The Wanganui Chronicle TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1934. EXTENSION OF PARLIAMENT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 155, 3 July 1934, Page 6

The Wanganui Chronicle TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1934. EXTENSION OF PARLIAMENT

’JTIE Labour Party lias chosen its ground mwisely in its attack on the Government by eoneentration on the extension of Parliament from three to four years. It itself open to the charge of being more concerned about the party’s own interests than about the interests of the country. There need be no beating about the bush concerning the extension of the term of Parliament. It was done for political reasons. The object was to enable the Government’s policy, or the intervention of some good luck to bring about a more satisfactory state of the public mind than exists in a time of depression. The Government may rightly be charged with a desire to save its own hide by delaying the general elections; but what of that: The Opposition for its own ends wants an early election, holding to the belief that the present times arc so unsatisfactory and resulting in the general discontent being registered against the Government. In the conflict of these interests of political parties, where does the public interest lie? The Labour Party’s pretence of horror at the absence of a mandate to enlarge the term of Parliament is not impressive, because the Labour Party members could quite easily preserve the rights of the people, by refusing to eountenace the extension and returning to their constituencies and submitting themselves for election again at the end of the present session. If such action were taken it could not but carry conviction. It would be just as convincing as was the action of Mr. W. J. Polson and Mr. R. Wright in refusing to lift the £lOO bonus above their honoraria which members of the. previous Parliament voted themselves without a mandate. The absence of a mandate on that occasion did not appear to be any impediment acting on the consciences of the Labour members to take the £lOO of the taxpayers’ money, of which action they had not given notice at the preceding elections. Of the two matters, the taking of £lOO more than members expected and were elected to get for three years’ service in the House of Representatives, was a more flagrant breaeli of the constitution than the determination to remain in office and presumably earn the honorarium for the extra year.