PARTY GOVERNMENT.
THE opinion is slowly gaining ground in New Zealand that the present system of party government is not in the best interests of the State. It presumes the existence of a division of opinion on all major issues which is neither real nor sincere, and it prevents many an honest man from offering his services to the Dominion. Only the other day the Hon. O. Samuel, when asked to become a candidate for the Taranaki seat, said: —“I am
utterly opposed to the present system of party government. I would not, without serious discomfort to myself, vote against
my convictions as to what was best for the interest of the country. Under the present system of things one has frequently to sacrifice what one believes to be in the best interests of the people for the sake of the party to which one belongs. I experienced that during the two Parliaments in which I represented this district, and I retired from the House of Representatives, to which I had every reason to believe I should be returned unopposed, because I found the position intolerable, being compelled so often to vote against my convictions in the interest of the party to which I was for the time being attached.” In view of a pronouncement of this sort, can anybody defend party government, as we know it in New Zealand ? —Age.
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Bibliographic details
Waipa Post, Volume VII, Issue 331, 17 July 1914, Page 4
Word Count
231PARTY GOVERNMENT. Waipa Post, Volume VII, Issue 331, 17 July 1914, Page 4
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