The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1883. Socialism.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 842, 15 January 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1883. Socialism.

Anyone who takes an interest in European affairs and has watched the course of events must have observed with alarm the rapid spread of socialistic ideas daring the past few years. When the world was startled by the news of the assassination of the Emperor Alexander 11., many people understood, for the first time, what a formidable society existed in Russia. And now we learn that Nihilism has spread beyond its original home, and France has had to quell and to avenge outrages that have recently taken place in that country. It is scarcely possible that views which are at once so dangerous and, to a certain class of mind, so fascinating as are those promulgated by the Socialists will not extend, and when we hear people talking glibly about the nationalisation of the land and such like so-called reforms we may well have fear for the future of the world. The terrible reign of the Commune in Paris shows to what length a fanatic desire for liberty may carry men. And yet there were among those who took a leading part in that movement many that were acting conscientiously. They firmly believed that Communism was nothing more nor less than pure Christianity, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to refute such a proposition. But logic is not the only, nor indeed the chief, factor in government. It is no doubt pleasant for the poor man to be told that he was born with equal rights to the richest in the country, the workman likes to hear that the products of his own industry should belong to him, and the farm laborer is only too ready to believe that landlords are his natural enemies, and that the soil he helps to till should be his own property. No wonder the half educated mind is carried away by doctrines so fascinating as these, and that it is ready to receive them as articles of faith. And yet nearly every experiment in the way of co-operation has egregiously failed, and in Russia, the stronghold of socialism, the system of land-ownership by village

communities has obtained for many years, with what result we have seen. If we could return to a primitive state' the views of Socialists might be carried out, but we must remember that the world is civilised, and this civilisation must be accepted not for the good than for the apparent evil it brings. But it is useless to deny that the vague visions of political theorists have done great harm, and it is to be feared that the ultra-radical teachings of enthusiasts will cause still more trouble in the future. Every day Socialism becomes more active and more menacing, and though it is stronger on the continent than in England, it is not unknown in the latter country. During last year a book was written by an American, named George, entitled “Progress and Poverty.” This work has been issued in England in a cheap form, and has had a large sale, not only at Home, but in the colonies. It is impossible to over-estimate the harm that may be wrought by the specious reasoningof this essay, and yet it is read by thousands, and its principlesareendorsed by people who never consider that to carry out those principles would necessitate a revolution. It is by such books as these* written by men who probably do not appreciate the injury they do, that the seeds of Socialism are sown which will ripen into anarchy. Nor have we the less interest in this question because we live so faraway from the countries where this difficult problem has to be solved. It is pertinent to ask ; Are we not in New Zealand fast drifting towards Socialism? We enjoy in this colony, what some people consider an advantage over older countries, virtually universal suffrage. This was accorded in response to a popular cry, but it is doubtful whether it is an unmixed good. The immediate result, at any rate, has not been satisfactory. We have now a Parliamant that is beyond question the least intellectual New Zealand has ever had, and the reason for this is not far to seek. In our desire to place every man upon an equal political footing, we have given votes to people who neither know the value of, nor recognise the responsibility attaching, to the privilege. Any noisy demagogue who is ready to flatter the mob and pander to its prejudices, has more chance of being returned to Parliament than has the honest politician Organisations like the Trades and Labor Councils, taking advantage of their newly-acquired power, issued the most outrageous programmes, directly socialistic in their tendency, and in many instances the candidates who were ready to blindly promise all that was asked carried the day against men infinitely more fitted to represent the people. Thus the thin end of the Socialistic wedge has been inserted ; but it is to be hoped that by the time the next general election comes. round the common sense of the people will assert itself, and that representatives will be chosen from those to whom politics is a science, and not a mere sentiment. It is on’y our faith in the existence of this common sense, though temporarily obscured, that causes us to hope that the troubles which are threatening the peace of Europe will never be experienced in these colonies.