NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2013, 21 March 1914, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY

It is very satisfactory, to know that Mfi. J. P. Lu'Ke will again ettn* test tic city Bto'ing his year of oiji.ee Mr. tuSE hasiren'der'ed. good serviw to the c% (- itod it was especially .fortsuiatc during the trying period of tie strike disorders that the. tQ.tiiiieipiil:ity' had at its head one capable e,£ handling go' di'ffictf It a situation vd't'h siieh firnrness and judgment as he then The forces behind the Federation«! labour can he relied on to do their utmost to vf'm the crffiec for their cafi" didate, and the United -Labour £a<i:-ty will leave no stone rlnt'iirn.ed to secure the victory for Mr. M'Laren. Citizens generally, however, can. be relied on to rally rerand the standard of the present holder of the office, and the result is hardly open to doubt. That the victory should be complete there must be no over-eeii-fidenoe. That probably is the only danger likely threaten,Me. Luke's ehances of sweeps, and it can bo avoided by citizens making up thair minds to do their duty uii polling day and reoordi&g their votes..'

A CATOH-CR-j' which is very popular just ndw wit"h_ lied Federatia-n.ists, : and Wardists is the. styling of them*. selves "the progressive forces," That; noisy gen'tlenmn., the .secretary of the. Sheep-shearers' Union, Mi!, 'M. J. LaiUCV. who at Mil. A'Tiip.i&'S meetin* i>n Thursday evening ifipved a rrtotion condemnatory of 'the Miiss'Ey.' Government, seized the opportunity tt> once more drag in the alluring. phrase, therchy, coupling the "Waird-. isits.asa Federationi'sts- with a^-oonj*- 1 -. torn bond. The motion as framed had a hnmoftvus aspect, which the moVifir possibly did not aiiprctia'te hut which i ■tb<j majority of the ;\vill- lut-ve ; iw,difEeulty in : pereeivihg. Sin.: LAJWC-v" called upon "the progressive, forces" to combine to oust the. Masses Government, "thereby task-. iflg tt possible to break up hind-,, fin&nG-ial, and shipping, lrtPnapplreS which are working against the be§t interests of the DotoMotoi". This suggest?, of eoufse, that the .Masses ■Government is the pbtrtiieie to the bfettljingtup process. Even the. secretary of the $ ; heep; 'Uriici.n ; , \ve iraaginei will hardly s?entae to assert that these sd-eallpcl monopolies) which haw now hiseettsut'e c'airic into ■existence© during: the past two years, Indeed, as everyone k'npwg, the Ifcfc eration of Lnho-ur- and ifa kindred 'spirits ■h-ftve for many year's Msfc bete wildly, declaring against %£e and other «Ueged * Monopolies, flptt eomes it, . then, that when the Masses:' G-0-vefnfti.cnt came into office therd Wore am' inojioppfies in exists ■enco at .all? The self-styled "n-rpgrcs.-■sive foveas" held took,. w'ifh huge majorities at their htick, for fiver twenty years. Why did .not they break up the monopolies- wjiich they now ask th© public to heticvo the Massey Government is protecting f These alleged moiippqlies flemri'shbd for twenty years unde'r "progressive.'' rule, and now these same . siyes" are. shouting themselves hoarse because MS. Masses who; has hecn iii ■Office some twenty ■montha has not eradicated them. ..And. they expect ■to deceive the- public with this sort of imnibug.

The amiable member iox i Wellington Sfrttthi who addrossedMiis eoivsfttwnts last evciiiflg, \ observed a discreet sik-ttoc eonecr&ing his attitude towards the Ited tt'tt. Hwpmaksh poses as a Lah&.ui. hicm.her and also efeims to have t-hii courage of his opinions, but he avoided the questions put til' hinl through o : u.ir caimans yesterday regarding tiro particular labour pftfty "to which, he oAvea ailcgiit'iwe. At the last elctitiafi. the .Federation of L.aboiit;. w : as not taken seriously, ftfld .M.iivttjN.bSiAiisM had no difficult;}? in ranging: .himself beside- JJ'LarEn and the other repi'csmitati.ves -of w-hftt is Btytett the felted Labour Party. Since theft, however., theFed'qraj*Bn has heeoteo iiioi'c militant m-A mere powerful, tad the M 4 LAftE-N ofgan.isat.i4ii has ■shrunk .co-i'i'e-spondingfy jji irj-fliienee; The member lotf Wellington South, so far as we knott, has never renounced his old friends, hiit they slid the Jedcration are e't daggers' drawri, Does: Sin, S'INDH.ARsit expect to he able to steer & safe course 'be--.twfeen the two, and sft.ett.re the sup* port of Both? Aftd M ho does .not, or if lie has .tiot-grown timid .arid,is.pre* pared to declare the side he Is on, why did he shirk the opportunity last evening to Answer our- cfuestioi?: and make his position clear to Ins ■eonsfjittients ? Are not they -entitled to know where he- stands 'i

PRIMUPS tho . ntost. ihiefesling feature «f the Mliticrtl sltualloft at' the motaofit is the splendid reception. which the Pit IMb MijsisiKit jg meeting; ■with on his West Coast tour- F*ip. aver twenty year's that part- of thocountry has -been regarded its the great stronghold of the .'"Liberal" pM'ty. It Was ijraet.ioally uu-assail-1 able by any other political party, so [ m«ch so that until quite recently it was regarded as Iwpefoss to contest: »;n-ts there, and tho .tenders of tho-B-elorrn party tron-Mcd it not. A : year or two a.ge. Mr. Massest and Jin.' ITajics Am.e.v visited Hoki-tika. m& mojtt recently Me, -Fiskkr. made » tour of the West Cc-a.s-t, b*it it has remained for tlso visitor' tho: Pnnt'e Misisieb to disclose the tvemeu-dou-s

change of foeling which has taken i place' ill the- race jnyulneraWe to--J tress of "Liberalism." The Bia-gmfi-' eont reception which Mb. Massbv was ■ given at Greyniouth. is sufficient in itself; hat even tli.it .great tribute to his personal popularity' and to the popularity of the Govcrivment- is overshadowed by the significance of the tleißcmstrntiem at the township of Kti.rn.nra, the birthplace of the public activities of the kte Ma, Sebbon. There Mi!, Massw -Was received with just the same open-hearted, -enthusiasm _ which characterised the official visits of the town's own political idol at the zenith of his popularity. Coming from such a quarter it was indeed a fine tribute. The PftniG Minister's visit to. the West Coast has been, in the nature of. a triumphal tour tljrouglvovtt, but probably this re.c«iitioii at Kumara will linger longest in Ms mciftory ttivd ■ in that of the people generally.