The Press. FRIDAY, MAY 29, 19l4. The Facts of the Case.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14980, 29 May 1914, Page 6

The Press. FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1914. The Facts of the Case.

The. public will" draw'"for itself to-day the obvious contrast between Mr .. Allen's clear and able speech last night and the. hysterical masses of abnso and misstatement which the Opposition orators have fancied will make a. satisfactorj substitute for a policy. Mr Allen ' amply fulfilled ther promise ho mado zt >, ' .Milton that he,would tako occasion, nt Lawrence, to review the achievements of the Government since it took office. Ho is notj like the Leader of the Opposition and his friends, -in. the'habit either of making mistakes when dealing with figures, or palming off as correct figures that are not merely mis- . leading, l>nt actually "Faked." Since he possesses also the gift, -which Sir J. G. Ward so conspicuously lacked, of ■presenting Bgurcs clearly, his critics will find it .uncommonly difficult to refute his exposition of the national finances. The Government, when it took office, found itself confronted. by JKjgo'. commitments, a dearth of cash, and little to manage with save an abliu- •.. dant "authority to borrow." Tha , /"Liberals," indeed, were, turned-out just in time to avert tho really serious .financial $rouhle towards which thc.r reckless policy had been carrying thj country. Fortunately tho Reform Go- • vcrnment- was competent to clean up the mess, and to-day the finances are in a sounder .condition than they havo Tieen for a great many years. Our readers can sco for themselves the plaia •proof of this fact, which the Minister fnrnished in Ms, speech. But the Government, while it was straightening out- the national finances, was at tho same time carrying into effect its yui- . flertakinjr to carry out its pledges and place sound and democratic measures on tho Statute-book. It is, of course, unnecessary to set out onoo more tbo ample' testimony t.£ the Statute-book to the democratic and equitable policy of the Government; the best witness to tho stupidly and falsity of the.ok! "Liberal" assertion that Reform means ' leaction is Sir Joseph Ward himself. Tho poor man 6ay a ho daro not ani.ounco a policy, for tho Government would adopt it if ho did; but the truth is that he knows that there is no feasible alternative to the Reform policy £'C* j eaye the polity' of tho Social Demo- ■~"' J —'-«- - *-J — A4a.-A.llan JiaJrf_.±linr«_iß-i

no doubt that tho Opposition are run

ning hand-in-hand with the Red Fed. party. The Opposition hare shown such .in impudent disregard for fact in connexion with the strike that it was time that somebody spoke as plainly as Mr Allen did concerning tho shabby part slaved by the "Liberals'" under tho guidance of their blundering leader. From Ruch a party one naturally expects misrepresentation whatever subject may be under discission, and i? would have been fiirprieing if Sir Joseph Ward and his followers had not, set themselves wilfully to mislead the public on tlio fjuestion of naval defence. So far as people liko Mr Isitt. Mr Witty, and Mr Atruoro are concorned, we are ready to agree that they do not uirlerstnnd the rjiiostion, and havo merely repeated, perhaps even '.n good faith, 'ho parrot cry in which thnir leader instructed them. But Sir Jcseph Ward knows that the Clover :- mer.L dons not propose to build a toy nary, or n ioca! navy, or any navy at all. Mr Allen clearly explained that the Government intends only to provide for naval training, ar.d that even its proposal to provide for waters exactly what Sir J. G. Ward ask<vl for in 1009 is contingent upon no satisfactory solution beinr arrived at by the Imperial Naval Conference. Mr Alien.? speech is nn effective answer to thy querulous and abusive nonsense of the antir-Reformers, and if they can cease shouting long enough to think a littl-5, they may realise that they will-do less badly for themselves if they equip themselves with something, however small, in tho nature of a policy. No party can live, still less can it succeed, bj , angry noise alone.