The Dominion WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1918. NATIONAL UNITY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 137, 27 February 1918, Page 6

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1918. NATIONAL UNITY

Nothing could better serve to-em-phasise the weakness of the position in which Mr. Brandon and his friends find themselves than the nature of their attempts to justify their disloyalty to the National Government. The pretence that Mr. . Brandon was. brought forward as a protest against'Mk. Massey taking it on himself to choose; the National Government's candidate has been worn threadbare. Tho humbug that has been talked about machine-made polities and the tyranny of a- political ''boss" is on a par with the class of stuff that the shirkers and skulkers here and in Australia put forward as a justification for their refusal tb do their duty. Mr. Brandon and his friends endeavour to cloak their disloyalty to the National Government and their refusal to. recognise the compact entered into by the party leaders in the pleasing garb'of .public duty- The garment, however, is a plain misfit, .and we have little doubt that tho electors of Wellington North have seen through the sham and make-believe which it fails to conceal. Duty! What is the plain and obvious duty of all loyal citizens to-day? Ts it to squabble and split straws as to whether the proper routine was followed in the choice of a candidate, and by promoting dissension weaken the National Government and hamper its war work? _ Is it tho duty of loyal citizens to give rein to their petty prejudices and selfish personal aims when they know that their actions, are doing injury to the National Government they profess their anxiety to serve? Is it the duty of loyal citizens to strike a blow at the political unity which has enabled the National Government to administer the affairs of the country in war-time with a minimum of internal strife and a maximum of efficiency ? The friends of Mr. Brandon, who have Encouraged him to persist in a' candidature

which is doomed to failure, but which may inflict serious injury on the National Government and lead to grave internal troubles for the Dominion, cannot blind the public to the meaning of their actions, or by fine-sounding professions clothe them in an appearance of virtue which they .do not. possess. Mil. Brandon and his friends . cannot escape the fact that they, and they alone, are responsible lor imperilling the cause which they openly admit is a-just cause.. They have set out wilfully and deliberately to endeavour to divide the ranks of those, who believe that_ the continuance in' office of the National Government is essential, to the welfare of the country. They have shut their eyes'to the increasing gravity of the times and placed their own little prejudices and grievances before the needs of their country. In war-time, when they should be showing an example of loyalty and self-sacrifice, when they should be striving to hearten the rank and file and seeking to concentrate the attention and direct.the energies of all classes on the great war tasks which lie ahead, they are playing into the hands of the enemy by promoting dissension and by encouraging the disloyalists and enemies of the Government. And they talk of "duty" and "the promptings of conscience" ! The electors of Wellington North should not be misled by the fact that Mr. Brandon claims to be a supporter of the National Government into giving him their votes. Ho is not the National Government's candidate, and every vote that is cast in his favour will injure and prejudice the National Government and encourage the forces which are striving to throw the country into a state of political turmoil and disorder. The situation is such that no loyal citizen can afford to ignore the very scvious responsibility that rests on him in casting his vote at to-morrow's poll. There are many, we are convinced, who even at the last moment will realise that the only safe course for every well-wisher of his -country is to vote "for the nominee of the National Government, Mr. Luke.