple ;, matter for everybody to forget for an hour the political colour ■of the delegates, and to give warm greetings to both in recognition of the, share they 'have- taken in the conclusion■ of a just peace. Mr. Massey signed the Treaty on our behalf, and .was r chairman of a* committee which made a valuable compilation ■~ of ; authenticated enemy atrocities. Sir Joseph Ward sat frequently at the peace table as a British delegate. We can be confix dent that both expressed clearly and j loyally the predominating sentiment of New Zealand, and that both did' ! credit to the cbuntryi to which/they belong and to .the Empire of which i it is a.part. > 5 The "people of New Zealand /'pari'.* welcome them jointly without political thought or motive, but, having done that, they are: entitled • to, -demand .-from .each .-a straightforward answer to the plain question: -What is your political course for' the future ''] For months the air has been full of rumours/ as to the' prospects-of the Coalition, and it would be well that within as brief a time as possible the country should know what it has to face.: At present, political currents are running directly against this tide of public opinion, r Politicians I are shouting Sat. us the old commonplaces of partisanship; citizens who do . not '- aspire to 'govern, but who assert their right to be well governed,, are thinking along the lines of v a new nationalism. Few are satisfied with the present Coalition .fewer still, outside the ranks of the place-seekers, see any hope in a relurn to party clamour. The din of a'pre-war, election would be bad enough. We are threatened with worse -than that, for -there is evidently to be, if the politicians have their way, such a multiplication of parties as -can only lead to hopeless chaos, from which there can be little.prospect of any stable government emerging. It may be lin the minds of the politicians that lif they fail at the polls they can ; coalesce in the House. The country will get some sort of government, assuredly, but ; if it is left to the partisans it will be a sorry patchwork, made up of conflicting elements, each waiting for' the first opportunity to confound the other. This has been-the character of our Government in the past eight months. It is a fair.question to put to both Mr. Massey and Sir* Joseph Ward whether they: propose to aggravate that condition or whether they are prepared to make of the politics of the future a national and not a party business.

The leaders will find on arrival that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the present Government. As a war government it was strong and capable. Jt made mistakes, j but, looking round the world, it would be hard to find a Ministry I similarly placed that did better, - or as well, and easy to name those that < ; did worse. As a peace government it has been inept and inefficient. ! The fall may be traced to two ] causes. First: the singleness of ; purpose which animated the Ministry and Parliament in war-time was swept aside on the signing of the armistice, and in its place came a strong partisan outlook which had a vicious effect upon Government action. Evcu if the change did not originate with Ministers, they are to blame for allowing the scheming of less-responsible Parliamentarians to influence their decisions. Second • the transition from war to peace conditions shifted the weight of Ministerial responsibility, and found the weak men. Both these causes have then* root in, the party composition of the Ministry. Had it

been, as it 7 was';'. called, .a National Ministry, there -need; have'been no weak men, for no party would have had a right to say that its selections must: be : Honoured; even if a mistaken appointment* had.-'been* made* no crisis could have been created by the removal of a Minister. ■ The plain truth is that we have not had a National' Ministry, but that we have suffered from a coalition dominated in recent months f by; the idea that ~at a time now close . at hand the parties would separate.. The crisis is on us. Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward must make their decisions. If they go back to Reform and Literal, they will find the public cold. If they try .bolster up the present coalition and to make excuses for its incompetent members, they will meet a storm of criticism. If they carry their inquiries beyond the political coteries which usually circle round them, they will learn that in country and in town the predominant desire is for . good government, wholly freed from the trammels of party. We shall know soon whether our two leaders have been caught by this new temper of New Zealand, or whether they still live politically in a pre-war atmosphere. They may wish for time to come to a conclusion. If so, it should be granted, but the country will look to them for early declarations, and if it should happen that either makes a decision which forces the hand of the other, the people will be entitled to know who led them-into the political wilderness.