"PLAYING THE GAME."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1411, 11 April 1912, Page 4

"PLAYING THE GAME."

e The new Ministry is certainly carrying out with some enthusiasm its professed intention to "stump the country," and some of its members at least are not lacking in those platform arts which stir the enthusiasm of a sympathetic audience. At Stratford, for instance, the three Ministers who attended at the function to do honour to the defeated Liberal candidate would seem to have laid themselves out to display their oratorical powers with a quite reckless prodigality of rhetoric and highsounding professions, which must have proved pleasing indeed to the less sophisticated of their faithful followers present on the occasion. It is not surprising, perhaps, that under the stimulus of the enthusiasm generated the speakers took less heed of cold facts than was wise, and permitted themselves the liberty of indulging in assertions which "they will find it very difficult to oxplain'away when challenged. For a Ministry bo anxious to elevate the public life of the country, and so full of admirable professions of highly-virtuous intentions, the reports of the speeches read a little peculiar. The unanimity with which all three harped on that wellworn allegation that their opponents have no other weapon to use against them than slander and abuse would almost seem to indicate that the new Ministry is quite as.barren of ideas as the old, and equally incapable of meeting the just criticism directed against it. It must prove a little discouraging to the rank and file of the party to find their new leaders carrying on the fight on identically the same lines as proved so disastrous to the AVard Ministry. Moreover, it was very indiscreet of the Prime Minister to single out the Hike charges as an illustration, presumably, of the alleged misrepresentation the Liberal party has been subjected to. Mr. Mackenzie said in effect that Mn. Hike's charges were unfounded, and that he should have apologised for making them. ' The Prime Minister must think the public lias a very short memory. It is not necessary to go in detail into the report of the Special Parliamentary Committee which inquired into the charges to expose the empty "bluff" of the new Leader of "Liberalism." It is sufficient to put to the hon. gentleman the following specific questions, which he will no doubt be very careful not to an-

1. Will ho deny that the Parliamentary Committee, which heard the charts anil which consisted of six Government supporters ami four Oppositionists, found that the charge against an ex-member in connection with the purchase of Mr. Frederick Bayly's estate was proved? 2. Will lie deny that the committee found the charge against another ex-mem-ber in connection with the purchase of Mr. Alfred Bayly's estate to no proved? 3. Will he deny that the committee found to be proved another charge against the last-mentioned ex-member of charging and receiving commissions or sums of money for preparing and conducting petitions in Parliament?

i. Will he deny that • the committee found to be proved a charge against a person then a member of having charged and received payments or sums of money for services relating to petitions in Parliament?

5. Will he deny that the committee was constrained, on the motion of Sir Joseph Ward himself, to recommend that legislation should be passed making it illegnl for a member of Parliament to act on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person in negotiating the sale of an estate to the Crown?

0. Will he dispute that, though nearly three years have passed since this recommendation was made, the Government has taken no steps to carry it into effect?

Other equally pertinent questions might be put to Mr. Mackenzie exposing his very transparent attempt to induce the public by mere bald assertion to disbelieve the recorded facts to be found in the printed records of Parliament [I 14 Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1910], but they would be superfluous. ' The matter would not be worth mentioning at all but for the fact that it is cfuito apparent from the unanimity with which Ministers arc declaiming against what they have chosen to describe as "a campaign of slander and abuse" that it is part of a prearranged plan to endeavour to win sympathy by creating an impression that they have been treated unfairly by their opponents. And this is what the Prijie Minister calls "playing the game." It is really very .weak and childish for Ministers to go about the country making these vague charges and pleading for sympathy, when, if there was actually any ground whatever for their assertions, they could completely discredit their opponents by placing the actual facts before the public.