FROM PLATFORM AND PRESS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXIV, Issue 17731, 3 December 1919, Page 6

FROM PLATFORM AND PRESS.

* THE SLUMP IN OPPOSITION STOCK.

There is nothing in the political outlook to suggest that the Opposition will gain ground during the election. On the contrary, the Government is likely to win several seats. Mr Massey is enjoying a wave of popularity at the present time which puzzles his opponents, though the explanation is very simple. It springs from the nation's recognition of his devoted services during the past five years, culminating in the personal triumph he enjoyed during the past session. It is no small task to reconstruct a Cabinet and face a highly critical Parliament within a week of the dissolution of a coalition. It is no easy matter to decide in a session of a few weeks all the thorny questions which had awaited the return of Mr Massey from the Peace Congress—"profiteering," the national shortage of houses, the stagnation of public works, and the scale of soldiers' gratuities. Mr Massey has rendered many services to his country, but none more conspicuous than those crowded into the war years. He has proved his capacity under the most exacting tests, and is well entitled to a further term of office.