WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1331, 8 January 1912, Page 5

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

THE KAIAPOI SEAT. i . THE VANITY OF HUMAN AMBITIONS. The gathering at Kaiapoi afforded ample evidence of the esteem in which Mr. Richard Moore is held, not only by bis supporters in" the constituency, but by the members of the Reform' Party generally.' After heading the poll at the first ballot, he was confronted at the second ballot with a combination of forces too strong to be overcome, and he had to give way to tho Government candidate, who doubtless drew some of his support from tho people who .think that it is 'good policy to vote for a Minister. These electors must now be reflecting on tho vanity of .human ambitions, for if report is to be believed, Sir Joseph Ward has acceded to his party's demand for a reconstruction of the and as a result Of the changes Kaiapoi appears to have lost the distinction, such as it is, of being represented by a Minister." Mr.' ■ Moore was beaten, but, emphatically, he was not disgraced, and we believe that the time wilUyet come when, ho will win tho.seat for the Reform Party* to whom ho would be a most useful addition. He is tho sort of man who does not know what it means to be beaten out of tho field.—Christchurch. "Press." '. .: NOT DIGNIFIED. It will be generally realised by tho ipublic, wlen these things aro considered, that the Prime Minister's intriguing and manoe'rivripg. to increase his party of thirty-three • (including three Native members) to ono numbering at least thirty-nine have'" not been particularly dignified, and we should be surprised to learn that they had been effectual. But, if Sir" Joseph Ward is assured of a majority in tho new House, why should ho i not afford the proof of it to tho public? '•'Why his fear to meet Parliament'so'that the question of the stAte of parties may be determined? The desire on his part to delay tho assembling of Parliament furnishes, as a matter of fact, tho most conclusive evidence of his knowledge of the untouability of tho ground he has now assumed.—"Otago Daily Times."

'WORN .OUT FETISHES. Referring!to the part that Cantprbury played in the elections, the "Christchurcn Press" states:—lt'is not a part of which .the province has any reason to be proud, •for it shows that, owing to a variety of reasons, .a lArgo number of the electors' were content—or, if not content,'., acted as if they were—to cling to the worn-out fetishes' of ."Liberalism" as understood by Sir J. G. Ward. Mr. Allen was no doubt right in saying that oneof the reasons for this state of things was that Canterbury did not hear enough from members of the Reform party, and/that the more the people heard of that party's a j ]llSj j ne more y „.„„[,] rc _ cognise ,that its members were men to be trusted: The province in tho past, as Mr. Rhodes reminded the gathering, has been represented by! great men, and we : believe with him that it will yet awake and send to Parliament men who will make their mark in tho' history of the Dominion, instead tit being satisfied, as is the case now in most of the electorates, to be represented by mediocrities who do not oven stand out prominently from the dull level of mediocrity Hhat''characterises the Government's following.

NO DIVINE RIGHT. It was threo weeks yesterday (says the Uiraaru "Herald" of Saturday last) since the result of the second ballots was declared, but Sir Joseph Ward has not yet carried out his promiso to say what ho intends to do in tho political orisis that has arisen. So consistently has he refused to eonfrdnt the new position and take the public into his confidence that one might think he was Prime Minister' of New Zeuland by divino right instead of bj the .will of the electors, or, as the case at present is, in contradiction of then- will. ~ . Fortunately,'it does not lie in the Prime' Minister s power to palter with the now position for an indefinite period. , He will have to advise Lord Islington either to call Parliament together at an early date, or to agree to the postponement of its assembling for three more months or six, in the hope tjiat during that interval something may turn up, or he may bo able to bring in l fluences to bear to convert his now certain minority into a majority, notwithstanding the verdict of the polls. Fortunately, Lord Islington, as a Parliamentarian of long experience himself, is well aware of the proprieties of the situation, and he can be depended on to explain them to Sir Joseph AVard, if the advice proffered him by the Prime Minister .should make tho explanation necessary. GOVERNMENT SHOULD.END THE SUSPENSE. Tho Taranaki "Daily News" of Saturday, a Ministerial .paper, states:—The Premier, it is said, will make a pronouncement next week as to his intentions. It is held by a scctioji of the Liberal Party that the answer given from tho polls is not of,such a decisively adverso character that it is inconsistent on the constitutional precedent, or likely to prove,detrimental to the interests of the country, to delay tho meeting of Parliament till after tho financial year, closes on March 31. To accept thjs position would, in our view, be a mistake. It is far better for tho Government to face the situation boldly and immediately, and end the -suspense that is operating against the best interests,of the country, which, after all, aro of more consequence than partisan success.