A SENSELESS MOVE.

Waipa Post, Volume XXI, Issue 1212, 2 March 1922, Page 4

A SENSELESS MOVE.

SOUTHERN opinion appears to be wholly in opposition to the new country political party. One newspaper classes it " a senseless move," and proceeds to state that the formation of a distinct farmers' political party with a leader, platform, and candidates of its own, to contest certain seats in Parliament against (both its friends and foes, as proposed, by the Auckland provincial executive, is against the decisions and wishes of the Dominion Conference of the Farmers' Union, which has repeatedly rejected the proposal to form such a party, and of the greater number of the southern branches of the Union. It is also acting against the advice repeatedly offered it by newspapers which have been foremost in their support of rural producing interests. It is simply "wasting" (as one paper puts it) " rather than conserving its strength," by venturing out upon the troubled sea of .politics. " It is rather significant" (says another paper) " that the new movement is confined to the Auckland district; the farmers elsewhere are satisfied with the present Government, as all farmers have cause to be; that is not disputed except by ill-informed or mischief-mak-ing people." This paper goes on to point out that "it is the complaint of the non-agrarian sections of the community that the farmer has become something of a pampered and spoiled individual, because of the consideration extended to his wants and wishes by an administration which hasMts roots in the country districts. We look in vain to find what grievance the Auckland farmers have against Mr Massey; there is neither room nor need for another party in New Zealand. Indeed, there are too many as it is." The paper predicts that "the fledgling will find the political world a cold and depressing place." The Christchurch Press finds it " impossible to assume that the farmers of Auckland really believe, or could find reasons for supposing, that their interests are suffering under the present arrangement of political parties. If the farmers everywhere were to put up candidates against the candidates of all other parties the only certain result would be to give an advantage to those less stable elements of the community which are definitely hostile to the man on the land. The Liberals are notoriously hostile to the farmers, and the Labour party is the quintessence of anti-agrarianism. The farmers' interest clearly lies in preventing the combined Liberal and Labour setions from dominating the Legislature. But to run Farmers' Union candidates against Reform candidates would be

to divide and weaken the anti-Social-istic forces." The Press repeats ite often-expressed belief that the country cannot but suffer if the interests of the farmers are not given a high t>l«c» in the consideration of the Government and the Legislature. The present Government ( it says) shares that belief, and the only possible alternative to the present Government is a government representing the antifarmer and Socialistic sections of the community.