PARTIES IN POLITICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19916, 9 April 1928, Page 12

PARTIES IN POLITICS.

Sir, —The triennial elections are Jooming up again and leaders of the various parties are busily engaged in preparing their plans of campaign and coaching candidates in the usual parrot talk. I have never yet been able to understand why a country should not be governed in the same way as a large company, members taking the place of directors. . . Let each electorate- remain the same as at present, and let candidates be elected on their own personality and political views. Constituents would show by their action whether they approved of a candidate's views or those of his opponent. Then when the successful candidates assemble in Wellington, let the Premier be elected by them, the other portfolios being filled in the same way. Then, as to procedure. If any member had a proposal to make, on its being seconded, it would be put to the House aa<3 carried or rejected on its merits. In either event it would receive the true, honest' opinion of every member of the House, unfettered by any party, which it would not get under present conditions. Under the free Parliament I suggest, each man stands an equal chance, and has perfect freedom of action to vote as ho thinks best, thus enabling him to remain, a man. Under present conditions, every member of each political party is simply like a marionette, a mere puppet dancing io the string pulled by his leader. Yet in spite of this knowledge, we still carry on year after year in the same old way, thus adding to the ever-incroasing pile of legal "dunnage," which forms the bulk of our legislation. The first pleasurable diitv of a free Parliament would be to overhaul these political souvenirs and repeal about 50 per cent', of them. With them would vanish, too, some hundreds of "inspectors," but we should still be able to produce as much butter, wool and meat without them or any more laws for quite a long time, anil that', I take it, is what we are mostly here for. W. E. Cayley Alexandfr. ' Piopio, April 4, 1928.