The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1915. THE FAILURES OF SIR JOSEPH WARD

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2483, 9 June 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1915. THE FAILURES OF SIR JOSEPH WARD

It is doubtful whether even. the crushing answer of the electors of the Bay of Islands delivered yesterday through the ballot-box will convinoo Sie Joseph Ward.of his failure as a party leader. To most people his action in proceeding to the northern electorate, and in company with members of his party gathered from different parts of the Dominion, seeking to accentuate party strife, appeared indefensible. It was unfortunate that these by-elec-tions should be necessary at all, but the least that the party leaders could do at a time like the present was to minimise the evil by allowing the contests to proceed as purely local affairs conducted with as little heat or bitterness as possible. But this, apparently did not suit the plans of Sir Joseph Ward and the Opposition Party. To them the fact I that the nation to which they belong is engaged in a life-and-death struggle; its sons heroically laying down their lives on blood-stairiel fields in Turkey and in France, was not sufficient reason for seeking to moderate the evils of internal sectional strife. They saw, or. thought they saw, in the necessity for a byelection for the Bay of Islands seat, ah to gain a party advantage, and off they.rushed to the far_ north .to sow party strife and political dissension. And what purpose had they, to serve? Who was to . be benefited by their efforts 1 Plainly the object of their electioneering was to regain office for, themselves and those associated with them in politics.. One result of their efforts was to necessitate a Minister of the Crown replying to the attacks made on the Government. Moreover the attention of many people who could have better devoted their tinie to questions arising out of the war was distracted liy the party struggle. For this the Leader of the Opposition was almost wholly to blame. No one can question his right to Seek to advance his political ambitions, but it in a striking illustration of the inability of Sir Joseph.Ward to accurately judge public sentiment that ho should have thrust his party interests into such prominence at a time when the people are so deeply concerned with tho grave issues wh'jch confront them in the great world struggle now proceeding. He would have strengthened, his position greatly with the country had ho. placed his party interests in the background aid devoted his energies to assisting to stimulate and encourage the people throughout New Zealand to put forth their utmost efforts to aid tho Motherland and the sister Dominions in tho tremendous task that lfes ahead. Instead, he and his lieutenants, with one or two notable exceptions, havo for some weeks past given up their time to electioneering to servo their own party interests. The electors of tho Bay of Islands have demonstrated in no doubtful fashion what they think of such conduct. It is. difficult to recall any occasion in rccent times when a party leader sustained so severe a rebuff as that administered to Sir Joseph Ward in the far north' yesterday. For weeks past lie and four of his followers have been electioneering on behalf of the Opposition candidate in tho Bay of Islands contest. Sir Joseph Ward himself has delivered many speeches ; he has come in coutact with the electors all over the electorate;. he has made fervid appeals to them to return his candidate at the head of tho poll. And what is the answer of the fwoplc 1 Tlw is the most crushing; defeat.

ever sustained by a candidate standing for the scat in the name of the Liberal Party. To properly understand the position it is accessary to quote a portion of Sin Joseph Ward's speech at Kaikohe :

The Liberals, he said, should remember that a great parly wi'th a great history, "'it'll a £reat work behind it, und with a prospective great work before it, was entitled to ask its friends throughout the electorate to vote for the party and win back this great old Liberal constituency which had bean Liberal for 20 years.

The point to bo noted hero is that the constituency had been Liberal for 20 years. And yet that constituency, so disgusted is it with the ways of the Liberal Party of to-day, for the first time in 20 years in a straight-out contest, Liberal v. Reform, gives the Reform candidate a majority—a huge majority amounting to nearly 1000 votes. This, after all the efforts made by the Leader of the Opposition and his lieutenants who swarmed over the electorate attacking the Government and applauding Wardism. At the 1911 elections Mr. V. Reed, who then stood as a Liberal, had a majority over the Reform candidate of 183 votes. In 1914, despite the fact that there were two Reform candidates, Mr. Reed, who bad joined the Reform Party, wa.s elected by 100 votes. Now Reform, after a straightout fight, has gained the victory with a majority which promises to reach nearly 1000 votes. What stronger endorsement of the Government's recent actions or stronger condemnation of the Opposition could be given? Sir Joseph Ward insisted on interfering in the Dunedin Central by-clection contest a few' months ago. He addressed meetings on behalf of the Labour-Socialist candidate and exerted all hia influence to secure his election. He failed. He did not profit by his lesson, and despite tho fact that in view of the world crisis there was now still less justification for party activities, he interfered at the Bay of Islands. He has failed there still more dismally. It might be hoped that after his long succession of failures in seeking to promote the interests of his candidates in various parte of the country in recent years Sib Joseph Ward would cease from further attempts of this nature. This is hardly likely, however, and in the meantime his first lieutenant is busy electioneering and stirring up party discord in the Taumarunui electorate. The Government, in self-defence, will have to reply to the attacks made, and so this disturbing element for which the Opposition are responsible and which is wholly repugnant to the feelings of the great bulk of the public at the present time is dragged in. The electors of Taumarunui it may be hoped will show as unmistakably as their fellow-electors of the Bay of Islands how deeply they resent the action of the Opposition in seeking to embarrass the Ciovernment and in promoting party strife, at a time when all sections of the community should be concentrating their efforts on the comnion task of defeating our enemies overseas.