The acting leader, William MacDonald, was himself unsure the correct decision was reached and he cabled Ward for his opinion, who agreed with the consensus in the caucus.

Consequently, MacDonald worked with his colleagues (particularly George Warren Russell and Thomas Wilford) to develop an updated policy manifesto for the next election.

[4] A meeting was called by MacDonald in early January 1920 held in Rotorua with several prominent Liberal Party MPs including Thomas Wilford and Arthur Myers.

[5] MacDonald had been the MP for Bay of Plenty since 1908 and had briefly been a minister in the short lived 1912 cabinet of Thomas Mackenzie.

[7] Macdonald lead the party for several months before his health started to deteriorate in mid-1919 after he broke his arm in an accident.