THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, MAY 30,1923. A PARADE OF LIBERALS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18875, 30 May 1923, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, MAY 30,1923. A PARADE OF LIBERALS.

First elected to Parliament in 1901, and returned at every general election since that time, Mr- Sidey now boasts a continuous membership of the House of Representatives for a period of over twenty-one years. There are only three members of the House who have had * longer period, of uninterrupted service. The tact that ho has held his seat for so long against opposition which has never been despicable and has sometimes been formidable constitutes a powerful tribute not less to Mr Sidey's personal merits than to his fidelity to Ids political principle. He enjoys a very wide, measure of respect in the electorate which, with occasional alterations in its boundaries, has, again and again expressed its confidence in him as its parliamentary representative. There is no man who is better known in Dunedin South and there is no class of his constituents that does not recognise ana appreciate his political industry, his honesty of purpose, and the integrity of his character. This is one of the reasons why he always secures a large personal vote in Dunedin 43outh. At the last two general elections, whatever may have happened -at previous elections, the whole of the Reform vote in the constituency may be said to have been cast in his favour, and members oi the Reform Party in Dunedin South, would, if circumstances had permitted, have gladly associated themselves with the Liberals in paying honour to him iu celebration of the attainment of his majority as a member of Parliament. It was thought desirable, however, that the occasion should be marked by a demonstration which took the form, in part, of a full-dress parade of a substantial proportion of the Liberal Partj in Parliament. There were no fewer than seven members of the party present, not far short of 00 per.cent, ol the entire party. It was not perhaps a well-balanced parade, for the officers, comprising the captain, two lieutenants, and the adjutant, were more numerous than the privates, and the majority ol the privates kave been so recently recruited as hardly ye.t to have emerged from, the stage of the awkward squad. But it was complimentary to Mr Sidey that the party of which he is a member should have mustered a large proportion of its full strength. Moreover, the good Liberals of Dunedin South were, we are sure, gratified to be afforded, the opportunity of inspecting such an impressive representation of the parliamentary party which they support. Those among them, however, who remember the period when the party was at the zenith of its power may have reflected sadly upon the unmistakeable decline in its fortunes. One of £he visiting members last night protested vigorofely that the Liberal Party was not "down and out." It would be idle to pretend that it is that when it is still able to deny to the Labour Party, the distinction of being the official Opposition in the House of Representatives. It is, however, experiencing some difficulty in offering any excuse for its continued existence at a time when there is the need for the presentation of a united front to the elements in the' cominunity that are aiming at the destruction of the social fabric. ' It is not in the public interest that Parliament should be split up into three parties, not one of which comprises a majority of the members of the House of Representatives, 'lt is not under conditions such as these that the political machinery of the country can be efficiently or advantageously operated. Instability of government is never satisfactory, but it is not really desired anywhere that the remedy for this state ol affairs in New Zealand should be sought in another appeal to the electorates. The impasse, as Mr Wilford described it last night, is not due to the cause to which he assigned it. It has not been brought about by the electoral system that is in force. It would not havo been obviated by the use of the system of proportional representation about which politicians talk vpry glibly without deigning. to say how they would have it applied in the country districts or by the use of any other system of election of members. It is the direct jesult of the existence of three political parties, one of which has outlived its days of usefulness.