NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1298, 29 November 1911, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

One of the most significant platform statements during this election campaign is that of Mr. V bitch,, the Labour candidate for Wanganui, which we reprinted yesterday. Mr. ViiiTCH has no patience with the temporising, shuffling methods of those Labour leaders who seek to reconcile their anxiety for Labour with their anxiety to keep the Ward Administration in office. "It was absurd," said Mr. Vkitch, "that because the Labour party did not favour Sir Joseph Ward, its members must necessarily become followers of Mr. Jlaksky." The Labour parfv, he went oil, "bad no confidence iii llie present Cabinet,'' and "they uvre lireil of the argument, that, tliry must stick to the. Government until a new party was formed.'' "How long would it bc ; " he asked-and it is a question that ruts to the root, of political realitics-"how long would it be before thev got the new party I if thßjr w* gems tn sit Hovn and [ wait for it to come along ? ;1 - That a

Lnbom- parly of romo strength will arise in t.his'country nobody doubts; that it did not arise Ump ago in a matt-or of surprise to foreign obs-'rv-■s, bill, is easily intelligible lo New j.i.landcrs. Tim fact, is Mia I. I lie Liberal" Administration, equipped it.h enormous means of patronage id repression, has made use of Labii- through its leaders for its own ids, and has worked it. in In its :!ieme of dishonest government, "hen Labour throws _ off 1 1m okn of thosr. shuffling, t'-in-orising spokesmen who v/anl. i keep the Ward Adminitralion in offiec and lie hnug tinder ,s wing, it will grow into an active arty in the legislature, and we lall probably finil ourselves in <'.onicl with it in some particulars. We lall welcome the issue just as Labur will, for clean differences on rinciple will lie better for cveryody than a state of things that hrows Labour and true Liberalism nto a joint opposition to a corrupt 'Liberalism" that is infinitely inurious to the nation's future and of io value to anybody who is not n harcr of the spoils of crooked govrnmcnfc. Mr. Veitch'r honest and lownright statement of the Labour •iew of tho situation will appeal to he Labour vote far more strongly han the shuffling servitude of the j.ibour man who for the sake of a eat in Parliament pledges himself o support the Ward Administration irst, .iii'd Labour next. With his usual happy knack of ilustralion, Mr.. 11. A. Wright has xposed the hollowness of the Prime tfjxiSTEn's attempt to justify the 'constitutionality of the Dreadlought offer. Most people arc agreed ty now that the offer was a mistake, ind was moreover inspired by a deiirc to shine rather than by a singlclearted anxiety to assist the Empire ind engineered by a species of confidence trick played on the press. The Prime Minister is well aware of the ntblic's feeling on the point, and he las accordingly attempted to pcrmado tho public that when the offer :amc up for ratification, any mem>er of Parliament who objected voiild be acting quite propcriy in •oting against ratification. " Mr. iVrioht dealt admirably with this mcandid pleading. "Wo were simply asked," lie said on donday night in reply to a' question, "to atify the gift after it hod been given mil accepted. Suppose there was a cerain family of grotm-up sons and datallers the oldest member of which decidil to Rive his parents a present. lie wont o tho old people and said: '\\'e lave decided to give you something for our birthday,' and ho did thi«s without onsiiitinjj the other members of the famly. Then ho went to them and said he intl done this thing:, and even though hey were angry ami thought it wrong, hey could not ?ay they would not foot lie bill. How could they send tho brother lack to the old people lo miv that they vsrc not going to ratify the gift?" i\ r c all know what the Prime Minister and his faithful echoes would lave said had anybody in the House ittcninfccd, by voting against ratification, to assert the right of Parliament to control the Executive. In )ur own opinion any such vote would |iave been wrong, since the gift, having been offered, could not have been withdrawn without dishonour. But tho only charge one could make against such a vote would be that .he person casting it had inverted the order of importance of the issues. But the Government arid its friends would have charged him with disloyalty, and pursued him rancorously. The House had no option in the matter. It was trapped by the Prime Minister. For him;to'pretend that the offer could have been withdrawn is an'insult to the intelligence of the public; his pretence that nobody would have said a word against a vote of protest is too silly for words in view of the notorious contempt of the Government for the rules of chivalrous warfare. We were told the other day that the leading London newspapers had conspicuously refrained from commenting on the strange statement by the German Foreign Minister as to the intense friction between Germany and Britain over the Agadir incident. As dispatched to us by cable, Herr von Kiderlen-AVaechter's story sounded like a pure invention, the most notable feature of which was the entire absence of any reasonable explanation, or even attempt at explanation, of Germany's descent upon Morocco. Sir Edward Grey's speech shows plainly that the German Minister's statement was so uncandid and inaccurate as to be quite worthless. Herr von KiderlenWaechter, for example, said that after the German notification on July 1 that Germany was seeking a re-settlement with France, Britain "did not inquire in reference thereto" until July 21; but Sir Edward Grey shows that Britain sent Germany a Note on July 4. It was Germany's silence that necessitated Mr. Lloyd-George's threatening speech, to which Germany made "an exceedingly stiff reply." That relations had reached danger-point is obvious from this phrase, and from the still more significant statement by Sir Edward Grey about his broad hint to Germany that she must have fancied Britain could be disregarded. This hint it was that so promptly led to smoothness in the Franco-German negotiations. The most interesting part of Sir Edward Grey's speech was his_ insistence that Britain could not sacrifice the friendship of Russia and France, "and could not therefore force the pace of improved relations with Germany." Of course this will bitterly disappoint the Germanophile, Russophobe Radicals in Britain, who, as yesterday's cables indicated, fired a broadside at Sir Edward Grey in the hope I of impressing him with the importance of the anti-Imperial peace-at-any-prico wing of tho Liberal party. . As reported, the speech appears to dissipate any anxiety as to a possible weakening of Britain's foreign policy. Thiß is most welcome news. The Reform candidate for the Hutt scat, Mk. B- W. Short, has been conducting an energetic electioneering campaign throughout the district, and will probably contest the second ballot' with the sitting member, Mr. T. M. Wilford. Mr. Short has not the oratorical, gifts of the Government nominee, but he has this very great advantage, that lie is pledged to support a party which in turn is pledged to a policy of reform, whereas Mr. Wilford is pledged to a party whose only policy is lo cling lo office. The electors of the Hutt have given the. present member a very good innings, very largely on personal grounds. In more ' recent times that personal popularity lias shown signs of a rapid decline, and at the last general clef-lion the. voters in Pekme, where Mi;. Shout was best known, cast a verv solid vole in bis favour, the figures being: Vvilkord, m:> 7: Short, Kill. -0" t -'' n present occasion the. votes at the first ballot will iv'vcrv ranch split up. Mr. Reardo.v vill roll rr)\> and Mn. Jl'Evvak has a not inconsiderable following, But

all llic .vciiihl ballot ''very '.vrll wniher (if his conn 1 r ( v should ninl, iiii'l'- nil pcrional fivliii« mid vol" for th' ! f-;itirlidnl/-, whoever hi l may Id, who I", opposed lo Mm Waiiii AiliiiinM.riif.ioM, All minor conni'lcralinim nhoiild li': sol, n.sifl«-. for Me! iiiii;", of Mie, really vifiil ihKlie ill. nldke. 1.1in.1, )•!, t.ll'! ov'M'l.hrow of Mie (iovi , nifii' , iif. l with n. view lo tw.tii'itiK » thorough overhaul of the. (•oiiiil.r.V M affairs, For over twerilv yenni I,here, hail Iji'C.'i no impartial itiventii/alion ono party alone linn controlled l.h'i country c. jilf;ii l'm, /mhl rpiif.c noarl. from l,h's known !■.vilh iiieviUlily niw.i.'il.fiil with bo IniiK n, tenure of olliw, there. aro many other mutlxirn which can only Ik! clonred im hy ciinhliriK n now ami iii(|e.|i(.,ii(|i!i)|, nfti, of men 1/> l(et Iwhiitrl tlie r.c'neii and look into til'! pigeonhole!) of the iJeriart/nentu of Slate, Thow! eleetoi'H of the Hull who have a proper conception of their rwponiiiliilitics will, we, have little doubt, hear these thing:', in mind on l)ecernbor 7 and Docmfjcr M. Every vote cast for Mil. Sfiour moans a vole in favour of that scrutiny which its no urgently needed.