ISSUE BEFORE PARTIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18341, 6 March 1923, Page 6

ISSUE BEFORE PARTIES.

LIBERAL ACTION CRITICISED. REVIEW BY HON. C. J. PARE. Brief reference to the political situation was made ly the Hon. C. J. Parr, Minister for Education, in a speech at a meeting of Eden electors at Mount' Albert last evening. Mr. Parr detsiled the steps recently taken by the Reform Party to effect some fair or equitable arrangement with the Wilford Liberals so that the Government could carry on without putting the country to the distraction and expense of another general election. He said the Liberals had refused the olive branch. If there were another election, it would be precipitated by the refusal of the Liberals to give a measure of working support to the present Government, which admittedly of the three parties alone had sufficient strength to function as a Cabinet. The Government would take every constitutional means of keeping the administration going, but if there was fractious opposition and an attempt made to place the Government in a position of humiliation, another election must result this year. Commenting upon the struggle between the Liberal and Labour Parties for the position of Official Opposition, Mr. Parr declared that Mr. Wilford's party gained the Opposition benches by the forbearance of the Socialist party. He pointed out th?t nine of the present Literal members, including all but one of the recruits, owed their victories over the Reform candidates to the fact that they received the Labour vote. If the Labour Party had rt'n candidates in all electoratesas Mr. Holland threatened in the short session he would do in future—the result would have been that the Reform candidates must have won the scats, and the Liberals so reduced in number that the Holland party would l have been the Official Opposition.