POLITICAL RUMOURS

Southland Times, Issue 19100, 19 November 1923, Page 5

POLITICAL RUMOURS

formation of new party REPORTS VERY WIDE OF THE MARK WELFARE LEAGUE DENIES ANY KNOWLEDGE. (Per United Press. Association.) DUNEDIN, November 17. Mr Arthur Harper, secretary and organiser of the New Zealand Welfare League, Is at present in Dunedin and the opportunity was taken to question him in regard to the widely’ spread report from Wellington that a move was on fcot to form a new political party. Mr Harper said: “I am very glad this question has been asked because I find that the Welfare League is supposed to be in the movement, whereas it knows nothing about it, nor can we, after much inquiry, find that there is any truth in the report. In fact, as far as we can ascertain the general feeling in the country is emphatically against adding another party to those already in existence, and rather tends towards the return to a two-party system. There has been and still is a great deal of natural dissatisfaction over certain recent legislation, and this has probably’ given rise to the report of some attempt to create a new group in the political field, but this assumption is, 1 feel sure, quite wide of the mark, and there seems to be no authority for linking the names of two well-known business men with the new party.”