THE COALITION

Taranaki Daily News, 21 September 1931, Page 11

THE COALITION

PROCESS OF ADJUSTMENT big change in the house CABINET’S COMPOSITION ‘ EQUAL PARTY DIVISION DIFFICULTIES OF POLICY (By Wire—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Sept. 19. 'Following the dramatic change yesterday in the political situation, it will naturally take some days for the adjustment to the new Coalition Administration to be effected. When the House meets on Tuesday evening it is expected an outline will be given of the policy to be pursued by the new Government, and an adjournment will then probably be taken pending the formation of the Ministry. The alteration in the balance of parties as the result of the coalition will cause a big change in the appearance of the House when the reconstructed Cabinet takes its place on the Treasury Benches. At present three fairly evenly balanced parties are distributed more or less uniformly in the matter of seating accommodation, the United Party ' on the right of Mr. Speaker facing the *'noes” lobby, Reform, the official Opposition, occupying the opposite benches, while the Labour Party straddles the cross benches facing Mr. Speaker. The re-allocatioh of seats will give the combined Government force and Independents possession of three blocks of seats on the Speaker’s right and at the rear of the chamber as well as part possession of the Opposition block on Mr. Speaker’s left, where the Labour Party will sit as His Majesty’s Opposition. Under the coalition lndependent members will support the combined United-Reform Government, though it is not yet clear whether they will have direct representation in the Cabinet. The Government will thus command 59 votes as against 20 votes of the Labour Tarty in Opposition. - With the reconstruction of the Cabinet it is generally understood a reduc-. tien in the present numerical strength will be effected. Including Mr. R. Masters, who is a member of the Executive Council without portfolio, Mr. Forbes’ Cabinet is one of the largest New Zealand has known, with a total strength cf 14. It is expected that the Coalition Cabinet will comprise ten paid Ministers on the basis of equal representation from the Reform and United Parties, but while there is any amount of speculation in the lobbies at the present early stage of development as to the probable personnel of the Ministry, the whole thing is still very much in the meltingpot stage and subject to the outcome of negotiations now proceeding between the leaders. As the circumstances of the formation of the Coalition Government are chiefly the exigencies of the depression, the greatest consideration in the allocationof portfolios will be in the handling of the finance departments. It is regarded as a foregone conclusion that six Reform and United delegates to the InterParty Economic Committee will have places, but, as stated above, the possibility of an Independent representative in the Cabinet is somewhat obscure. The establishment of the Coalition Government is being fairly generally interpreted as involving the postponement of the general election, but the period of extension will be one of the many difficult matters of policy to be determined in the inter-party negotiations How in train.

THE WAR-TIME COALITION TRUCE THAT LASTED FOUR YEARS JIINISTRY OF THIRTEEN MEMBERS The decision to form a Coalition Government in New Zealand recall' the precedent of the war yearn, when the Reform and Liberal forces Coalesced under the Prime Ministership of Mr. Massey, who had as his Minister of Finance Sir Joseph Ward, Leader of the Liberal Party, The announcement of the formation of the National Cabinet was made on August 5, 1915. However, negotiations to that end had bee • in progress for several weeks, and at one stage it seemed likely that the end in view would not be achieved. Announcing the decision in the House of Representatives, Mr. Massey, who had become Prime Minister three years before, said a week previously it had Beemed that the negotiations had ended without result. At that stage the Governor, Lord Liverpool, animated by a wide Imperial spirit and acting quite constitutionally, with the consent of the leaders of both parties, had convened a conference at which a basis on which negotiations could continue had been reached. Mr. Massey said that, under ordinary circumstances he would have advised his party to carry on. But the circumstances then being experienced were not ordinary. The Empire was . parsing through the most serious crisis of its history, and Mr. Massey thought members of Parliament would agree that it was impossible for a Government with a slender majority to do all the business required to enable the Dominion to do its part in the war. That was the only reason for the formation of a National Government. The personnel of the National Ministry was announced on August 6. There were 13 Ministers, seven being Reformers and six Liberals. The personnel of the Cabinet was as follows: Mr. Massey, Prime Minister and Minister of Lands and Labour; Sir Joseph Ward, Minister of Finance and PostmasterGeneral; Mr. J. Allen, Minister of Defence; Dr. It. McNab, Minister of Justice and Marine; Mr. G. W. Russell, Minister of Internal Affairs and Health; Mr. W. H. Herries, Minister of Railways and Native Affairs; Mr. A. M. Myers, Minister of Customs and Munitions; Mr. A. L. Herdman, Attorney-General; Mr. W. D. S. MacDonald. Minister of Agriculture and Mines; Mr. W. Fraser Minister of Public Works; Mr. J. £ Hanan, Minister of Education; Sir Fran-

cis Bell, Leader of the Legislative Council; Dr. M. Pomare, Minister representing the Native Race and Minister in charge of the Cook Islands. The National Government lasted for four years, and during that period Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward attended meetings of the War Cabinet in London in 1917 and 1918, and later attended the Peace Conference at Versailles in June, 1910. The death of Dr. McNab in 1917 and the resignation of Mr. Herdman in 1913 created vacancies, which were filled by the appointments of Mr. T. M. Wilford and Mr. H. D. Guthrie to the Cabinet. The long party armistice was ended shortly after the return of New Zealand’s delegates from the Peace Conference. On August 21, 1919, Sir Joseph Ward tendered his resignation, with the explanation that, ince the peace treaty had been signed, and the object for which the National Government had truce was no longer necessary and he could no longer remain in a Government only. The resignations of his Liberal colleagues were tendered a few days later. A general election would normally have been held towards the end of 1917, but the life of Parliament was extended on two occasions, and ultimately the dissolution took place on November 30, 1919. As a result of the ensuing election the Reform Party was returned.