THE ELECTIONS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 196, 23 September 1914, Page 11

THE ELECTIONS.

NO POSTPONEMENTDECISION OF GOVERNMENT. SIB J. G. WARD'S REGRET. . [From our own Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, -September 22. In the House this afternoon, the Prime Minister announced that the Government had decided that the elections Bhould be held at the usual time at the end of November or the beginning of December. . .In making his announcement, Mr Massey said:— : It wilkbe recollected, Mr Speaker, fenat Jast week. I intimated that I, would make a statement as coming from the Government-' regarding the- date on which the elections would be held. The suggestion was made in various quarters that on account..of the unfortunate war that is going on, and the consequent stress and • excitement, the elections should be postponed for some time. There were quite a number of suggestions in regard to the date. I want to say that this subject has given my colleagues and myself a great deal of anxious thought. In fact, I don't think anything has given me so much serious consideration since I have been in Parliament. It has been the subject of a conference in the first place between the Leader of ttic Opposition and myself, and later on between certain members of both sides. We were not able to arrive at any decision with regard to which we could be unanimous, for the simple reason that the matter is an ex-, ceedingly difficult one to deal with. The difficulty is this, there' is practically no precedent for what is proposed. My recollection is that there are only two precedents for postponing an election m the British world—one at the time of the Long Parliament and another at a much" later datei' - • 5 RIGHT OF THE ELECTORS. :

Prom a democratic point of view the electors have the right according to the constitution of this country, once in every three years to choose the men who are. to manage their business for the next three years. I would like to say further that no self-respecting Government could consent to hold office nnless some strong reason—except with the express approval of the electors of the Dominion. I. have taken the opportunity within, the last day or two of consulting one or two men who know more about the subject than I do as to what 13 likely to take place during the next few months in Europe, and the ©pinion, has been expressed that it will b<e impossible to, carry on operations during the winter months, and that a large part of the force now engaged will, have to go into winter quarters. "the European winter commences about the ; middle of November, consequently about the usual date of the elections there will be a cessation of hostilities. Then there is another point of view to be considered. There is not the stress apd excitement, now that there was three or four weeks ago. People have made iip their minds that though the war, may not come to an end quickly tliere is only one possible result, and in consequence people throughout the Empire, and all over the Dominion, are settling down to business in the ordinary way! /.:, '■.<-■•

EARLY IN DECEMBER. In. these circumstances I have come to the conclusion that the proper thing is to go on with the elections at the ordinary date —that is to say in all probability early in December.. It is impossible to fix a date at present, but the date has generally been at the end of November or the beginning of December. I cannot help thinking, having given the.subject very serious consideration, and looking at it from every point of view, that is the best possible solution. ' We have looked at the matter free«from party, and from a democratic point of view—from the constitutional point of view, and in the interests of the whole country, and that is the conclusion we' have arrived at—that the elections should be gone on with somewhere about the ordinary date.

•SIR JOSEPH WARD'S VIEWS. Sir Joseph Ward said that he had listened to the statement of the Prime Minister with considerable interest, and he wanted to say that he was strongly opposed to the elections taking place this year. He had not changed his views, as he expressd them a month ago, on this important point, and he had thought over the matter a very great deal. The first reason was that every part of the Empire was now in-' vol veil in a war of unparalleled magnitude and of unparalleled consequence to,the-British Empire and to the world as. a whole. Our kith and kin were making enormous sacrifices at the. present moment on the Continent, and upon the seas, and pur own men, though they had n.ot yet left this country, were practically en route to. participate in an. ; unparalleled war, which meant everything to every portion of the British, Empire. Before the end of this year there .would be thousands of families in tljis country who would be in a position, of grave anxiety as to what the outcome of the war was going to be, and..what would be. the position of their sons, brothers, and husbands. The Opposition were going to assist every Government act in support of the Old Country, no matter what position it fqund itself in before the war was over. And he.wanted to take the opportunity of saying that jn his opinion people of every shade of politics, people of every class in the community should be entirely outside of all disturbing effects, all upsetting effects, and the bitterness that was usually engendered in" connection with party and political strife in this or any other country. A general election meant, under normal conditions,-an inevitable and continuous dislocation of trade and commerce throughout the country, and how much -more, would this be the cas,.e. with tlie''aYlYled troubles of an unparalleled war. Their duty at present ought to be t'b iminiiiiise in every way ,those troubles and not. to add.to them.

' NO QUESTION OF PART^j. '• As to whether the proposal of the If rime Minister was favourable or unfavourable to either party was entirely beside the : -question. (Cheers.) -'When we were passing through an Imperial crisis we ought as a people to be able to rise above everything excepting the Imperial issue, which was so vital to every class in the country. (Cheers.) It would be far better to defer the elections' until at least March next. : Mr Massey: Do you think the war Vill be over in March? LULL IN HOSTILITIES. Sir Joseph Ward: If at the end of

March it was found that the circumstances for holding the elections were Unfavourable, they could be deferred 'for another three months. His opinion was that if the war lasted fighting would be going on as vigorously in November and December as it was today, but anyone who Knew the climatic conditions of the Continent could not suppose that operations would be continued during February and March. He believed that temporary peace would exist during that period, and that the elections should take place during that calm.

RESPONSIBILITY WITH THE GOVERNMENT.

The Opposition recognised that the responsibility in a matter of the kind would devolve on the Government, and the Government could not be relieved "of it. He recognised the difficulties surrounding the position, but he w r ould accept no responsibility for the time fixed. The Government must accept that responsibility, and the Opposition must acquiesce in whatever course was adopted, even though they might not agree with the time fixed. To him nothing was more obnoxious than to contemplate a general r ele*etion ; taking place at the end of the year. It meant letting loose the dogs of local politics, when there should be complete solidarity. IMPERIAL NECESSITIES. - So far as he was personally concerned, Sir Joseph continued, he be-lieved-that at a time when the most vital interests of the Empire were concerned it was the supreme consideration that the greatest anxiety of every Britisher should be to see the Empire out of its difficulties, or at least that the crisis was past. He believed that complete victory would come to the British arms and their allies, but he did not shut his eyes to the fact. that there would be a large loss of blood and treasure. They ought at least to recognise that something was due to the people of the country, apart from being given the opportunity of deciding which party shall rule during the next three years. (Hear, hear.)

The decision of the Government, Sir Joseph went on, was in striking contrast to the action of the British Parliament. Everyone knew that an election was to have been held in the Old Country shortly. ■■.;..■-. - , >,- <■:. - ■:■+■.: Mr Massey: The term of Parliament had not expired. Sir Joseph Ward: lam e.oming to that. When the war broke out, the .party leaders and organs were unanimous, in the decision that there should be no election this year. Hon. Mr Fraser: What about the byelections?

Sir Joseph Ward: Yes; the b.yr.eleetions will not be contested. Every vacancy will be filled by a member of the same party as the member who vacated the seat.

Hon. R. H. Rhodes: That's a different thing. Sir Joseph Ward: It shows an earnest desire to keep the wardogs out of the political battlefield at home. Parliament, he continued, had passed both the Home Rule Bill and the Welsh Disestablishment Bill without discussion, together with a Suspensory Act allowing them to come up for discussion 12 months hence. Of course, he went on, the Opposition acquiesced in whatever the Government proposed. Mr J. A. Hanan (luvercargill): We are forced to.

Sir Joseph Ward: We can't do anything else. They accepted the position with equanimity, as they had perfect confidence in the success of the party when the elections came. He said that without party. (Laughter.) He would sooner be. .a member of a. party which submitted to a clean defeat than of a party which won a mean victorj r . Mr Massey: What are you insinuating? The conclusion of Sir Joseph Ward's speech was greeted by loud applause from the Opposition.

THE RIGHT OP REPLY. The Prime Minister said that he was sorry that the Leader of the Opposition had concluded with such a phrase as '' a • mean victory. " ■ Sir Joseph Ward: It is quite correct.

Mr Massey: It seems to me Mr G. W. Russell (Avon) rose to a point of order. He wished to know whether, if Mr Massey made another speech, the Leader of the Opposition would be allowed to reply to it, and whether discussion would be allowed.

The Speaker pointed out that speeches on the subject could be' delivered only by indulgence of the House, and that if one member objected no speech could be delivered. :

Sir Joseph Ward expressed the hope that if the Prime Minister desired to make a statement no restriction should be placed upon him by lion, members. * Mr Massey thanked members of the Opposition for allowing him their indulgence. He had not, he said, heard the Right Hon. Leader of the Opposition say that he would be willing to postpone the elections until the war came to an end. Unless he did that, the whole of his argument fell to the ground. If the war lasted three years would he postpone all elections, parliamentary and municipal;''for that period? So far as postponement until March was concerned, this was the first idea that had occured.tohim.when the suggestion was first made. So far as he could judge, the month of March was one of the busiest in the Dominion. It was one of the harvest months for a great part of the country. Although a by-election could be held at any time, it was not satisfactory to hold a general election during winter or the harvest months. Then, again, three months from March would, bring them into June, when the days were short and the roads bad. No election could then be held to the satisfaction of the country. He had looked at the question from every point of view before arriving at a conclusion. So far as the Imperial Parliament was concerned, there had been no suggestion to extend the term of the present Parliament. By-elections were of very minor importance as compared with a general election. When the term of the present Imperial Parliament came to an end the elections would be gone on with without any suggestion of postponement, as had been done in the Boer War. It was. a. very serious thing to tamper with the constitution. HOLDING ON TO OFFICE.'''

"I should like to ask the right hon. gentleman this," : Mr Massey went on, "What would happen to any Government which attempted to extend the term of a Parliament? Wouldn't it be said that it wished to hang on to office!" Opposition Members: No, no!

Mr Massey: The suggestion has been made already. I have been informed that the statement is general in Christchurch.

Mr G. W. Russell (Avon)«r- Never heard of it.

Mr C. K. Wilson (Taumarunui): One of the morning papers said that some of the Northern members were afraid to face their electors.

Mr Massey repeated that the criticism had already been levelled against the Government. Parliament, he continued, had asked the people of the Dominion to settle down to their regular occupations, and they must set the people an example. Parliament should get to.work and forget, as far as that a great war is in progress. Mr Russell: We can't.

'Mr Massey: Unfortunately, no; but how can we expect the people to go on with their business if we don't? When it had been decided to go on with the Australian elections, he had anticipated that they wpuid be a complete fiasco, and he had heard that only 40 per cent, of the electors had voted. Mr Hanan: That is not correct.

Mr Massey: No; he had sent a cablegram to Australia, enquiring into the matter, and he had found that 71 per cent, of the electors had gone to the poll. While not a record, this was the second largest vote which had been recorded at any time. And these elections had been held during the most serious crisis which had so far occurred since the war started, and probably one of the most serious whieh> would occur, no matter how long it lasted. He believed that when the time came in :New Zealand, the electors would poll the usual number of votes. (Hear,.hear.) He was not seeking any party advantage. He had looked at the matter; first' from the Imperial point of view, and then from the Dominion point of view, and he had come to the conclusion that the elections should go on. (Applause.) Sir Joseph Ward said that he had never suggested that the elections should be put. off for three years. What he had said was that they should be put on six months after the Empire had sustained the first shock of the great crisis. As for Australia, he had regretted very much to see the election there held in the midst of the crisis, at the height of the excitement caused by the outbreak of the war. But, on the other hand, they could not compare New Zealand with Australia. Conditions were different, in that there they had a continent to deal with, in which West Australia, say, did not know what was ; going v on in the politics of Victoria. However, his side had to acquiesce in the Government's proposal, and he would not further discuss the matter.