POLITICAL AMENITIES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19364, 22 July 1925, Page 11

POLITICAL AMENITIES

MR WILFORD AND MR COATES. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, July 21. "The Prime Minister,” said Mr Wilford, "was on very dangerous ground at Palmerston North when he spoke of ‘lightning change artists.’ We do not forget his lightning change in 1912, when early in that year ho voted confidence in the Liberals against Reform, and a few months later made a lightning change and voted confidence in Reform against thc Liberals, and thc public will always remember his lightning changes and side-stepping in the fusion negotiations. He stated in those negotiations that his party was in favour of fusion, but when I said it should take place immediately he made a lightning change, and said he must carry out Mr Massey’s programme first, and that he would then consider a date. Again, when I pointed out to him that he had his Ministers’ resignation in his pocket for reconstruction, he changed his attitude in a moment and stated that reconstruction was not practicable, though how you could have fusion without reconstruction was a mystery to me, and finally when I told him we would leave the question of portfolios on reconstruction entirely to him, he made a lightning change and declined absolutely to reconstruct. Surely it is dangerous for the Hon. Mr Coates to talk of lightning change artists. He has certainly been plasticine in the hands of a few of his party.”