THE GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 53, 26 November 1919, Page 7

THE GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE

PRIME MINISTER AT TEMUKA LIVELY MEETINGS AT AUCKLAND NEWS NOTES AND COMMENTS

Echo of the British Elections. , i The "Otago Daily Times," referring to a statement by Mr. J. T. Paul about the increased support which tho Labour \ Party lino' received in the constituencies } of Great Britain, says: "He (Mr. Paul) ■ seems to h<vc omitted to mention Hie J fact that the Independent Laboir Party : completely lost its representation in the < House of Commons as the result of tho genera! election last year. And it was ; witli? tho policy of the Independent Labour Party—the party in which Mr. Raiusov Macdonald and Mr. Snowdon were tho shining lights—that the Now ' Zealand Labour Party identified itself. Tlio Labour members at Home who fousiht asainst national servico at a time when every physically fit man Was reauired in the Army in oro'er that tho nation and the Empire might preserve thyi.- security, and who associated themselves with i'ib proposal to seek a peace by negotiation tit a thus when peace meant, tho defeat of the Allies, wero one and .ill. contemptuously rejected by tho British electors at the polls." Orjanised Rowdyism. 'Tho ptiblie cannot fail to have been struck bv the fact," says the "Otago Dailv Times," "that the electoral campaign, although it can hardly be said to , have fairlv begurf as yet, has been marked in different centres by an apparently organised effort to prevent canaidateswho arc not'standing in tho interests of tho .Labour Party from making themselves heard As tho majority of tho electors throughout the-country are dependent upon the newspaper reports of iMe'iinpe for their acquaintance with the candidates' views they are personally affected bv the employment of tactics whicn are directed to the object of breaking up political meetings. Thy cannot therefore lie expected to view without indignation the evidence, provideo: from various quarters, of a' determination to hoivl cardiuates down and to deny theui tie opportunity of corducting their meetings in tiiwr own way." The Labour extremists (iri> very fond of talking about "freedom of speeoh." They consider th't thev nught to be allowed to talk sedition and revolution at will. But aimaivntiv tliey believe that those opposed to thoir peoulinr views ought not to iv allowed to talk at all. They interpret "freedom" in the Bolehavik way. Extremists Idea of Freedom, i ! .. An illustration of the conception of freedom that exists in the clouded minds of individuals of the tyno which takes part in the ogaiiis'cd interruptions of the meetings of non-Labour candidates was afford- > «1 in Mr. L. M. Isitt's experience at Christchurch last week. An extract from the report of his address reads:— Mr.. Isitt: New Zealand is the freest . country in tho world. A voice: Dot.! Mr. Isitt: Tell me three countries freer. A voice: Russia. ' Mr, Isitt i Mark that answer. This man , has not the reserve of the others. Yon seo what lies behind this Labour business; not Bolshevism, but—Russia. Mark this, that 4 this man's candidate is not a free agent. He is bound hand and foot to follow in the wake- of Holland and company. This is the freest country in tho world, but you have not' got freedom to skulk while another man fights for . your wives and children. You have not ■ got freedom to enjoy the privileges of the . country and then to talk sedition against j vour own land. If you want freedom of . that kind, in God's name get out of the < country and find one more satisfactory to . you. . | Defining the Extremists, "Who are tho extremists you have j spoken about? Are they the Labour , members?" asked an elector at Dr. New- ; man's meeting last night. "Labour mem- , bers are not all extremists," replied Dr. , Newman. "Bpt thero are extremists in ■ New Zealand. There is a party that can , pull down cathedrals and cannot build , kennels." The Labour Machine. It is announced that "Mr. P.. T. Broom's candidature for the' Waitomo Beat has been withdrawn owing to section 8 of tho constitution of the New Zealand Labour Party making it compulsory for any candidate to be a member of the'party for at least six months prior to date of nomination." This is a sidelight on the sort of "freedom" thafprevails within tho:sphere of tho- Labour extremists' political machine. The con- . stitution of the Labour Party was framed to protect the caucus. The Labour member is not to be a free representative of the electors. He is to,be the 6lavo of the machine, which means in practice a small group of noisy extremists. '" . :The Profiteer Hunt. ,Dr. A. K. Newman said at Habiitai last night, that the new Board of-Trade Act, passed by Parliament last session, was going to check profiteering. It had been said that laws never made.people good, but made them more cautious. Tho penalties that had been provided for pro- ! nte'ering would have the effect of keeping down prices. The system had been tried i .'already in Britain and had shown good results. He was sure that prices would 'not,return to the old levels. A portion of the increase in the cost of living was permanent, and wages and salaries would havo to be brought up to the new level. These were all matters that would be dealt with by Parliament. A start had been made already and more could bo done next session. Cap Doesn't Fit Reform. "It would be a good thing if all candidates for Parliament could be porsunded to state definitely what they ore prepared to do to encourage immigration to New Zealand," says the Gisborne ' Herald." "This Dominion's greatest need is undoubtedly moro population. . . . Our politicians'appear to be contented to drag along in tho same, old way, depending mainly upon the natural increase to bring expansion. None of them bus conic out with a bold policy of immigration, though now is the time, if ever, to promote such a sohemc. There aro hundreds of thousands of people, nay millions, in the Old World whose conception of, sphere and-.opportunity has been enlarged by their war experiences, • and who, if proper and legitimate inducements were placed bofore them would pull up their tent pegs and migrate overseas." Tho "Herald" appears to havo overlooked tho fact that Mr. Massey and other membere of-the Reform. Government havo said emphatically that a policy of immigration is necessary, and ought to" be taken in hand as soon as tho repatriation of the soldiers is complete.. They havo made' it quite clear that they are not contont to "drag along" without making an effort to find the population required for the development of Now Zealand's resources. -Mr. Sloane Explains.' Mr. Dunbar Sloane writes in reference to a paragraph in our political notes yes.tcrdav headed "A Quaint Diagnosis": What- I did actually say was this: "Signs of unrest in the Labour world aro hcalthV signs of national growth; you show me a peoplo who are content with a glass of water and a piece of bread and cheese, and I will show you a people who can never survive. Whilst I fully recognise the many oisabilitios under which many of our' workers suffer. I am quite convinced that the remedy can only bo attained by constitutional monnsV-dircct action, strike, goslow will noveu do."

with the Rowdies, "There is no chance at all of the extremists getting into power by a majority in the new Parliament," said Dr. Newman last night. "They will not get a majority or anything approaching a majority. But if tho Huform and Litv oral Parties are nearly ever. the. extrem- ! ists may swing their weight from sido to side, and may mako things exceedingly unpleasant. I hope the extremists will not get in at nil. They seem to ; have one idea of reform, and, that is to smash up everything. They have no respect for freedom of speech. The caudidato was interrupted at once Uv Labour intorjectors, who 6aid that Labour had been "gagged" for four years, and could not be" expected to remain i silent always. Ono representative of tho extremists proceeded to declare loudly liial "a thousand newspapers" were ar- . raved against Labour. Dr. Newman said he had been told ' I that the Labour Party stood for free snoech. He was interrupted again, the noisiest intorjector announcing: "We ■; !'were gagged! for four years. We can't' bottle it ud for fifty years." The chairman made several attempts ■ to restore order, but ho was shouted down for some minutes. Tho appearance of a policeman restored quiet after a few minutes, and Dr. Newman, who explained that he had not known there was d policeman present, was able to complete his speech. He concluded with an appeal to the people who supportd law and order to record their votes on election day. Anxious years were ahead,, and New Zoalana' would require sound and careful government. A Campaign Incident, A very enthusiastic meeting of ladies desirous of furthering the candidature of. Mr. E. P. Eishworth, -the Reform .: nominee for tho Hutt seat, was held in i the Lower Hutt committee rooms yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Eishworth was unanimously voted to tho chair.. During ' \ the afternoon Mr. Eishworth told tho < meeting of nn amusing little incident ; that had occurred during the morning. A lady canvasser from Petone, raid the speaker, had made inquiries at a certain house in Bellevue Road as to vrhe- j tlicr the occupants were on the electoral roll. Upon recsiving an.nnsivor in the affirmative, the canvasser prepared to leave. Before doing so, however, tho canvasser romnrked: "You cannot do better than vote for your MayOT." Mr. Eishworth said, with a smile, that tho houso in question was his own.. More Wars. . ,; -' "Thero are people who think that the . . late war has ended all wars," said Dr. ■Nowihan at Hataitoi last night. "They aro utterly wrong. Mankind ha; always been fighting, and there is no sign that - tho nations have changed. ,Tapan has built up a huge army and a large navy. Tho United States has sent a fleet into tho Pacifte, and is fortifying' Honolulu and other Pacific bases. _ We see all around' tho world indications of future wars, and wo have to face that fact," Just How They Helped. ' Here is the record of the Parliamentary Labour Party as presented by the '.'Otago Daily Times":—"The Parliamentary Labour Party,'then four strong, fought tho Military Servico Bill at every singe. It attempted to organise opposition to the Bill throughout the country,..and had tho audacity to inform opponents of conscription in Australia,- that organised Labour in Now, Zealand was hostile to the Act.It offered no alternative to compulsory enrolment for maintaining tho strength of the division in the field. The Labour Party made no appeal for voluntary recruits and accepted no responsibility for maintaining the reinforcements. Fight-' ing men never appeared to claim its interest or sympathy. Its eulogies were reserved for those who would not fight, and its heroes and martyrs were objectors to military service. A member of the party in Parliament set a standard of personal conduct by electing to go to prison rather than servo his* country." What is Labour's Strength? "The Labour Party represents SO per cent, of tho peoplo of this country," announced an obviously earnest woman at Dr. Newman's meeting last night. If tho statement wore true, thero would • not be any election battle, worth fighting. The party that represented 80 per cent, of the electors would win every seat in the House of Representatives, and set about the establishment of its own particular millennium without any delay. But as a matter of simple fact,. Mr. Holland, who is so fond of saying "Wo of the Labour Party," and- his iin- ■' mediate supporters do not expect to win ' half tho seats or even n quarter of tho seats. They will rejoice exceedingly if they hold Vi or. 15 seats in the next Parliament. Thero arc a gwd many un- • certainties about Uio election, but thero are also some, certainties,' and ono of them is that the vote for official Labour will bo a minority vote. It suits tho purpose of the extremist "bosses" to talk as though they had all tho workers ot Now Zealand behind them, but thoy know the truth well enough. Crocodile Regrets. Tho fact that rowdyism at publio meetings is very poor political argument appears to be penetrating the minds of somo of the champions of the Holland party. The "Maoriland Worker" makes tho following remarks oh the subject: "No doubt, at times, Labour .supporters make themselves obstreperous; but this is not a habit confined to aiiy one school of political thought. It is 1 advisable, however, not to give the enemy the least ground of fact for fictitious statements, and-wo hope that LalKrar supporters will realise that their cause is too strong, and their opponents' cause too weak to need such tactics at public meetings. There is something far more important at stako than the shadowy freedom of speech Britons' enjoy under tho constitution of sham and they should show their, contempt for tho right of non-Labour jnwrators to shower' their loquacity on hospitable care." . Tho language is obscure ns well. as inolegant, but the sentences appear to contain a suggestion that Labour supporters aro not helping their causo by trying to break up public meetings. , Liberal Evolutions, Mr. Wilford says that the Liberal Party does not stand for revolutionary •processes, but for evolution. Quito so, For example it evolved quite a good system of wire-pulling in the . Publio Service. It evolved a baronet. Sometimes it merely evolved a political mirage. The Reform Government revolutionised our system of land settlement, revolutionised the control of the Public Service, and revolutionised a number of other ouilo useful things. It is suspected that presently the Reform Party will revolve over the Liberal Parly and flatten it right out. The Foreign Immigrant, "Tf foreigners want <o to™ o to N . cw Ze, L.l h'.c is plenty of room for them "said an anti-mili ans Rector * Ur Newman's meohng at Halailai, alter protesting against preparations for naHonal defence. Tho sentiment evident- ; o, lul not meet with the approval o tho electors of Hataltai Renorally. tt was. received with ft shout pi lajigMeft,