The Dominion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1909. THE ISSUE OF THE RANGITIKEI CONTEST.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 604, 6 September 1909, Page 6

The Dominion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1909. THE ISSUE OF THE RANGITIKEI CONTEST.

There is' reason to , ..hopp. that -the vacancy in the House of Eepresent-atives caused by the death of the sitting member wjll have a wide r -reaching influence on the future policy qf 'the.'.cpuhtvy—a far wider influence than would be exercised by such a vacancy occurring under normal conditions. The country has arrived at a' parting of the ways, and the government is hesitating as' to' which course'to "pursue.. ' Jt has had a sharp lesson, and.the country'has had.a sharp losson , also, and both, 'we , believe, are inclined to'.pjrpfit by experiences. The people have realised that .during the long period of unbroken prosperity which it has been thcir'good fortune to enjoy they haye been lulled into a.false sense of-se-curity. Under the influence of ; good times and the palatable soporifics administered by tjie SEpppN;.,Gpyernmpnt : and its ■'successors' they tjpo readily accepted the theory that this splendid young counr ; try js,. jiy s rpaspn 'of its great,'.natural rcr sources, immune from the. natural laws .\yhich govern - other -and older' lands. What jnattered it'tp; them that'eaph ypar saw,' the debt'.of leaping up in: mii}ipn§! W}iat"mattercd ifi J)j.at. thorp iyas waste and extrayagancp in the adminis.trjß.tion; of;the 'affairs of the epun.- , try 1 '.Wlj'at,'mattered i't that : Mjnisters administered the public funils with the pyer-prpsent cgnsfderatipn fpr - iheir. own political;advantage'!', matterpd it even the rate of .'taxation per head was lpapfng up ,to. a figure, that wpujd p.a-rry. .alarm and. .',,tp' tjje : .statpsmen pf "oi|pry}ands!.' They knew .th'ese things—they pouid not bp , quite bilind, to whatj'was going on around tjipm rrrKut. yyhat did- jt'matter? Prices wpre high—mutton,' wool, and butter were'.- all bringing high' > one stage hemp; also. -The people's pockets were welilinpd; ; th.p -valuations' p,n'- their properties were going up 'all thptimLV and tljey.-were cori: tent \p'live in the present. As fpr'fhe -"croakers"' who jsajd it- could not. last, .'well, they hac(|3pen saying the same thing for agrpat many.yearsj'ahd thoyjiad hot prpyed:' right; yet. : But, as wo know, the. pinch; came/, 'It yaa i.really only S. '■ ■■■ cqmparatjy.ely-'' ' ■;,'". pinch, but bppause .": the :■ people ■!,.:' wprp.' " unprei parjd—because., they .could-pot believe even up'to the last/that any Government would .continue its mad extravagances ds ; this Government was doing if theoutlook 'was r as-'threatening.'.',as;-'stated, by ..tho ."croakprs"—they : suffpred, .and "in. many' cases are,still suffering, * ; serious embarrjissments and'hardshipa. ;:'This vsharp' lesson we believe .has.awakened the whole c'quntry. ..'Prior to 'the .general .elections thpre were signs thai t!?P'' .people\ w.ere throwing-off their'4othargy,;and tho/per- : iod of commercial,depression since passed ,through has arousdej; them still'furthor'..' : .; And what of -the Goyafnnient!-.-What of' its lesson, and how has it taken it to heart? Tho Government received its lesson at the general elections. Prior to the bajlot , ! it pursued the tactics which have proved m> serviceable to it ,in the past, It' denied in its most confident manner everything charged against it by its critics. Sir Joscpu h'abd furiously attacked those who ventured to warn the country that the outlook was not so 'promising as of yore. Ho prophesied a complete return of good times in Dccem ber—ha was wise enough to choose a date i falling after the elections—and ho generally behaved in conformance with the policy of his party, that "money is no object," And \vhat happened? Even then tho distrust of Ministerial braggadocio and recklessness was betting in, and tho Government lost many seats. Then instead of the clouds passing away in December they gathered blacker than ever! A few months later, when it became necessary to disclqsc the financial position of tho country, tho Government could no longer play its game of bluff successfully, and it announced tho nocessjty for retrenchment. It was a damning situation for Ministers who had attempted to brazen the thing thrqugh to the last. Had the full exposure come a few month} oarlier we have no' dquh.t the .pqoplo would havo eagerly seized the- chancq a,t tho general elections to throw out of office thoso who had to tricked and deceived thorn. But the opportunity was wanting. Earlier'in.Hh.is article the opinio.u was, oppressed that thp country has arrived at a parting of tho ways. Wo have recounted facts which must be familiar to most of our readers in qrcjer to show how this position has been reached. Both tho country and the Government have beon taughV a lesson, but the Government is hesitating as to the road that, shpldl be takpn. : Jt.'has got pyer its first bujrst of alarm',;..wjiicii L forced froin, it, declar^fciqnjb'f; the. necessity for a policy. of economy "and retrenchment, ]'■ and -.: already/ "one Mjnjstor at least/has, begun to. ta|l? -abflut -taking' fyicjt OiYil.. .whip a ;fere month,?' ago, wpre.. dispensed ■ vji'tjj; fqr. reasons ,p,f ecpipmy,'•■ a,ii<j for thp. ■fV?iier';ea^^te^''by'th6 ; that, by amalgamating various Ra? partmjjnts;. with : p'tibiers - tHe • loss' of th'esa officers w'euld not. affect .the'efficieocy. of thp ;Se'TOce>; I|' jt 'were. possible. ,tQ ma% appe'ai td"thp "country 'as a whole,', we; , have no doubt the verdict would show, in no unmistakable manner that it has had enough of waste : and extravagance. That instead of: Wyy b,qrrpw}ng and : prpfligate'expenditure; and waste.there should bp a retuiii to the: w,ayß.6f pniolencp and ecqnoniical administration-, free. frPm th«. cprrupting influences of the past ten pr twelv'o 'ye^rs.',; This appeal■ to; the, cpiin-/ try;is:not possible, but the vacancy r foi the Rangitikei 6eat conies most oppor,tunoly. to test public feeling. The electors of Bangitikei will have, the opportunity; tjiis,month, to; their: votes either in. favour of reform or in favour of the continuance of a policy, which has squan-

dered the. present and pledged the future, which has consistently! placed political party ends before the. national weal/. The return of one additional member to the ■ ranks .of the Opposition will not materially strengthen 'the Re-, iorm party or weaken the Government, but , , the 'moral effect must be great. The success,, of,; Me. Hockly, for instance,

would not moroly mean the return of a member eminently.sujted,to Servo the interests of the' Hangitikei electorate and the country as a whole. It would in addition be, a warning to the Government that' it must'* mend its' ways—that' the coiiniry is awflka to tho'm^Jadjnifliatia ,

tionof tho past and will tolerate it no' longer. For this reason, all who hayo tho real interest of New Zealand at'heari should hope to see 'a, supporter of tho party of reform returned at the coming poii.'- , - - ""' '■' ."■.' ; . '; ;'' "'■