THE POLITICAL CRISIS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12664, 18 January 1912, Page 5

THE POLITICAL CRISIS.

MR" (.5. W. RUSSELL'S VIEWS. (Special to the Herald.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Speaking at a social gathering, tendered to him last night, Mr G. W. Russell, M.P., said that regarding the political situation he could not remember a similar position to that of the present time. Thirty-eight of Mr Massey's supporters had been returned, but that was not a majority, and the small number of Independents might be said to hold the balance of power. Messrs Veitch, Robertson and Payne had been returned as Labor members, although it was hardly correct to say that they actually represented tfce Labor Party, as they had, on the second ballots, obtained the Opposition votes. Some people were under the impression that if Mr Massey formed a Government and that Goverjiment ' was defeated, ther.e might be a dissolution m five or six weeks. In his opinion, however, there would be no ground for ask-, ing for a dissolution until every means of forming a stable Government had been exhausted. Both Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Ward had placed their policies before the people prior to the election, and if either of these platforms was not acceptable to the people, it might be that some other member of the Liberal party would come forward with a policy that would be acceptable to the Labor Party, and the Labor members would range themselves on the side of the 1 Liberal party, enabling that party to carry 'on. The public revenue accounts showed an increase of £600,000 for nine months, actually m sight, which should mean an overflowing treasury, with a balance of some £800,000 at the end of the financial year on 31st March. It would not be ' advisable to fling out of office the party who had brought this happy state of affairs about.

During the course of an address at an entertainment tendered Mr G. Witty, M.P. for Riccarton, the Hon. T. Mackenzie, after referring to Mr Witty's qualifications, which entitled him to* a seat m Parliament, said : "It was said that the present Government' was corrupt, and should not receive the confidence of the people; but those who circulated such statements did not believe them; they merely served them up as election pabulum. He would say this, however, that if the system of abuse of public men was to go on as it had during the last year or two, there would 'be driven from public life sensitive and honorable men, and there would be called into existence the. very class of men described by those who decried the present Government. (Hear, hear). He agreed with what had been said relative to the hostility to the present Government on the part of men who had got on through what the Government had done for them, and he himself knew of cases where men had turned from Liberal to Opposition on the strength of the possession of a. flock of sheep., and also because the Government required them to pay the rent for the Crown lands they were holding." Speaking at a social gathering at Nelson on Thursday night, Mr H. Atmore, M.P. for Nelson, said it wa& about time the absurd system of party government was wiped out, because under that system the people were not getting the benefit of the best brains. When they elected a man he went to Parliament to represent Nelson, not to represent Sir Joseph Ward or Mr Massey. A man betrayed his trust if he forgot to represent Nelson. The late Mr Seddon said thai a man went to Parliament and was responsible to one except his constituents. That was true Liberalism and not the Liberalism that they had t in New Zealand to-day., Liberalism -meant measures for the benefit of the people and not the party. What was wanted m New Zealand was a strong Government, and an economical Government, and whichever party came nearest to that would have his vote. It had been stated that an Independent did not have any influence m the House, but the men who held the Government m the hollow of their hands to-da.y wei*e the Labor and Independent members. He had already had two conferences with representatives of- both the Government and Opposition parties. "And," Mr Atmore naively added, "I didn't have to go to Wellington, either." To-day they were the most influential members m New Zealand. t His vote would be for the best interests of Nelson and the Dominion, irrespective of Sir Joseph Ward or Mr Massey.