VICTORIAN CRISIS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23002, 1 April 1938, Page 9

VICTORIAN CRISIS

COUNTRY PARTY SPLIT MINISTRY ENDANGERED NEW ORGANISATION FORMED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright MELBOURNE. March 31 The Victorian Country Party Ministry led by Mr. A. A Dunstan is endangered as the result of the serious breach at the Ballarat conference of the party on Tuesday. A further development last evening was a meeting of a large number of followers of Messrs. Paterson and McEwen, members of the party in the • Federal Parliament who accepted Cabinet office with an outside party. Tho meeting decided to form a new party to be known as the LiberalCountry Party.

Both Mr. Paterson and Mr. McEwen addressed the meeting, condemning the managers of the party for unfair tactics and for endeavouring to create public mistrust of members of Parliament.

Mr. McEwen, who is Federal Minister of the Interior, said he was not prepared to be a Victorian first and an Australian second. Great enthusiasm followed the decision to form the new party. A number of Mr. Dunstan's followers in the State Parliament say he is contemplating joining it. When the conference resumed yesterday the "break-away" members were absent. The suggestion of the president, Mr. R. Skeat, that all candidates for office in the party's central council be required to sign guarantees not to associate with any other party was adopted, but many candidates refused to sign.

The dramatic end to the evening's bitter recrimination was the virtual expulsion of the leaders of the new movement.