THE GOVERNMENT AND DEFENCE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1287, 16 November 1911, Page 6

THE GOVERNMENT AND DEFENCE.

The Piiime Minister's extraordinary statement concerning the attitude of the Reform party on the defence question must have struck many people as resulting from something more than a wanton desire to be offensive to his political opponents. His statement that not a single member of the Reform party has said a word in favour of the defence system was so fantastic and grotesque, and so easily destructibleit was destroyed at once by several newspapers—that we must find some other explanation of it than recklessness and folly._ What is the. explanation ? It begins to appear that the explanation is that the Prime Minister has lost his nerve, is anxious to water down the scheme, and is dreading the anti-militarist vote. He therefore wants the Reform party to come to his rescue, or to share with him tho disfavour of the opponents of the scheme. It is characteristic of him that he should seek this end by making an insulting misstatement of the most pitiably foolish kind. The Reform party is quite prepared to take its share of the anti-militarists' wrath, even if the Government is not; and the Government is not, as we shall see presently. At the same time the Government's friends were only the other day hurling abuse at the Reform party for claiming a share in bringing the scheme into being. It is so like the Government to want all the credit, and then, growing alarmed in the face of an election, to go into absurd hysterics because it wants to get rid of the credit, and cannot. Could anything be more lamentable than that tho Prime Minister, for the paltriest party ends, should suddenly seek to drag the defence scheme into the election campaign? In Christehurch the Evening News has been printing some rather disturbing articles upon the position of the scheme, and these demand a reply from the Government. Whether the Government will give any reply may be doubted, as the Prime Minister must already bo feeling sorry that he rushed forth with his wild and hysterical misstatement about the Reform party. The Evening News complains that the Defence Ant is being flouted and disregarded and the permanent officers left unsupported by the Government; and declares that Territorials are refusing to attend parades, contumacious in their security from punishment, and that the Government is preparing to revert to a modification of the voluntary system. It is well known that great numbers of those who should have registered have not done so, and tho public may well be excused for insisting that the Prime Minister shall explain now exactly what is the, position. Already, it is quite obvi- { ous, the Government has allowed political considerations to interfere with tho working of the scheme; and there is no necessity to point out how the shadow of the party leader's hand must destroy much of tho virtue, zeal and efficiency of the military authorities. In tho meantime, the Prime Minister, if he must quarrel with somebody, will be much better employed if, instead of making foolish and insulting misstatements concerning the Reform party, he were to explain the strange behaviour of some of his supporters. In Christehurch, Mr. T. H. Davey is tho only Ministerialist M.P. who simply approves the scheme as it stands. Mr. Witty, has been advocating a modification of it. The egregious Mr. Isitt has attacked the scheme. He said on Mondav night that "he believed that the Government would climb down, and that it had recognised it had bitten off more than it could chew." Mr. G. W. Russell was more explicit. According to the Evening News, he "stated definitely that important changes in the system were to take place. Tho age unto which men will bo liable for training is to bo reduced to 22, and the force is to be recruited as far as possible by volunteers. If the number of those offering their services is insufficient to bring the force up to the required strength, the balance will be selected by ballot, and compulsion will he exercised as far as they are concerned." Whether Mr. Russell has his leader's authority for making this statement we of course cannot say; but such statements as these of Mr. Russell and Mn. Isitt, coupled with tho Prime Minister's deplorable outburst in Southland, raise questions which should be answered, and answered frankly. Is the law being strictly observed, or is it not? if not, why not? And what is in tho future- if the Government chances to return to joowcr I

MINISTERS IN DANGER. * It is worthy of note that the buoyant confidence which has in tho past characterised the attitude of members of the Government respecting their own individual elect-inn prospects is rather lacking just now. Of course one and all profess to be well satisiied with their chances, but the customary cocksureness is lacking. Moreover, there is more active campaigning on the part of members of I lie Government in their own electorates than can be recalled for some time past. Yet curiously enough at the last general elections most of tnem had very substantial majorities. Silt Joseph Ward had a majority of over M 00: Sin James Carrou, nearly S00; Mr'. Mimar 2-100; Me. H. M'Krnzie MOO; Ma. P.i;ddo,77. The Parncll seat, which Sir John Findlav is contesting, was in IflOS won by Mr. Luvny with over 300 votes to spare; while, on the other hand, the Egmont scat, which Mr. T. Mackenzie is wooing, was secured by Mu. Dive for the Eeform party_ by 250 votes. Yet at tho present time the onlv unconcerned member of the Cafiinct probably is Sir James Carroll, and it is constitutional with him to display a philosophic calm on all occasions. Tho shock which the Government and the country received over the defeat of a single Minister in 1908 is hard to realise to-day when so many members of the Ward Administration are fighting so desperately to retain their places in Parliament and in tho Ministry. Mu. Buddo appears to have been given up even by the Ministerialist press as an almost hopeless case. His majority in 1908 was a very small one, and in the face of the strongest opposition he has yet had to meet he has made a poor with his election campaign. Even his friends admit this. The public know how hard pressed Sir John Findlay is in his venture for. the Parncll seat. He has descended to depths probably never before plumbed in New Zealand politics in his desperate endeavour to win the scat—the ludicrous and extravagant nature of his promises and his attempts to tickle the ears of the elector's of Parncll have provoked ridicule from one end of the country to the other. Mil. T. Mackenzie is fighting equally hard in his own particular fashion at Egmont. He is cleverer than his colleagues—he deals more in hints and suggestions of benefits to come than in direct promises. But he also is faced with a strong possibility of defeat. News comes from Motueka that Mb. E. M'Kenzie will not have by any means an easy task, and Mr. Millar will be lucky to win against Mn. Bedford. Sir Joseph Ward himself is not in a by any means happy position, but he may not much care, since Mn. Millar, in his speech last night, seemed to foreshadow a fulfilment of tho fairly general expectation that the Prime Minister may, after the election, leave the country. So we have it that almost every member of tho Cabinet' is confronted with the possibility of defeat—a most remarkable situation when compared with past experiences of the Continuous Ministry, and a powerful evidence of the change of public opinion throughout the country.