Mr Herdman at Methven.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14979, 28 May 1914, Page 6

Mr Herdman at Methven.

Like.his chiof, Mr Herdraan has not boon much impressed by the ' noisy "Liberals" who have- beon stumping tho country -with their terrible tales of Reform Villainy:' , Just by way of letting tho Canterbury public sco the amount of respect due to the Opposition's wild denunciations of the Government, the Minister dealt with two or three random statements by the member for" Avon. Most people who know Mr Russell know that he regards politics as a game in which it is quite fair, if not indeed necessary, to treat facts with tho samo disrespect as is duo to "tho enemy," and in which, it is ono's business to make vociferation servo tho purpose of credibility. Opposition statistics are a byword, and when Mr Russell said that the present Government had borrowed more heavily than the Liberal Administration, most intelligent peoplo considered his statement presumptive evidence that the reverso was tho case. And Mr Herdman, by quoting the official Treasury figures( showed that, as usual, Mr Russell was talking nonsense. But Mr Herdman appears to have concluded, in our opinion quite rightly, that the coramon-senso oT tho public may bo trusted to dccl with tho "flying squadrons: ,. Instead of occupying himself with tho quito unnecessary work of exposing the infinite misstatements and misrepresentations discharged from ©very Opposition platform, he reminded tho audience of wha-t is much more to tho point, namely, tho solid achievements of the Government. The performances of tho Government still remain the best retort to antiReform criticism. Tho finances of the country have, for the first timej been placed on a sound footing; its credit abroad has. been re-established; tho land laws have been improved, and settlement has been pushed on vigorously; the pensions system has been liberal-

used; the stifling restrictions upon State advances imposed by tho previous Government* have boon removed; tho public service has been removed from the blightipg influence of political influence; the pernicious second ballot system has been abolished; the community has been freed from the menace of Syndicalism, and tho first really effective law to promote industrial peace has been placed on the Statute Book; tho naval policy of drift and laussesfairo has boon replaced by a policy which permits of development in the direction which tho necessities of the Empire dictate; and in a hundred ways tho interests of the mass of tho people have been promoted by legislation. Even if it were not the case that a victory for the Opposition would bo a victory for the Labour-Socialists and Syndicalists, without whose aid the Opposition would disappear altogether, the public would refuse to believo that the Reform Government should be superseded and it« good work undone.