The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 1910. POLITICS AND REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 758, 5 March 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 1910. POLITICS AND REFORM.

We publish in this issue the first of a series of contributed articles on "Politics and Beform," which should command wide public interest. The articles deal with the political situation as "it exists to-day; review, with the utmost frankness the shortcomings of, and the advantages held by, both political, parties; and point a way to that political reform which the position of the country's affairs so imperatively demands. With the writer's general conclusions we are in agreement; with his reasons for those conclusions we are not in all cases in complete accord. Few people who have followed at all closely the progress of political affairs in New Zealand can feel satisfied that in recent years the country has been governed on sound lines. No ono who placed any reliance on the judgment and statesmanship of John Ballance, the first, and undoubtedly the safest, of the Pre? miers who have held office during the twenty years' continuous reign of the Liberal party in New Zealand, can possibly view with unconcern the complete abandonment of the policy laid down by the deceased statesman. Mil. Ballance had seen New Zealand bounding forward under the impetus of a buoyant prosperity, and he had witnessed it staggering under the burden of evil times.. He had learned the lesson. In his first Budget, referring to the important question of the future policy of his Government in the matter of finance, he said:

"Wo must be certain, while the great object is being reached, that we shall have sufficient revenue to meet the growing demands on the Consolidated Fund, arising through the cessation of borrovling largo amounts of money in tho English market. For, if we are to maintain our credit and financial independence, borrowing in that market must cease. ... On the other hand, if-thd machinery of government could ho simplified,- and. judicious retrenchment carriod to its proper limit, tho expenditure sido of the account might still be considerably reduced. But we are strongly of opinion that any material reduction must come from a more direct and simple form of administration, directed to the attainment of practical ends; and it will be necessary to see that our measures of legislation do not include liabilities which will render this form of ooonomy an impossibility."

This declaration of policy met with the widest approval. Its keynote, "self-reliance," appealed to all classes and all shades of political opinion—it fired the public imagination. It promised progress on sound lines, the building up of a strong financial position capable of withstanding tho stress of bad times should they again recur. But John Ballance died two years later, and we know what has since happened. Tho net indebtedness increased in the 16 yearß onding 1909 from 38 millions to 67 while tho population

increased so disproportionately that the net indebtedness per bead was £70, as against iIDB 2s. 7d. in 1893. But—and this is even more important—while tho population has increased by about 50 per cent.,- the cost of. government—that is the cost of the various Departments of the State—has more than doubled—in fact, nearly trebled. The annual appropriations for IS9I-2 were £1,993,-716,-while for 1903-09 they amounted to £5,575,483. These facts are fairly familiar to our readers. We have from time to time shown the enormous increase in the cost of government, an increase outrageously disproportionate to the growth of population, and we merely touch on the matter on the present occasion in order to indicate the drift that has taken place, and the growing need, for that reform that alone can check it. ' ■

Our contributor in his first article discusses the situation as we know it to-day, and is unsparingly outspoken in his condemnation of the ways of the Government. He gives point to his criticism by his references to events still fresh in. the public mind. But he is equally frank, though much less severe, in expressing his views of the Keform party. There is a good deal in his criticism of the Reform party's tactics that the party will do well to take to heart. It has certainly conducted a plucky, uphill fight in the face of most discouraging circumstances. At the elections in 1908 it was rewarded for its courage and persistence by a considerable accession of strength, but it has' not turned that strength to account. It has become so accustomed to fighting a losing fight that it has not fully realised that under altered conditions something piore is expected of it than an occasional vigorous protest. It is. wrong to say that the Reform party has not shown persistence. It fought the cause of the freehold when it seemed a hopeless struggle, and by years of effort converted a weak minority in Parliament into a majority. By its persistence it forced the Government to abandon a definitely proclaimed leasehold policy, and adopt in part at 1 least the land policy of its opponents. It has fought persistently for clean administration, and there can be no doubt that it has fought with some effect. But it has shown a tendency to get into a groove, it has shown occasional and most inexplicable lapses into timidity, and it has unfairly imposed on its' leader. Mb.. Massey is a tremendous worker, and the willing horse lias been overworked. Despite all the new blood that has been added to its ranks, the Reform party has still continued to rely almost entirely on Me. Massey's individual efforts, and necessarily the efforts, of one man, who can give only a portion of his time to the work, cannot win any great cause. The added driving force which was expected to' be gained from the new blood has hardly been visible at all. That the country is thoroughly ;alive to the need ' for political reform there can be little doubt; but spasmodic electioneering efforts will not bring about that reform. There must be an organised campaign from- one end of the country to the other. There must be a broad national platform, covering not merely :the interests of any one section of the community, however important they may be, but the welfare of the Dominion as a whole. The people must be shown that they have much more to gain from sound government than they are ever likely to receive in the way of Ministerial doles taken from their own pockets and distributed mainly with an eye to securing political support. The plain facts of the enormous growth of indebtedness and the wasteful extravagance in the cost of government must be brought out, not to prove that the country is ruined, but to let all sensible people see that the obligations which are being heaped on their shoulders are excessive, and that their money is being squandered needlessly. And, above all, to make the public realise that no political party that is prepared to sacrifice its principles to every passing wave of popular feeling is ever likely to place the interests of the country above its own personal wellbeing, or lay the foundations of that sound national ; spirit on which the future of the people of this land so largely depends. The Reform party has men in its ranks quite capable of. conducting a campaign that would stir the whole Dominion, but until it works on more systematic lines it will not progress with that speed which the merit of its cause warrants.