THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1919. THE OUTSTANDING ISSUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17327, 26 November 1919, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1919. THE OUTSTANDING ISSUE.

i • The Prime Minister was on very sound ground in warning his hearers at Temuka last night of the danger of permitting a Labour minority to control Parliament. If stable government is the first need of the Dominion—and most people will agree that it —then the country must be saved by the votes cast on December 17. The politicians have declined to bury the hatchet, and electors must now judge between the offer of union made by the Reform party and the decision of the Liberals to continue as a separate organisation. They must judge with the knowledge that a party dominated by extremists is waiting to take advantage of the divisions of the moderates. In other countries such a situation has stilled factional strife. The British Government is , a national one. M. Clemenceau, the grand old man of France, has gathered the moderate parties into one group to defeat the Bolsheviks. In Italy there is a similar combination against the Socialists. The Australian election is being fought between a coalition and. a party whose ideals and methods are almost identical with those of the Labour Party in this Dominion. In face of this regrouping of forces the, world over Sir Joseph Ward's followers maintain their right to perpetuate the old divisions in New Zealand. Are they justified]

Their case appears to rest upon the fact that the extreme Labour Party is in a hopeless minority. Unfortunately its capacity for making mischief is out of all proportion to its size. Mr. Holland has clearly indicated that his party hopes to hold the balance of power in the new Parliament. In such an event Mr. Massey will refuse to depend upon the votes of extremists, and will resign. Sir Joseph Ward will then be offered the support of the extremists if, in the words of Mr. Holland, he "enacts the legislation the Labour Party is fighting for." The alternatives will be for Sir Joseph Ward to accept this support or resign. If he adopted the first course the country would be under minority rule of a dangerous character. If he adopted the second his well-wishers would expect him to —a dissolution would follow. In either case there would be political instability at a time when tranquility and settled government are essential for the economic development of the Dominion. New Zealand has spent about £100,000,000 on the war. It is a tremendous liability for a small population to carry, and it can only be extinguished by the industry of the people. The increase of production to meet a swollen interest bill is the great task confronting statesmanship, and neither the schemes, of socialisation advanced by *.he Labour Party nor the nationalisation plans of Sir Joseph Ward touch the fringe of this problem. On the part of the Government there must be a vigorous but prudent policy of settling tho land and developing the natural resources of the Dominion, and on the part of the nation there must be responsive enterprise and industry. A sustained effort is required to mako the production of New Zealand commensurate with our new liabilities and this effort will certainly bo handicapped by the political turmoil which is inevitable if extremists hold the balance of power in the new Parliament. Nothing would do more to destroy public confidence, intimidate capital, and bring confusion and instability into our economic as well as our political life. It constitutes a risk which electors will be well advised to avoid.

Under such circumstances the prudent, voter will determine to strengthen the stronger and more virile of the two principal parties. There is nothing in the political outlook to suggest that the Opposition will gain ground during the election. On the contrary, the Government is likely to win several seats. Mr. Massey is enjoying a wave of popularity at the present time which puzzles his opponents, though the explanation is very simple. Tt springs from the nation's recognition of his devoted services during the past five years, culminating in the personal triumph he enjoyed during the past session. It is.no small task to reconstruct a Cabinet and fare a highly-critical Parliament within a week of the dissolution of a coalition. It is no easy matter to decide in a session of a few weeks all the thorny questions, which had awaited the return of Mr. Massey from the Peace Congress— "profiteering,'' the national short--age of houses and of primary schools, the stagnation of' public works, and the scale of soldiers' gratuities. Mr. Massey has rendered many services to his country, but none more conspicuous than those crowded into the war years. He has proved hi? capacity under thenmst exacting tests, and is well entitled to a further term of office. At the head of a reinvigorated Cabinet of young, energetic men he may be trusted to give a bold lead in the development of the Dominion's resources, and to inspire the confidence of the vast majority of New Zealanders. He has stated clearly the conditions on which he will continue at the helm, and it remains for those who desire to defeat the plans of the extremists to give him the working majority for which he reasonably stipulates.