THE GENERAL ELECTION

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 50, 22 November 1919, Page 7

THE GENERAL ELECTION

PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE

' CAMPAIGN NEWS NOTES AND COMMENTS

ROWDIES STILL I EVIDENCE

The Prime Minister. Tlii! Prime Minister will leave, this evening for Hie South Island lu go on willi his election campaign in Iho causo of I he; Government parly. He ivii] probably deliver bis first .speech in Temuka or Wai:n;ife. "Unadulterated Socialism." Mr. \V. 11. t-'iehl dealt strongly willi his iifltfi:tt Labour oppquenl at Manakau in) Thursday night. lie said Ibis candidate spent. much lime levelling a(lacks al the (ioveninienl: tor not: buying out the. l-ninn Steam Ship Company, for not keeping down the cost of living, for allowing the banks to increase their nolo issue, for encouraging trusts and combine.-. for allowing land to increase in value, for permitting indentured labour In Samoa, for starving education, and so forth, all of- which matters .Mr. Field dealt.. with at length, but tho Labour candidate, he said, was most careful to refrain from disclosing his own politics, to his bearers. Tip promised that ? tho Labour Parly would pnl an end' to>all evils, and happiness and contentment should reign supreme, but he failed to explain (bat the objective of Hie parly to which be was pledged was unadulterated Socialism, viz.. the socialisation of the means of nrnduction, distribution, and exchange, which meant that' all land and capital should belong to the Stale, that there-should be an end of private ownership of land and. capital, and of private pinnloyment and enlernris'o. The State would be the sole emplover, and would d.onblless, under the dircelion-of a Labour dictator and council, dole out eaeh man's earnines to him. Sir. Field said'be did not .think the sane working man wotld fall in love with the nrosiieet. He was dealing with the Labour Parly's avowed and uuWished objective, as aunearin!.' on the Labour Party's const iliirion m#l on bis Labour opponent's photograph rard. The present noliey.of Hie parly was o/ilv the thin end of the wedee. and the objective would promptly if unbannily .these extremists got nossession of the veins ol Government. Homo Service Men and Gratuities. . "Are ynu in favour of extending the gratuities to home service men?" asked a f|ueslion n r fvo' ll tlk l crowd at: the bu''k of the ball -it Mr. Evelyn Mat-donald's meeting at Vnner TTutt. "That may bo a reasonable proposal as tar as some of the men are concerned: but I know a little country profes c: onal man with a failing business, who dropped into a jollvirood billet in home service, and I don't think he's looking for any further l gratuity." (Laughter and applause.) >

"Ashamed of Them." "This cry of 'Labour Party,' 'Labour Purtv' from mv interjectors is a real I.W.\W stiiiil to cloud the,real issue. 1 am the hit of stuff to stand hero and advocate my leader; mv liel'orm opponent advocates his leader; lmt are you the bit of. stuff to >tand up and advocate Holland, Semple. Trascr, with perhaps a dash of Paddv Webb thrown in. T say "No," with a biff N. And I'll tell you why. Awav down in your lieart yon are ashamed of tliem, and I say without fear of contradiction that not 20 per cent, of the workers of lliis country have the slightest faith in them."—Mr. Dunbar Sloane, Liberal candidate, at Kaiwarra. Aibitration. > Mr. (J. .1. Anderson, Heform member for Mutuura, mentioned at a meeting that years ago he had been one of those who fought tu prevent wages from becoming lower. Then I lie workers asked for the Arbilialion and Industrial Conciliation Act and had got it. If the times became bud—and he was afraid Hiey would—hundreds in tilie country would 'have causo to 'bless the passing of the Act. Un-' doubtedly there were defects in it, the greatest of which was that two gentlemen were put on the Court to represent the employers aiid employees, who were supposed to know every trade under the sun. Nolrody could do filial. If men were put on who understood the trade in dispute ho believed they would get over niiietenths of the opposition to it. Poor Evidence. ".One of the Liberal organs in Mie South Island has set out lo show that aggregation of land has proceeded since the Keform Government took office. It produces this "evidence":— A return issued recently by llio ' Government Statistician shows that . while the acreage occupied in the Dominion has increased by 7.7 per . cent., and the number of lhoidings> has increased by 8.9 per' eent.. the greatest increase Jias Ijccn in the larger sort .of holdings. Holdings of from one to 100 acres increased in . . number by less than one per cent., • holdings between 100 and 1000 acres ■ ; by. 10.7 pel cent., holdings of from • "1000 to 20,000 acres by 17.5-per cent., and holdings of over 20,000 acres by S.l per cenl. The occupied acreage for the Dominion 'lias increased', by more than three millions, and the average acrpago per holding lias slightly decreased, having fallen from 511 to 535. ■ The figures .dp not prov? aggregulion at a.ll. The area of the average holding .has actually decreased. The number of largo holdings has increased, but that is a natural result of the effort that has been made lo settle waste lauds of poor qual-. ity.' The official figures show liliat the amount of subdivision in recenli years has been unprecwlently large. The Proof of Sincerity, The Liberals in any case .have no right to reproach the Hcforuiers in regard to laud aggregation: The Liberals, on their own admission, did nothing to slop it.. They used to claim that the graduated laud tax was au effective instrument in breaking up largo estates, but now they are Idling tho country that the tax' is "too low lo be effective." 'The 'Kefovniers made definite attempts to check aggregation by their legislation of 1012 and 1913. and t.liey «lit: on to tlie Statute Book last session the most drastic proposals yet adopted by any country. '' They Don't Like It. "It would be as foolish for. Mr. Masscy to tell the country 'All alone I did it,'.as it would bo for him to attemptfo blacken the Liberals by laying Jilame at I heir door," says the "Mnlaiira Ensign." It is to be regretted that Sir. Joseph Ward and Mr. IVilford do not see tilings in tho same light as iho Premier, ami have not an equal sense of propric.lv.. When the I w;o' policies of the rival leaders are analysed the difference-; in fundamental principles are not yerv clear lo the averaee elector. The one fai-t: that stands'out clearly is that the Liberals are out of.office aiid do iihl; like it. Hut any nrincinlc associated with' the name of Liberalism is found reflected in the programme of-the lieform leader and in the ideas of the rank ami tile of L'eiormers." J Won't Work. "The Sanioan won't work " said Mr. L. M. Isill at Chrisfcliurch. • "lie lias been trained for years to 'believe thai; labour is undignified, lie is like sonio, members pi' Iho ■ .extreme .Labour Party." Reform Candidate for Bay of Plenty. A x Press As-uciation telegram from Tokomaru Hay sin.lei that Mr. K. S. Williams is sianding as a l.'.'form candidate against the Hon. W. I). S. MacTJiujaJJ t'ur i-lifi lui.i.- oJ' IMuutv viiui. ■

Shabby and Discreditable,,- ; The supporters of. the Holland Party are still telling Hie electors thai, the Ryan Government.. ieduced flic cost of ■ \ foodslnil's, particularly of meal, in Queensland. The simple truth is that meat, which has always bceu cheap in. Queensland, shows a grealer'rise in that i State during the war than'.in any other part of the Commonwealth. The Labour Government, moreover, showed itself ! ■ to be neither honest; nor sportsmanlike j ill dealing, willi meat. It .ooiuniandeered ■ ' meat I rom the larmers at less than the mark-el: rates tor ' sale in- Mm ; Male shops ami at the same lime took ' 'nil nrice for meal sold of!" Ihe Slate ; farms. .Anticipating the Commonwealth. ! I'OW'niiiiPiil s coimnnmlnor of Dip surplus men I- siocks on behalf of (ho Imperial ; («uv<TjniuMil. iho (jucondanri (jovorninont < com.mauoeei-ed the whole of the meat ' supidies held by I.lie meat freezing eonipanics at 3jd. per lb., and.when the call came for the surplus meat fo,r the Im- ; nerial Government, it actually charged the Commonwealth Government, 'noting ! for the- rmpcrifll Supplies Department. , •' ■lid. per lb. II thus made a profit of Hd. on every pound of meat it supplied * for Imperial purposes. And, beyond! this.; it: lurllier- charged (ho Commonwealth Government .-Clfl.flOll odd for stor- ,{ age. not a penny of which was 'pa'ssefl! 1 o-i to or charged by ibe computes from whom if had commandeered its stocks. The l':i"t is set .forth_in the report 'of Iho Queensland Legislative Council Select Coii'inittee on Stale Enterprise-', and is also referred to bv the Queensland Audi- •; ior-(linerai in bis report upon Ihe sains eiilei-pris.es. . The business methods' of the Queensland Government may appeal to the Labour extremists, but they look shabby and discreditable to most people. Plain Work. . / -"The counlrv faces Ibe absolute iipcpsj -j sitv, ol- work Ix'ing . oonr —simple, plain, everyday work thai has as ils object the production of bouses and clothes and food and machinery ajid fuel, and all ' the ordiiifirv necessaries of life," said Dr; ('liarles lialoii-. head-of Hip American 2ya- ■ tioiiai Service Hoard. "1 see no way of ' !!-ell im/ Ibis \vork done by Act of. Parlinment or:bv llnr programmes of social "" I'etonu or bv strikes and lock-onts, op even bv hearings before learned' conimis- '" sious. 'I'Jie only way to get coal is. to ; diir it. out..of the mine. Pood cannot he i>roduced by any conceivable change in laud tenure. . II mu'st- be grown ill .- I lie fields or bought from distant grow. 'er» bv an exchange of goods, produced by work, '['here is no substitute for sweat. ' Work is paid for by the community be- ' cause 'it. furnishes "ilie community with.' something that it wants. „.lf (ho 'worker liroduces all . of a commodity that tlm community needs he is a useful public*. • servant. aim' is entitled to ."full and fair, reward from Ibe community'-for full and fair sciN'ico rendered. If he will not iirt.duce his share of what his country needs, then someone else must take his lilac\ . And this'is line of every class of worker." The Case of the Independents. • An interesting survey of .the political situation and a lucid statement of tho position taken by candidates who in this - election are refusim:, in the interests of sound government, to commit themselves, to' any parly, was .made the other day by Mr. Pownio. Stewart, tbp well-known, member and candidate for Dunedin •: West. "The electors," be said, "must liavo ; been struck by the large number of can- ' didiites who are standing as-Independents at this election, and they will conclude that there are unusual circumstances justifying such a course. The fact is that a lar (, e n"mber of. members on both' sides of lb" House are determined to" make an effort-,-to end the -old 'shnni fin-lit' between Mr. Massey and Sir .Toseuli ; Ward. The only course by which this can bo done is foj - a sufficient number of men to be returned as Independents to ' force the position. So long as they ard returned pledged to one leader or tlm ■ other., their hands are lied.: and that i* exactly wluit prevented the fusion of •< these "two parties during this last session, although a large number of members were in favour of such a. course.The parly system is bail enough at anr time, but where it ex'sts it should aft least be based on real differences in political convictions, and not merely on < personal nreferenco for one leader or tho other. Until the artificial barriers between the 1 two parties are broken down Xew Zealand will not get th n best. .Administration possible, and will run tho risk of being to the thvce-nartr Bvstem- nnnpepssarilv. Mv hope is,to seo a strong National Party formctl. comprisinir not' movelv iho best olpuiful* of ilifl Poform and bui also n 'strong section of Labour. Thero is-no'direct renresentatiye of Lab our in the nresenl. Cabinet.-aiid at » lime when industrial problems are sf pressin" a nort folio should be held m some iiuthorifaitve T.abour ronresenl» ; ■. live. T do not think the nubile wit conclude that the 'Independents art standing as such merely to see bpw the eat-inmps.' On the contrary,.-1 hey an sin ndimr in that way in order to com pelthe political cats to jump instead ot sit. ting on oiinosile sides of the fence spitling at ca'ch. other." The Desire for Change. •\ detailed explanation of liis" attitude in' regard to a vote of no-confidenee was , given" the other evening by Mr. G -I. ■ Anderson. Reform candidate and sitting ' member for Matanra. He said lie alwavß, voted on such occasions, as he dirt . not believe in speaking out of the lob- : hies. ' lie would vote against Labour. •Wiii. it. was not the least likely that ilie whole of Sir Joseph Ward's platform, • would be carried out, and-he-could see no reason why he should support him. A few of them were working for the fusion of the best' elements in. tho lie- . form and Liberal parties, and it was ouito likely that the Moderate Labour ! Partv would join too. If such a-party were formed, be would support' it and ■ work with.it- If. forced to accept the same old party lilies, he saw no', reason why he should not vote as ho had dono all along, with the Prime' Minister. Ho wantvd them to understand distinctly that if such a fusion could be brought, about he would support it. He could see no I'cason why they should not ba.nd together for the good ot the country, and put their private interests on one hand. (Loud applause.) Dr. ;Thacllcr Explains. One of the membeis of'the' Liberal 'Party who seems to be a■ 'bit'"'doubtful about -the company' he is keeping is Br. Thaeker. When a <|u<wtioji of' Liberal I'esponsibility was laiscd al; bis meeting on Tuesday evening he replied, according to the Chrisleburcb "Press":— l)nn't bolliev about the LiberaK Don t bather about tho Reformers. You aro to-night listening to Dr. Tlnscker. 110 sits just across the allev-woy trom Jiiodelato'Labour, from my friend Mr. \ oitcn. ■ Voice: lie is a'Liberal. , llr. Tluicker: Ite is a bi'ilu';'!- Do t mc-s him up with the liberals. 1) n l)r r ri*ncki*r is thai «" ,!t he takes bis'own course. ' You ought, to K The■ •'•Lvtlellon .Times" report gives » j slightly dilfercnt version ol wb-'t l)r----,'''"lilij'l't 1 , .011.cr...ab0ul T.iherajs I^li e ' . bout anyone. \on arejkslemng ■ Tbaeker. lie is a (..Ivral: W.s a ,| ,-a'l Liberal, and sits just ..oyr lha ; from M\ '- 1 '" = Labour member. 1 mi I me-s nie-'iin with llJki l,il,eral-. Dr. I hacker lak.'s Ills ov% uiwl i-oii oiuilll !o kilOW that,'. « . -

A Vigorous Defender,

Mi. W. E. Devereus, the Reform candidate for Riccarton, vigorously defends the Govirument against unfair criti- • ci6m. ' It was alleged, he remarked the other evening, that the Massey Government was not treating the r;(iurncd 6oldiers fairly. As a matter of fact, ivith the gratuities, pensions, etc.. New Zealand's soldiers were being better treatod (than '•those of- any other part of the 'world. What had Sir Joseph Ward, who had moved to give some in gratuities, done aftyr tho South African war? He had given tlie soldiers «£5 witlh a note, the speaker believed, "noi to spend it all at once." Sir Joseph Ward now, on tlii eve of an election, was ready to buy himself into power .it any, price, even thab of sending the country into bankruptcy: It, was also alleged against " Mr. Massey that he was in league with the capitalists, Instead of dhat being so, li? had succeeded in bringing about most humane legislation in regard to the Mortgages Extension Act, by means of the extension of the moratorium. ■ ■■■ ■ - Mr. Isitt's Indiscretion. The Liberals who are eulogising Mr. Isitt must have overlooked a passage in his speech which amounts to a denial of the most sacred article in the creed of Wardist Liberalism. Now, what distinguishes Sir Joseph Ward from, all other politicians is his repute as a wizard. He had a Tecipe, which he disclosed to nobody, for settling tho 1913 strike in two days; he has a housing scheme based on' the principle, recently discovered by him, that you can make money out of selling shillings for sixpence apiece; he had a plan (still wrapped in mystery) for reducing the cost of living. ' He is. in fact, tho' complete Maskelyne .in politics. And Mr: Isitt, knowing nil this, was foolish enough to say on' Tuesday night, in sneaking, of the burdens imposed upon the country ' by the war: "There was no magjc way ■ out of the difficulty, and anyone who would try to persuade them that there was, was either a very sillv person, or thought his audience was." That is what Mr. Isitt thinks about Sir Joseph —a very rude thing to think about any ■ wizard.—Christchurch "Press." The-"Old" Party. ' ' Mr.-J. B. Hamilton, who is opposing Sir Joseph Ward in A warn,- said at his opfejiing meeting that he had not had any intention of contesting the seat until ' recently. But a great many peoplo had declared in Awarua that they were not prepared to record their votes to return &e old Liberal Party. The oM Liberal I'arty had enjoyed a term of office during long years of prosperity, holding the 1 reinf> of office wliep the country was iu a flourishing condition. That was eight ; . years ago when the party had had the best of opportunities. yet,:- when the present leader of the Opposition had taken .office it was with 40 of a majority which was Subsequently, reduced to a minority. There were certainly many ... people throughout the country holding the opinion that the time.had come for' the younger men of the Dominion to he given an opportunity to shape the destinies of the country, and that the time was past for the older men to tang to ' their offices until old age forced a retirement. v Strengthening His Position, "It would appear that the Prime Minister is strengthening; his position as . he goes," fays, the Christchurch "Sun/" "So far, in his tour of the electorates, he has met with a cordial reception What is more to the point, he seems *to be persuading his audiences of the Government's bona fides. That would have been almost impossible when the session started. Apparently Mr. Massey has learned the lessons taught by the war, and is applying them to his own politics, i His'showing before-the House was unexpectedly effective. Suddenly thrown back on his own resources, he responded to tho test like a strong man, . , . In a word, he is talking and atting liko a ■leader whom the country can safely trust." Fallen from Grace, "W'6 do not suggest that either Mr. Massoy or his party has miraculously appropriated all the political virtues,' 1 adds the "Sun." "But we do say that Mr. Massey shines by comparison with Sir Joseph Ward. While the former has added several cubits to his political (ttature/the Liberal chief has fallen from grace. Just when the country (Labour deluded) and some of Mr. Massey's following even were prepared to accept Sir Joseph Ward, he blundered, and blundered egregiously.' He showed himself to be less a statesman and a potential Prime Minister than an opportunist, -and a clumsy one at that. , And ho has failed -. to dissipate that impression since he took the platform. Will anybody with a working knowledge of the subject acclaim Sir Joseph as a genius of finance? Who believes sincerely in his ability to provide an unlimited number of homes fs'there anyone not blinded by party bias,who is relying «n his promise' to>,redu;e taxation and at the same time spend millions on nationalisation schemes and developmental works?" The "Remarkable Prospect." \ The system of sinking funds in conx}'" 1 Zealand war loans is the subject of ..this glowing but involved tribute from a Liberal .organ to the Opposition leader :~ To extinguish the public debt in tb years, there requires to bo in-* . vested, now .£140,076 at M Hi. 3d. compound interest, and this has been done. The money eo invested is loaned meantime to settlers, local bodies, etc,, and the State ' carried on. A double purpose is served thereby, and thanks. to Sir Joseph Ward's wise legislation, a remarkable prospect is ahead of New Zealand—for it is unique throughout the world; the solvency of the Dominion is beyond' question—a position entirely dhe to the Liberal legislation enacted under the direction of ' the present Liberal leader. Just, what the "remarkable prospect" is is not explained. The write? of the sentences quoted can hardly ! believe that New Zealand can extinguish its Liiblic debt in 75 years, by investing ,£140,076 a year while at the samte timo -borrowing additional millions each year. The sinking funds, which have been built up by the Reformers as well as the Liberals, mn.y' bo very useful, but they won't extinguish the public debt until 75 years after the Dominion stops borrowing. _ Sir Joseph Ward made it very clear in Jiis manifesto that he did not intend to stop borrowing. His idea was to increase borrowing. The Antithesis of Democracy. Speaking at Wanganui,' Mr. W. A. Veitch said lie was'a Labour man, hut ; he definitely refused to sign the Labour pledge. If he did that, he not only bound himself to' follow the platform, but also to record his vote in.obedionce to the decision of the party ■ caucus. There was, in his opinion, nothing so undemocratic as any group of m»n asBuming the right to control (he principles and the conscience of anv renresentativo of tlie people. His re«'nonsibility, he asserted, was to the people who returned him, and he refusal to le controlled by anyone but his own consti- . tuents. Control by a group was th* essence of intrigue and the very antithesis of democncy. If? "If the Labour man got 10 votes, the KfforW 5. and he himself 11 ho would ffet in though he was really representing A minority." This surprisingly modest illustration of the weakness of the existing voting system by the member for Hutt will no doubt encourage the supporters of the Labour candidate in Peton'e. and correspondingly discourage' Mr. Bishworth. A good many' people sewn to hold the opinion -suggested by Mr. Wilford's fiuures that the finish between the two leading candidates will lie close, but that it will not be Mr. Wilford who lop, nor the Labour; man who. will lx* in ''second place. The'fact that Mr. Wilford avoidetf opening his camMien at Petono is in Labour di'des regarded as very significant. Awkward auestions are said to bo awaiting him there.