The Dominion. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1912. THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1471, 20 June 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1912. THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.

The centre of-strife in the political struggle wo'uiu.,seem for the moment to have been' transferred' to -the Auckland|:pr6yiric(fc ! both parties, have been displaying much platfqrra'vigour there, and a very active campaign, has been carried on \yithput ;i being disclosed. , or' anything ffensa-' tional happenirig. Hit., iIACKESZiKr like his lat-e',colleague, Sn: J-O. HX Findlay, ..apparently: has. ..a poor opinion of the'-i.ntelligeriee .ot.' the Jlev .apippars;'.' t.ij imagine they- are to bj won l>y. empty flatteries ancl .suggestioi'.s (if favours, to come if only he.aiu! his variegated band of Mj^s^erff;can.imaniige'tdsre;-: tain : The sad experience of the Jlinisteiy ial candidate for Par'nell would, seem to have made no last-iiig impresr sion on Mr. Jlackknzii;. More.pvcr, in his anxiety'to please he .retiected seriously on- his principal colleague,: the Minister, for Railways, and the' other Auckland members in.tho' M inisterial following by suggesting that, the rcciuircments of the northern city and .province had not been, intelligently laid before the. Govern-, ment and.. Parliament. Perhaps it was only a; passing burst of vanity that led the Pkimc Mini'-ier to declare that ".'his candid opinion about Auckland, fits great-' potentialities, and its vast undeveloped resources would justify* at- ariyrnte one-third, of his t-ime' bein'g spent in the. province in order to arrive at an understanding of ik problems ,-irid intelligently lay theiji before the Government and Parliament in its interests." It';majvb(;\tHat/lie; really does think that he is: the only j<ersoh on the Government side of the House capable of understanding' ,aud ititelligently'.explaining the' needs of Auckland, but seeing that- he has been • in Auckland, - nietaphorically speaking, / • jspmetliing . " like ten minutes, while; his'-colleague, l Mr Myers, has etc tick 1 ly->' -liW. time there;, and .other supporters of the for a great many years-:,., we should sav that the Prime 'Mixistek's ciunVs'v. and obvious, at-tcnipt to "play down 1 ' to his Auckland auditors is as little likely to promote l^a.riffiiiy' amongst his own followers as .il is to raise him in the esteem of those, of the public who have a proper contempt, for such pe.tty and '■ u'nedifying elec--t-ioneering- tactics. •, : It is vei-y noticeable of late' that practically, the only reply that ■ is being made, to the critieisra of the Reform party is to club them Conservatives and to denounce thein because they have dared to . criticise Ministerial ■afctiphs; ■dpu.b.ii :Mniisters are. at a. disadvantage inasmuch as the platform of the 'Reform party leaves them ve.ry little opportunity for attack. ; They ■ a'pnear, t.o be quite, incapable of iindin'g any faults in it. liiit it \von'ld hav.. bpi.u thought that, the members of' the Government would have realised loue ere this the utter futility .of attempting to persuade the electors that members w ho aw sent- t.ij Parlianient to act as a cheek oil .Ministers • to point; out such .shortcomings and weaknesses as may exist in the administration (tf- ihe/cbnntrps- rtffair!?, and generally speaking to'safegnard the_ interests of the people, are traitors; and sft forth, when thev do their duly end ci'tieise Ministerial act«.-oJ',iriA:lAdiilifltßj;j;attoißj or errors of judgment, or eundenin unsound lines of policy. There may be some blind followers of the Government, who regard it as ail offence against the. n.ition for anyone to espo.'.e weak-.i.i.CJ.ses' or improprieties in the. conclu'.cf: ..(if a, couri'try-'snffaiVs, but fortuniitely for oS*e r \fe Z'oa.l aij.ci there arc uot maiiv vjoople, of that

| f<< rt- here. I!, is indeed a sign of ; weakness fur .Ministers to be con-' [' sianlty complaining of the criticism i Hi.'y are called on to meet. If they were able I" answer their critics iiy refuting ilie oui'iti'iiilioiis put' for-- : ward or bv disproving the charges made, t-iicy wonid not su often fall back' for reply mi irrelevant counterehar.ges and hatkneyed a'b.us'e. As j to the attempt- that is 'consistently ma do t.O prejudice I he Reform party b.y styling it tile "(Jon'stfyva'tivc,"'j parly, that may be taken as a fair: illustration of the st.afc fit Isa.n.k- ■ niptr.y of ideas whicli the once powerful ? 'L.ibe.r;tl" ins i t has reach-.' , ed. There is not a; follower p'f political affairs in (he I'ominjon who does no!. know that th.b term "con- " atftofctavfc," its a']ip.i : i'c'd : . to. the' Reform.' party,- .or for tlifc. matter of. thai; to• . any political party in New Zealand.; :/is utterly absurd. The: platform of the Reform party is, i'n every >.v.ay. progressive, and in one or two mat- :' ters alni,ost- radical-; and in the ranks ;of She parly are a greater number, of actively progressive members than in t'li.c ''Libera!'-' parly itself. Ministers, Ut epu.rs.fi, k-ii-Q'W t'hisv ■ijc- . ing at their wii\ ends to find means of discounting, their opponents they are forced to fall back oil this hoary . device, of styling them "C.onsorva- . lives." in the hprie- '.that .a; .section; ;6.f the public ina.v lie deluded into the belief that they'would, if given the opportunity, set back the. -wheels of progress. It is all very thin.-. and ' weal' and stupid—much more likely to rc-aet oil the heads, of those re.-, sorting to such tactics than to injure tliose aimed at. 1 ■ .