PARTY POLITICS

Southland Times, Issue 19502, 17 March 1925, Page 8

PARTY POLITICS

MR WILFORD AND MR HOLLAND. EXPLANATION BY LABOUR LEADER In the course of his address at the Victoria Hall last evening, Mr H. E. Holland. M.P., and Leader of the Labour Party, made some reference to the recent controversy between Mr Wilford, as Leader of the Liberal Party, and himself, in regard to the attitude of the Liberal and the Labour forces on a no-confidence motion. Mr Wilford had, said Mr Holland, made a statement quite recently to the effect that the Liberal Party did not and would not associate itself with the Labour Party for the purpose of forming a Government, nor would the Liberals accept the assistance of the Labour Party in the formation of a Government, and furthermore, that they would not support a no-confidence motion, the result of which would place the Labour Party 7 on the Treasury Benches. He asked the electors to note the similarity of Mr Wilford’s attack on Labour with the Conservative attack on the followers of Ballance and Seddon in the contest of 1890. While quite recently Mr Wilford had been ready to support a Labour Government in office for the purpose of securing proportional representation, he was now explaining that in the Auckland constituencies last election the Liberal candidates had been stood aside to allow the Reform Party to have a clear run against the Labour candidates—in other words, in the hope that with Liberal support the Reform Party might succeed in defeating Labour. Mr Wilford’s latest pronouncement meant, if it meant anything, that in the event of no party having a clear majority after next election, and the present Government suffering defeat as the result of a no-confidence motion moved by Mr Wilford and supported by the Labour Party, the Liberals would refuse to take office. It also meant that when no-con-fidence motions were moved from the Labour benches, Mr Wilford and such of the Liberals as would follow him would east their votes to save Mr Massey from defeat at the hands of Labour. It also meant that if a Labour Government took office, Mr Wilford and such of the Liberals as he could influence would support any noconfidence motion moved by Mr Massey. Finally, it meant that Mr Wilford had made up his mind to lead the Liberals into Mr Massey’s camp against Labour on every occasion—and ultimately to leave them there.