ELECTIVE EXECUTIVE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8481, 16 July 1913, Page 3

ELECTIVE EXECUTIVE

PROPOSAL BY FARMERS MOTION IN FAVOUR IS REJECTED. One of the most important items that came before the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union was that dealing with an elective executive. Mr Uufik moved: "Thai: this conferonce considers that the time has come wnen the present 'party system' should do superseded ny some ioxiu of governmeuii oy elective as Doing a iorur or gowiiimeiiL uuoutaveu to mm© t*iuy odiry rutv cneot Vac v*e»vs or uxv Ciocrors. ailu to eiimuiato jruia tiro potiuus or tiiio i/omiiiioju rue man,» Huiun nave yitmu up arouiia liiu patt.y <iua unit a cuiuiUKicc do cipporuLtAi uy tne notuiiiiua to o-ottoiuer anu uiVLiC a sciiviii© or gowrameiit. Dy elective executive lor this country, in oiuer time the -farmers’ union may Do ame tv enter on an active campaign to Dung ims principle cioany ueiure uie electors oi me n/viuimon," xi.e said mat mis Had been Dciore me uvnTeionco on a previous occasion, when it was ueoiued 10 icier mo matter u> tae unions, out ho aid not i-now how many replies nacl Deexi received. As far an mo n.uciiiand Diauca was concomed, vnoy woro or opinion an elective executive would Do preiurauio to mo jjity system now in vogue. It was worxinu jii owitaeiianu, and men in Parliament in xNow Zealand wore convinced mat the time had arrived when me t-jerem si cum do a*coiod. lx anyming was Drought oetoro mo House it was voted on. noc from uu inuepenucnt point ot view*, hut wuether it would keep the party in power. Mr Vavasour seconded the motion, and tjaid time Hir years he had been preaching against the party system. It had Dtwn Admitted that" Switzerland had the Dest system of government, and the party system was the cuise ot New Zealand, tor the members couid not be honest as they had to sacrilice their principles for the sake of the party. Five years ago if they had talked non-party politics to politicians they would have said it could not be done. Another delegate said that it introduced feeling among public men that was not desirable, and the system was to be condemned. Mi- Bell said that none of them could get juotico while one party was in power, and ho; was against the system, mere was nothing that retarded the progress of the country so much as for men to.vote against their principles, if they went to Uiey they would him feeling mere tnat should not exist, and it was for party purposes, no hoped they would cake the reua in Hruisn J-'oimiuons in uaopung tnis system. Mr . JucUuoen said that the greatest empire in mo woiia had ueen built under party memodß. Xae criticism of the opposition was necessary, for it was a nut) Diako. if they had an elective executive they wo urn noc do away wim t" u '*o r government, tor it would bo ieU oy mo strongest man. Tub party syscom wouia a-ivays ootain, iuia it was me most eauoaung system they bad. Jb'rom overy putut oi view it was uesuabie. The crouutß with tba late Government was coat it was too ions: iu power, and it did not know now to examine a proposal. Iney bud “raua" uud "meanes" which they put into law.

n,^ r ■ Uucu “ a,a 110 would vote against h»?l P l “ p ° fcal > *°r the present system had worsen well, ana the alteration ot co ' IBLUl * uon was a senoub In any assemblage of the people there hau to be two parties, and tney ooum nod stop people • claiming • cnougnt it woum develop into a caucus ivptveeuiauou. ±io alu not leel justified tu voting tor a thing winch would upset the constitution. ,' y Mr Gardner thought that the party any Walter. * trollK ‘'■ uoufiU to deai with

Mr Maxwell said he did not think this subject could bo dealt with by the conference. He did not think the sudporters had put forward any reasons lor the change or shown that the evils of party politics would be wiped out. The »mi l 80t at t!l ° trut h °f matteie, u lo7 ] hl t a “ofeoß'-ro executive this would bo Jost. The most able men of the country would have to deni with this matter many times before they could amvo at u decision, and it was useless the conference trying to deal with it. iJhte „„ ® a J» that the opposition probably from the delegates never having studied the question. They did not expect people to be all of one mind f , e T eoutlTe ; They wanted the matters dieoussed on their merits, and f° ““fsestion that discussion sliould be burked. The question as to whether a Bill was passed or not would affect the executive. The party system did not lead to the matters being dig. cussed on their merits but from a uaftv standpoint. 1 * The motion was lost.