The Dominion. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1914. SLANDERS ANSWERED

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2333, 15 December 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1914. SLANDERS ANSWERED

One of the most striking features of the recent elections was the manner in which the electors most close-, ly acquainted with the facts have expressed their opinion of the slanders and misrepresentations uttered against- the .Government during the campaign by its political opponents. Nothing was too gross to urge against Ministers, and in most cases the allegations were persisted with in face of the clearest possible proof that they were quite unfounded or utterly unworthy of credence. The enemies of the Government were determined to bring about its downfall at any cost and by any means. No one who has followed events at all closely will have forgotten, how persistently and how bitterly Mr. Herdman ...was attacked on the ground that he had endeavoured to do injury to the Public Trust Office for the benefit of the legal profession. This was exposed as a shameful misrepresentation. It was shown that under Me, Heedman's control this important State Department had had its functions extended, and that in certain important 'respects its benefits had been materially, enlarged especially in the matter of the small estates of the poorer classes. It was also shown that there had been a marked increase in the business of the Department; that its staffing was improved, salaries increased, and better returns secured. Still the lie was persisted with. What did the electors have to

say on the subject: electors who are largely composed of those-familiar with the facts 1 They returned Me. Heedman to Parliament with the biggest majority ho has ever had—a majority of 2543 votes over his nearest opponent, and a clear majority of 90G votes over the two candidates who contested the seat against him. The figures are: ■ 1911- 1914. Herdinan 4,183 Herdman 4,822 ■ Irani 2,386 Tumbull 1,779 Carey 1,185 Holland 1,637 Clear Clear majority . 622 majority , 906 Then on the very eve of the election the Opposition Press throughout the country endeavoured to injure Me.- Pare, and through him' the Reform Party, by saddling him with the responsibility for something, done by his secretary or exsecretary, tho allegation being that £100 had been offered to one of the

opposing candidates if he- would go to the poll. In tho local Opposition journal the message relating to this matter was published in large type, a_ whole page of the paper being given up to displaying it in the most ''scare"- manner possible. The purpose of course was to attempt to give it an exaggerated importance and prejudice Reform candidates who knew no more about tho matter and were no more responsible for it than the Leader of \the Opposition or any of his candidates. This is typical of the methods pursued throughout the election campaign by a section of the supporters of the Opposition. The electors of Eden who are on the spot aid who knew the whole circumstances of tho affair, and who knew Me. Pare, showed what they thought of it by their votes. They gave Me. Paee a majority of 2372 votes, the actual figures being: . Tuck 2647 Kichards 1655 Could, any answer be more emphatic than this 1 ■ Me. John Bollaed, the veteran and respected member for Eden, who had represented the constituency for so many years, only had a majority of 663 at. the last General Election, whereas Me. Pare, in spite of the- unfair attempt made to saddle him with the responsibility for the action mentioned, polled the biggest vote ever recorded in the electorate, and had an absolute majority over' both his opponents of 717 votes. Another slanderous charge laid against the Government was that it had been responsible for the Huntly disaster. It was alleged that the delay in the passing of a certain Mining Amendment Bill first introduced in 1912 the safeguarding of the miners against the explosion that occurred was neglected. That allegation was the basest fabrication conceivable. The Bill in question did not touch the matter at all.- When the Bill was introduced there was not the slightest suspicion that there was any risk of explosion in the Huntly mine, and as a matter of fact a report of the Commission of Inquiry into the disaster shows clearly enough that there was ample power under the oxisting law to provide safeguards, and that the Mine Inspector had authority to act. Yet the slander was persisted with and the Government was oven charged, by some of its more reckless opponents, with being guilty of the murder of the men who lost. their lives. The Government was no more responsible than was the Seddon Government for the B runner disaster, or the *Ward Government for tho wreck of tho steamer Penguin in Cook Strait. The electors of Raglan, in which constituency the Huntly mine is situated, answered these slanderous attacks on tho Government in a most convincing manner. At the previous election Me. R. F.. Bollard had been returned to support the Reform Party with a majority of 919 votes. At the election just closed the electors' increased his majority to 1420. The details are as follow: 1911. 1914. Bollard 2782- Bollard 3918 801 l ISO 3 Thompson 2498 Furness 94 •Majority .... 919 Majority .... 1420 The Waiuku Railway, or the Ostrich Farm slander, was made use of by nearly every candidate who supported cither tie Ward Party or the Labour-Socialists. A more unjust and unwarranted attack ,on a public man thin this it would be difficult to conceive, It was proved by plans and.public records that instead of Mr. Massby being benefited in any way by the change in the route of tho. Waiuku Railway as alleged, the change so far as it affected his personal interests at all had been prejudicial to him. The railway had been promised a previous Government, and the State engineers had I'fiOTmmendpr! * slight (ihntiKn nf route which, as stated, was -preju-

dicial to the Ostrich Farm in which Mr. Massey as a resident in the district had taken a small financial interest. Me. Massey instead of agreeing to a change to his advantage actually sacrificed whatever advantage the line might have been to the property. And yet his opponents in an endeavour to prejudice him and his party in the eyes of the country did not scruple to attempt to create the impression that he had done something discreditable in the matter. The electors of Franklin by their verdict on Thursday last have let the country see what the people on the spot who know the Waiuku Railway routes and the Ostrich Farm think about it. They gave Mb. Massey the biggest majority ho has ever had, and tho biggest majority scored by any candidate at the recent elections. The figures l are very striking: 1911. 1914. Massey 3779 Massey 4744 M'Larin 1816 Glass 1819 Majority .... 1D69 Majority .... 2E25 The result in this case is the more convincing because it was Mr. Glass, the Prime Minister's opponent, who appears to have been one of the first to attack Me. Massey on the subject of the Waiuku ■Railway. Now that the heat of the elections has passed and the people of the Dominion can view .the facts dispassionately, they cannot fail to realise how foully Ministers have been maligned and slandered. Wherever the full facts are known _ the misrepresentations and distortions have had no other effect than to strengthen the Reform candidate's hold on the electorate, but there can be little doubt that in many instances elsewhere the slan-ders-have been believed and the interests of the Reform Party unfairly prejudiced. The experience, however, should not be withcutf its advantages in exposing ths methods of Anti-Reformers.