THE GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 60, 4 December 1919, Page 7

THE GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE

HOLLAND SNUBBED AT MUECHISON PATRIOTIC CITIZENS LEAVE THE MEETING IN A BODY NEWS, NOTES, AND COMMENTS

Fair Plav. He would be fair am', give credit to an uDDonent, "s tho lion. Mr Gutjirio lmrl tried .to do the right thing in regard to suppressing aggregation.—Mr. \V. .T. Dickie (Opposition) at Aishburton. Which is a Rood oeal more than most nf the Liberal candidates have doDe.

Remember tho Somme! If for no other reason than to be worthv of tho men who remain on the hillsides bv tho Somme, every loyal candidate (savs tho Dunedin "S;ar") should be given preference over t'Jie candidates who fieht, and have always fought, only for their own hand, or for the interests of an alien-spirited party lea by men who slorv in the fact that they have broken stones at Lvttclton as a reword for rank sedition and poisonous disloyalty.

A Stagnating Infiuenco. It lias been suggested that the fact that the majority of the Reform members have so far represented North Island seats and tho rapid progress that has been made by that portion of the Dominion in recent years constitute a case of cause and effect. This argument, it is claimed, is strengthened by tho further fact' that Canterbury has been for manv vears a Liberal stronghold', and that it has progressed far more slowly than the North Island—another instance, if. is claimed, of cause and effect. In brief, the North is progressive because it is ileform: Canterbury is comparatively uon-nroEressive, if not actually retrogressive. because it is Liberal. Or, to put it another way, tho type of men who vote Refurni are keen and'energetic in advancing the welfare of their district and orovince; tho typo who vote Liberal have caught the Liberal habit of always dwelling on "the glorious past" and being satisfiefl with memories rather than insnired with confident hopes — Christchurch "Press."

Here Is a Gem. It ciuno from Mr. H. 0. Browne at his Kelbnrn meeting last night. Ho said, with proper indignation, that he had noted from southern papers that in one constituency where there was a Reformer and a Liberal standing, with every chance of tho Liberal winning, a Labour man camo out to split the votes. "And who do you think the Labour man was?" askod Mr. Brown. "It was the editor of the (Conservative Tory paper!" This is very funny. In -Wellington North, where a Reform and a Labour candidate wero contesting the seat with every chance of Reform winning, a Liberal candidate came out to split the votes. And who do you thiulc it was? It was Mr. H. 0. Browne, an ex-Liberal newspaper man and Sir Joseph Ward's private secretary. Will Mr. H. 0. Browne, who waxes indignant about vpii:-splittiiig in tho south, tell Mr. 11. 0. Browne what he really thinks of himself for , vote-splitting in Wellington North? But perhaps this can be left to the electors of Wellington North on December 17.

A "Liberal" Advertisement. The Cliristchurch "Press," investigating Sir Joseph Ward's "plan" for providing thousands of brand now houses for ii rental of ,10s. Kd- a week, the halfguinea including tlw instalments of purchase money, says"The Liberal Party's advertisement relfiti.*o to this scheme is delightfully naiv?. "J'he Heform Government,' it: says, 'in its efforts to produco a scheme likely to win votes, has been able to think of nothing better than the old Liberal measure, the Workers' Dwellings Act, docked out with new frills.' But Sir Joseph Ward, as an old hand at bidding for votes, has thought of something much better than bhat as 'a scheme likely to catch votes,' as tho advertisement goes 011 to explain. The very candid admission by tho Liberal Parly that so far as it is concerned the housing question is only something to bo exploited for votecatching purposes is worth noting, although we arc. bound to say that everybody knows that Sir Joseph's numerous 'plans' are just so many gold-bricks."

Sheaves of Promises. "It is necessary at this stage pf out history," said the Liberal candidate, II r. Browne, last evening, "that we should have constructive statesmanship. We are in a great building-up age. and it is no use any party going before the electors with a mere sheaf of promises, becauso the country will not allow it."

Precisely. But Mr. Browne did not say what leader it was who carries the biggest sheaf of promises. Indeed, he accused Mr. Massev of having no policy, meaning, possibly, that he had not promised enough.

Women "Barrackers" at Meetings. "Tliero in something higher for tho women of New Zealand than to bo barrackers at public meetings." said Mr. P. Pirani at the Alexandra Hall yesterday afternoon. The candidate had been saying that if the women of New .Zealand knew what tliny and their children were suffering on account of industrial inelliciencv and tho "go-slow" policy, they would not be countenancing the interruption of public meetinrn by: Ln'bour extremists. "T)iis rowdyism at public meetings is an awful phase of public life in Now Zealand." added Mr. Pirani. "It is a phase that will bo buried out of sight on December 17."

Fusion of the Best. Mr. J. Craigie, who wit in tho last Parliament as a Liberal, is contesting the Timaru seat this election os an Independent. He told the Timaru electors that what he 'would like to ?ee was a new Government formed of mwnbws. of Ixith side* of the Houfp, with Moderate Labour al?fl represented in the Calrnet. There was no good reason why the Government of tho country should not be composed of the best oualified men irom both sides of tho Houso. Were this done it would lo a very kiree extent reduce, if it would not altogether do away with, the wasteful party bickerings of ihe nasi. This was what lie h:ippd for, anil "lie was sure that the people of the TJomiirou were getting tired of this fight for individuals, when the're was, as <i matter of fact,' so little between them iu the matter of policies.

A Seaside Drive. \t his meeting at Seatoun last night Mr Wright advocated the formation of n road from Lyall Bay to Seatoun along the i-ea shore. He said when made it would be one of tho most beautiful drives in Ihe Dominion.

Unhonoured and Unsung. Sir Joseph Ward told his constituents the other day that "a great many of the Bills passed lust session h->;l Wen prepared by the Liberal Ministers when in the Coalition (lovernnieili.'yet when they came before the House their names had been taken off and the names of other Ministers put oi\." What on earth did he expect to happen to tin; Bills he and his collcagutv; had in hand when he broke up the National Government ? Somebody had to finish tho work that, the Liberals had left half done. Thero is plenty of evidence, by the way, that (tee "Liberal" required a great deal of improving beforo they wore ready for tho Houso.

The Optimist. "If optimism, oiid optimism only, could decide the issue, then Mr. T. J. Ryan is already Commonwealth Prime Minister, Mr. Hiram Hunter member for Clinstchurch East, and Sir Joseph Ward the greatest economic authority under heaven (says the Christehurch "Sun"). With euch people optimism is nothing more than burying ono'a head .in the sand, ostrich fashion, in order to be able to deny tho appearanca of the storm clouds of defeat above tho horizon. This fatalistic nonsense _is made to serve as a bulwark against the sternest of realities."

Happily tho people do not need to accept these public men at their ■ own valuation.

Coal and Politics, p TJie Christchurch City Council, which includes a large group of Labour members, lias decided to dose its municipal coai department. The Labour councillors, who include a couple of the official Labour candidates for Parliamentary'seats, stated that if the council "cut out the profiteers" by buying and celling coal on its own account, the consumers would cease to bo troubled by short supplies and high prices. They have since learned what other people knew from the start, that the sole remedy for tho shortage of coal is increased production. If the miners/ following the go-slow policy, will not dig tho coal, tho people cannot burn it. Thcra is no getting away from that plain fact.

Ross-Pink and Bright Red. The appearance of Mr. Eyan in Federal polities has been tho signal for attempts to prevent the opponents of extreme Labour speaking at public meetings. Supporters of Mr. Hughes have been howled down in Sydney and Melbourne. Mr. Ryan lias stated that he is not responsible for the conduct of his hoodlum supporters, but, as the Christchurch "Sun" suggests, "he cannot dissociate himself from this example of mob rule any more than the local Rose-Pinks can fairly dissociate themselves from flaring Reds like Messrs. Holland, Sempie, and Fraser. And this moral must not 1m overlooked: Mob rule at election meetings is as likely as not to develop into mob rule in Parliament should the Socialists carry the day. (This is not a hasty generalisation founded on prejudice. As experience has shown, Labour Governments are not their own masters. Wherever Labour has succeeded in reaching tho Treasury, benches, its Ministers havo had to do what tho Trades Hall-junta told them."

Sorry They Spoke. •• "It appears," says tho "Press," "that although the Liberals precipitated a party fight at this election by refusing an overture for fusion, there are many features of it they do not relish. They are irritated because Mr. Massey has not consulted them as to where and how lie would place his candidates; they feol sore because he will not consent •to vacate the ring and leave the' upholders of Liberalism to fight a battle with their own shadows alnd win a glorious victory."

An Easy Way. Mr. H. Oakley Browne's recipe f° r reducing tho cost of living: "Wo must break down monopolies; we must punish drastically profiteering; taxation must be increased as for as tho upper levels of income are concerned, nnd as far as death duties 011 the higher scale are -concerned, and finally it is absolutely necessary that we should restrict note circulation, and I think that tho only way this can be done is by having in this count,ry a State bank."

'Of course higher death duties and more income tax would at once reduce the price of bread and boots, and a host ot' things. In Australia tho Commonwealth Bank has been printing notes for a good few years without getting down the value of anything except State bank notes.

All Very Fine and Large. Mr. J. T. Paul, tlie Labour candidate for Dunedm-iSouili—te-tlip-president-cf the New -Zealand-Labour -Party, —tho —

political,.organisation. at. presenLcontrol-., le<L_by j»c,..extremists... Jlo .stated in Dunedin on Monday" thai lie "hoped to take up a now attitude in politics—one of absolute frankness as between the representative and tho electors."

Well, Mr. Paul might make a start by answering jv few simple questions. Does ho believe that the coal miners, having signed an agreement to work for certain wages and refer all disputes to a disputes committee,- did the -right thins wlhen they violated tilie agreement, forced a quarrel with the employers, and adopted tho "go-slow"'policy? Does ho think that Mr. P. C. Webb, ex-Labour M.P., did the right thing when 110 refused U> wear tho King's uniform? .Does lie believe that "Bolshevism" is only another name for Socialism"?

Fair Pay for the Nurses. "A. nurse should not receive a lower wago than a labourer," said Mr. F. Piraui at tho Alexandra Hall yesterday. "Tho nurse has at least a littlo more knowledge, a littlo moro training', and a littlo more energy than many of tho men who are receiving double a nurse's wages."

Mr. Pirani and the P.P.A. "Is (hero any trutih in the statement that you are being supported by tho Protestant Political Association? was a iiuestiou put to Mr. I'. Pirani at Iris mtviintt .ve.sai'day. "I hope I will bo supported by a majority of the electors," replied the candidate. "'J'lio P.P.A. sent me some questions ami I unsirercd them in tlio same manner as I would answer o.t a public meeting. I don't know if they were satisfied, but they ihavc not. communiciUcd with me siuce.' J Hsd "Justice."

Labour candidates have been saying that tlio courts of justice "must bo treed of political influence." They c-an-nol quote a ease in support of their implied suggestion that the Judges and Magistrates are subject to political iujluonce And what do they thiuk about tlio bolshevik administration of justice a Kussia, as. described by tlio Unite* States l'ortHgn 'Offide?:,' . 4?V 0 / the 1 esta.ljiished courts and judicial institutions have been abolished, and in their place have boon created revolutionary tribunals. Under the dictatorship these new 'judicial tribunals disregard all laws that "contradict the revolutionary conception of right." In actual operation these revolutionary tribunals have tried and condemned men in their nbsciiop. No right to iwil is recognised, and the penally imposed depends hugely upon tlio caprice of the court. The death penalty, tlio rc-estaljlislinieiit ot which under (lie Provisional Government was vociferously denounced by the iiolsheviki, has been invoked for all sorts of crime and misdemeanour. In fact, the procedure in the courts is a mere travesty on justice and most summary in its nature. Bolshevism is "only another name for Socialism," according to t the "Maoriland Worker," and Socialism-is.the admitted goal of the Labour extremists. x