MR. PHILIP SNOWDEN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2285, 20 October 1914, Page 6

MR. PHILIP SNOWDEN

A CRITICISM OF HIS METHODS. [By New ZealanderJ Permit me to say that as a loyal Now Zealandor I cannot endorse the statements Mr. Philip Snowden has mado in this country concerning the war and its causo; neither can I approve of.his coming to Now Zealand at such a, time to sow seeds of dissonsion in our midst, when all should bo united in defending and inaintaning tho Empire and in respecting the rights, privileges and properties of our neighbours whilo guarding our own. In Mr. Snowden's first utterance at Auckland ho spoke disparagingly of England. Tho Auckland "Star" Tβports him as saying:! "Tho real cause of the war is our mistaken foroign. policy; and that as far as England is conconied there would have been no war if there had been no Triple Entente." By forming alliances Lord Lansdowne, King Edward, and Sir Edward Groy, England's greatest Foreign • Minister,. created the Triple Entente and promoted peace. Does he regard it as a loyal aotion at such a tune to condemn the acts of King Edward the Peacemaker ? Does he think it loyal or patriotic on his part at such a time to come here and condemn the foreign policy of Sir Edward Grey, a Minister of tho Crown, who in the present crisis has won the admiration of the whole world? Mr. Snowden would have England, ho Bays, stand in "splendid isolation" when it was known, and the German Ambassador at Washington has openly declared, the policy and purpose of the German War Lord to be' to put Belgium under hie iron heel, conquer and subdue France, hurl back the armies of Russia and buy her off, while he turned and smashed England and dominated the world. Like Mr. Snowden the Geiman Socialists, Haeckel and Wundt, blame the Triple Entente for the war; and the latter has said' that King Edward was its originator, and Sir Edward Grey, "hie testamentary executor." They are Germans. But Mr. Snowden, when he expresses similar views to those hold by the enemies of our Empire, should not forget that he is a man in the,pay of tho British people. I regret that Mr. Snowden has shown himself a Little Englander and # that he, at a time of national crisis, should have rihosen to cast aspersions on the wise and prudent policy of King Edward and his advisers. \ My next criticism of Mr. Snowden touches on his obligations as an M.P. Ho is a member of tho British House of Commons, and as such receives £400 per annum. Seventy British Parliamentarians display their loyalty and personal saenfico for the good of all by going to tho front, tho others remain at Home to help m mitigating the distress and misery of their fellow countrymen What does Mr. Snowden do ? He makes no personal sacrifice. He enjoys his emoluments and proceeds to a distant part of His Majesty's Dominions and sows seeds of -discord among bis loyal and self-sacrificing inhabitants; seeking to divide the people of this country into two hostile parties and incite one party by his eloquence to destroy the rights, privileges and properties of tho other. He has been engaged, or hired, for tho time being, to assist in this internal 6trife, and to arouse strong feelings of dissonsion among a people that ought to be of one accord when the enemy of the Empire is thundering at the gate. His better 6elf must condemn. ■ tins. Tjbt Mr. Snowden's own coudemffiiTlon be out of his own mouth:' "The men who have benefited the race are those , who serve their fellows without seeking personal gain"—yido page 85 "Socialism and Syndicalism," by Phillip Snowden. Mr. Snowden has not sought to benefit his race as his fellow members are now'doing by, personal service in England or on- the Continent. On tho contrary, ho has come out here as the paid advocate of the Prohibition Party to assist in creating dissension and discord. Mr. Snowden. at this juncture should'not bo here.

Turning to tie object of liis mission —tho drink problem. Mr. Snowdon has already told his audiences that "the people of New Zealand drink as much' 189 the people of Great Britain." This' is not true. The people of Great Britain drink 29 gallons per head of the population; we in Now Zealand drink 10 gallons—nearly one-third. Mr. Snow- V den knows that accuracy is truth. He eaid yesterday (vide page 28 "Socialism and Syndicalism,"-by Philip Snowden)— "that the poverty and hardship of the life of the working classes lead them into crime, and drive them to drink and to euicide, and send them into insane asylums"; and he is. saying to-day from the Prohibition platform, to assist those who engaged him, '•'that wo should prevent the continuance of a trade that was harmfulj and so check crime and lunacy, which were tho result of the dnink trade" As a 60oial reformer and author Mr. Snowden said the first. As a paid Prohibition advocate he said the second: which is the real opinion— the honest conviction—of Mr. Philip Snowden? One of our English Judges, Mr. Justice Wills, says: "When I first came upon the bench I used to think drink was the most fruitful cause of crime. Now I think unlimited facilities for illegitimate speculation on the part of the people is a moro prevalent source of mischief and crime than drink." Close observers of tendencies to criminality in New Zealand will be ready to endorse the conviction of Mr. Justice Wills, and they will realise that Mr. Philip Snowdon's latest views on crimo and lunacy are only': heated vapourings and nothing more. Another point, and let me close. Mr. Snowden has told us that ; "they could not ignore the safety of the nation in matters of taxation; but if they-lost one million a year in revenue they were going to get a compensating revenue." The revenue from the liquor industry in New Zealand is approximately £1.170,000 per annum, and that pays all the old age pensions—16,000—the total cost of our hospitals, all the charitable aid, and the total outlay on polko and prisons. The Prohibitionists contribute nothing to the revenue of the country: through the liquor industry. Are Mr. Snowden's present employers prepared to tax themselves to provide the "compensating" rovenuo lie speaks about? Never. Suppose all the people of tills country wore to become teetotal, what would happen? ' By the way, Mr. Snowdon is a friond of tho workmgnian—he ha-s the most votes—and hoaskodthis very question in tho House of Commons on the 2nd of June, 1913. Let the working classes of Now Zealand note Mr. Snowden's question and answer:

"Mr. Snowden: Suppose evory worklngman In the country became teetotal, what would happen?" As a paid member of tho House of Commons, representing tho workers of Blackburn, ho answered his own question thus: "We should have tho Chancellor of tho Exchequer standing at the tablo next year and proposing some other form of indirect taxation which would.make the peopte, wlto had hitherto been contributing by the liquor contribution, contribute through a tax upon some other com* njodity which was in common use amongst the working classes." That;was'Mr. Snowden, tho servant of Demos, speaking. Tho working classes were then his concern. Now ho is tho servant of tho Prohibitionists, who want to throw away revenuo equal to paying for all our old age pensions, our hospitnls, and charitable aid, our police, and priEous. Mr, Snowden'a book

makes it clear that he knows the effect of the loss of revenue, but he has obligingly changed his attitude, despite the fact that on his own showing the burden will fall upon the working classes. Mr. Snowden has placed himself in a false position, and ho must not blame the public if they decline to tako him seriously on this question.— (Published by Arrangement.)