The Dominion FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1918. WELLINGTON NORTH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 139, 1 March 1918, Page 6

The Dominion FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1918. WELLINGTON NORTH

The contest for the Wellington North seat has ended, as every loyal citizen must have hoped it would end, in the return of the National Government .candidate. Through the splitting of votes caused by_ Mit. Brandon's candidature the majority by which Mr. Luke gained the verdict of the electors was not as large as otherwise would have ken the case, and the total votes polled at the election was : smaller than was expected. Still, it was a victory on which the country and tho electors of Wellington North are to be-'Bin-cerely congratulated. Various circumstances militated against the chances of the National Government's nominee, and the lesson which they teach should not be wasted; The position of Mr. Brandon on the poll confirms our previously expressed opinion that he was misled by his professing friends, and it is equally! clear that in trusting to the support of tho.Liquor Trade he placed his reliance on a rotten reed. Either "the Trade" vote was diverted to Mr. Holland, which isthe view generally. held,_ or "the Trade" has so discounted itself that its influence with the public is a quite negligible quantity. In any case, the position of the Licensed Victuallers , Association is not one which should give it any grounds for satisfaction.

It may be hoped that loyal and fair-minded citizens concerned for the orderly conduct of public affairs and the righi* of citizenship will have profited by the experience of this election to discriminate between the fine-sounding professions of the militant Socialists and their practices. Me. Holland and his friends claim liberty of ß speech and talk of waving the flag of freedom over Now Zealand, but what sort of liberty and freedom do they extend to those who oppose them? They are allowed to hold their meetings without interruption or disturbance, but when they think it will servo their ends systematically organised disturbances are carried through at the meetings of their opponents, who are howled down and counted out by gangs of rowdies who make a mock of the name of liberty.' •Mβ. Holland, when addressing the electors after the declaration of the poll last evening, with a smug egoism characteristic of demagogues of his type, boasted of lifting the fight to an intellectual plane. His friends in the crowd a few minutes later made it quite clear what sort of plane they really light on by howlnig down the Prime Minister when he attempted to speak, and supplementing their vocal efforts with missiles of various kinds. What the ' sane and orderly section of the peo- : pie should not forget is that these excesses, unless they are checked i and discouraged, are only the beginning of worse disorders. It is regrettable in the circumstances that in the contest just ended the electors of Wellington North did not attend the poll in greater numbers and cast their votes more unitedly against the forces of dissension and

disorder. There is another matter which many people of all classes fail to recognise. It is doubtful if ever there was a Government in war time which fully satisfied public opinion. In the nature of things it is inevitable that any Government faced with the great problems which confront the rulers of a country in a time of war like the present must make mistakes, and by the demands and the restrictions which it imposes on the individual give rise to grievances and discontent. Hardship is inseparable from war, and if citizens generally would properly realise this and judge the National Government broadly on the general success which has attended its policy and administration under the unprecedented conditions of the war, and not merely harp on and build grievances out of the mistakes it has made, it would be more fair and just, and better serve the interests of all. We must congratulate the National Government on tho success of its candidate in the Wellington North contest, and must also congratulate Mr. Luke, who, in the face of a great deal of misrepresentation, has fought a clean and straightforward fight.