NATIONAL PARTY OR GOVERNMENT

Taranaki Daily News, 23 July 1931, Page 15

NATIONAL PARTY OR GOVERNMENT

(To the Editor).

Sir,—-Many people have confused two totally different things, namely;' the formation of a National (Coalition) Government and the formation of a. new party to be named a National or Nationalist Party. What Mr. Forbes proposed ■was not the formation of a National Government; and this fact should be recognised by those who consider that a National Government is needed. What Mr. Forbes did propose was that the existing Reform and United Parties should disband with a view to forming a new party to be known as a National Party. But there is no magic in a name; and the mere fact of naming a party “Nationalist” would effect nothing. Indeed, from 1925 until 1928 Mr. Forbes was leader of a so-called “National” Party. Reformers are convinced that the disbanding of the existing parties to rorm a new one would not be, in the long run,, in the national interest. Others may differ from this conclusion; but they should acknowledge that those who take the opposite view may be quite as patriotic, quite as much concerned with the national interest, as they themselves claim, to be. In any ctme, they should endeavour to clear their minds of tlie confusion between a National Government (or coalition such as existed during the war) and the formation of a new party to be known as a National Party, the name by which Mr. Forbes’ own party was known after it had dropped the name Liberal, and before it had adopted the name United.—l am, etc,,. MALVERNIAN.