POLITICS AND REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 758, 5 March 1910, Page 6

POLITICS AND REFORM.

IS HEADWAY BEING MADE? LOST CHANCES. (Contributed.) L A year ago the talk among supporters of the Opposition was of how long it would take finally to extinguish the Ward Administration. The Government was then obviously on the down grade. Sir Joseph Ward, never a man of the people, seemed to bo losing his hold over his party, and Mr. Millar, after an emphatic speech or two on railway policy, was freely spoken of as Liberalism's last hope. Mr. Massey had returned from- tho general elections with an increased following, and was at last at the head of a party which could no longer be contemptuously dismissed as a mere "remnant." Not only had a number of new scats been captured, but -a Minister himself had been defeated by an Oppositionist, and there was every indication that the tido was at last on tho turn.

Such was the stato of affairs in February, 1909. Looking back over the past twelve months, can it be said that tho Opposition to-day stands appreciably higher in public estimation than it. did then? Would another general election held now enable the party to gain more Government seats?' These are difficult questions, but the writer has not been able to detect any notable increase of enthusiasm for the Opposition cause. Dissatisfaction with the Government there is in plenty, but- the feeling towards the other side is remarkably luke-warm. The Opposition is doing little more than holding its own, and at its present rate of progress it is doubtful whether any oi the older members of the party now in public lifo will ever find themselves on the Speaker's right. The' country is weary of the'methods of Sir Joseph Ward, and disgusted at the race of placehunters and toadies on which he depends mainly for his support; but Mr. Massey has been curiously unable to focus this public opinion and to turn it into active sympathy with the Opposition. Mr. Massey is an honest and downright politician of fine personal qualities, but as a party leader he often lacks judgment and perspective, and his tactics are not of the best from a party standpoint. Last year everything ■ was in his favour, and he has scored hardly at all. The Prime Minister's Plunge. . In tho early part of last year Sir Joseph Ward's personal popularity showed signs' of a steady drooping. The defeat of Mr. M'Nab, the weak and heterogeneous collection of people bundled into tho Ministry, the West Coast coal-mining muddle, and the Ministerial air. of waiting to see how the cat jumped, all' tended to weakness. The. Prime Minister .was also threatened ; with eclipse by Mr. Millar, whoso plain speaking' on railway matters came as a welcome relief to the vague optimism and unconvincing figures with which his leader endeavoured to conceal the fact that the country -was living beyond . its means. Then came the London "Daily Mail" Navy scare, and Sir Joseph Ward, like many a speculator and plunger who has fallen on evil days, endeavoured to retrieve his position by one sensational coup. Without so much as a pretence of consulting members of Parliament, tjie country was committed to an expenditure which might range up to three millions , or more—equal to a head for every adult in country. Mr. Seddon, in spending a few thousand pounds in, sending a contingent to South Africa, made a point of sounding members of Parliament by circular telegrams before taking action, l'he only telegram dispatched by Sir Joseph Ward—who ultimately appeared to have not a scrap more information oil the matter than the recipients of his message-was.,one to certain newspaper editors marked ."confidential," and mystcriously hinting that the Government was acting only, on receipt of. special news of great gravity. This ensured a guardedly favourable reception to the i rime Minister's' colossal plunge, and the country was soon dazzled into a be:wildered_ approval bv the showers of confrom the British press and politicians. Considering the financial circumstances of tho country, the Dreadnought gift was a piece of unmitigated lolly, but the Opposition, as Sir Joseph Ward had no doubt shrewdly calculated,, made no outstanding challenge of" its constitutionality, fearing too much tho odious cry of anti-patriotism to make the ei Ud pro situation

The Dreadnought plunge temporarily improved the Government's position will the crowd, but it brought only a popuThi« mOSt f 0 * 10 unstable £ a . s -revealed when Sir Joseph S P ? P ° sed to , U P Parliament m order to prevent a catastropho during k tha Se r in EnSlan . d - Th ° in the _ House came obediently to heel, rwln i ne - ta ™ e] y submitted to Mr. nfhiri J g ,? laced a ' the head of affaus, and the assistance of aifew policeman was all that was neided to enable departure to be taken without physical discomfort. It is, however, improbable that any other Minister was evei given such a farewell on the eve of a mission abroad, and to WellmrtonF estise in TIS i ° i r e^ c £ e «i its' lowest ebb. Ihe campaign which Mr. Hogg made h3 tiS f co r ti7 ' al,o ° t is showed that feeling was running 6teadT t,Four months a n "l ose P !l Ward returned, and it gradually became clear that an admirable scheme of naval defence in the Pacific winch the Admiralty had drawn T? S j resu |t of New Zealand's offer of l o ®ff ad ? 0 £? ht T had 1 been dislocated as a result of Sir Joseph Ward's insistence, f-t M P r osents the greatest depths to which the sham Imperialistic clap-trap of the day has descended. Here again the Opposition failed entirely to expose the liollowness of talk about the unity of Empire that, went hand in hand with puerile jealousy of our bigger brothers m the Imperial family.-

Mr. Massey's Tactics. . °' li h j op?s Mr.,Massey seemed to be centred on cornering the Libenl'" on the land question. It was evident to everybody after tie general election that adhesion by the Government to the land poW for-New Zealand liberalism had mainly existed up to last year would be perilous. So by a few adroit moves Sir Joseph Ward played off one section fold th mI the lease . holders were quietly mil* concession conceded nothing which was really of any value. When I political party is reduced to such sub" torfuge and casuistry on one of the main questions of the day. its usefulness to the' country is at an end. It can no longer pretend to represent honest convictions off- 6 '?? 0f It remains in ?°t to. carrj' into effect any set of ideas, but because 'it finds the use of political power too lucrative and agree Mfli sacn fcert on account th£ i 5 d f ff ? ren ®e: of opinion as to 'wh£ TO-twi 'whit© or white is black pJJ'th Dreadnoughts, 'the Land Bill and the new taxation and illusive r£ M tie chief matters Lfe the country during last session xJw does one find the chief battle-grounds of the Opposition to have been? The "rand struggle of the year-was in regard to the payment of a sum of ,£4OO to Mr. W P SrwL a ?i? * j Ol6ll • moßt Millie' attack was that made against the advprKc mg boycott. Both those,matters called ' ! firm Protest and exposure, but they are out of place as the two main P o ™*! £ attack. Mr. Massey, in and out of Parliament, is too ready to strain at tie gnat and - to swallow the camel. Something like two millions of money was voted, away last session in two nighte. Ministers knew little, and members nothing, of the,merits of the works on which this vast sum was to be expended. Tot this annual scandal was suffered, reluctantly it may have been, but with less active protest than was made over the payment of a paltry four hundred pounds. The new taxation was not effectively challenged, nor was the condition of the Civil Service effeetively exposed. It is almost always upon some trifling matter of detail that a stand is taken, with the result that the dust from tho twopenny-halfpenny conflict almost completely obscures the big iniquity. Early last year tharo was, for instance,

the furious conflict between the two loaders over the wording of a telegram, of encouragement sent by Sir Joseph Ward to a candidate for one of tlio Maori seats. These tweedledum-tweedlcdee duels add nothing to the dignity of public life, and merely belittle those who indulge in them. They unhappily form too large a part of the stock-in-trade of the Opposition. The public is not to be reached and stirred by such methods. To pursue them further is merely to waste time beating tho air. What is Needed. If the time that has been wasted in fighting over trivialities had been devoted to -continuous and consistent exposure of the way the big interests of the country are being mismanaged by the Government, the Opposition would probably have been on the Treasury benches long ago. The party is, of course, working under heavy disadvantages. The Government has had a monopoly of office for nineteen years, and there is no one on the other side of the House with anv experience of office to speak of. No Ooposition mem■i, "J. criticising -Ministers can speak with the intimate iuside knowledge that comes from actually handling the affairs of a Department, and this not unnaturally has detracted somewhat from the weight of Opposition criticism. The Ward reign of extravagance and plunging can only be ended by exceptionally vigorous campaigning, but with what vigour can the Opposition bp said to have carried on the political education of the public during the last few years? Bevond the before polling day, and Mr. Massey s occasional tour? through he country things have been Slowed to lemain practically'at a standstill. H™w I Gove " lmen ' exists almost enVlm nr i i cserolsc of patronage. The Ministers have extraordinarily little H?nt°?r « o L Ular i ify , in the ' large sense' 1 &edd ° n ! » ad ' and no one is probm ' lu ou ' °/ with what the Snh w j st £, ee t hinks th an is Sir Joit? Ce !' ta,n ly few of our pub. lLv^vr£ TO i Sh °- ,rn less confidence-in TIL n WI ? over hostile crowds, fn ? ppos . l t ,c> n, to make headway, lias if ft »«?i erlp , s Wlth its Public, and this •Fv'L n®, way from doing. It lacks vitality and persistence, it seems tactics are poor, and its attitude to current questions is often too academic to excite much popumle - year its opportunities for achievement were greater than they have ever been before, but, incredible to relate, it emerged without gaining any appreciable amount of ground. Ihis criticism may be considered severe, n 2, go ?, d J, 3 done by mincing matters. Despite the great need for political reform in New Zealand, and the public desire for a better state of things, the Opposition record shows little real progress. next general election takes place in 1911,- and if definite, achievement in the cause of reform is to be made •j n it' 18 a w h't too early to consider the present position. A stern fight will have, to be fought, and the work of educating, the public to a realisation of what reform will mean for tne country must bo carried on in' a far more systematic manner than ever attempted before. It is the duty of the party to rise to tho situation, even though to do so should mean reorganisation from top to' bottom. 1