THE PARNELL ELECTORATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20520, 22 March 1930, Page 10

THE PARNELL ELECTORATE.

Of the several reasons given by Mr. Jenkins for his decision to resign his seat in the House of Representatives, the decisive consideration is the fact that he has withdrawn from the party under whose nomination he was returned at the general election. There may be circumstances in which a member may disclaim allegiance to a party without raising any question of his relations with his constituency, but on this occasion, the breach between member and party is so wide that the electorate is entitled to an opportunity to review the position. Mr. Jenkins has not only withdrawn from the United Party. He has publicly condemned the programme on which it conducted the election campaign, declaring that it got into office "by a subterfuge" and has now explained that his disillusionment is so complete that he would be willing to enter the ranks of the Reform Party. While his constituents will appreciate the candour with which Mr. Jenkins has set forth his position, they will recognise that it makes the retention of his seat impossible, and that his present decision is entirely to his credit. Apart from other considerations, it affords an opportunity for the Reform Party to regain the seat, for the loss of . which it must blame other factors than what Mr. Jenkins has called the ."subterfuge" of the United Party's election policy. Parnell was consistently loyal to the Reform Party for a long period, but even political devotion can be strained beyond patient bearing, and the election of Mr Jenkins in 1928 owed less to the meretricious illusions of the £70.000.000 scheme than to the party's careless assumption of a certain majority in the electorate. The Reform Party now has an opportunity to repair the mistake by presenting to the electorate a candidate for whom its supporters will be able to vote with confidence that he will represent the district with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents, and that he will strengthen the party by more than his numerical value in division lists. The decadence of.the Reform Party is due chiefly to its failure to secure a reinforcement of young and energetic men: it now has the opportunity to gain a recruit who will not only be a loyal supporter of the party, but should also be qualified for eventual promotion to higher responsibilities. It can hardly be doubted that, provided the selected candidate has real qualifications for the position, the electorate will again prove its faith in the Reform Party.