THE GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 65, 10 December 1919, Page 7

THE GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE

PRIME MINISTER IN THE NORTH ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME AT AUCKLAND NEWS, NOTES,'AND COMMENTS

Loyalists Please Note. "The capitalist Press blames tho Bolsheviks for (lie present slate of Russia," says the "Maorilaml AYorkor." "This is, of course, ridiculous. It is like blaming fho worm for turning. The Bolsheviks aro not angels doubtless; they aro the products of the old regime. • 'L'lic old 'regime made thorn what they are. It is not- to be expected that the maddened Russian workers, faccd bv foes within and without, should act like Tolstoyan Christians. Doubtless flunks are happening in the heat of civil war that aro deplorable—but again wc say: Behold the fruits of Tsarism, of despotism, and their offspring, militarism and capitalism! Tho Bolsheviks are accused of being: class usurpers—what were the Tsar and his minions? What are the bourgeoisie of Europe and Britain but class usurpers? If the Soviet form of government estal> lishes itself there is no doubt it will bo a vast improvement on that relic of feudalism, the Mother of Parliaments."

\Vhat is th" logic of the "Wed" argument? The "Tsar and his minions' 1 were "class usunx'rs," and so got what they deserved. Yon lcuow what that was. 'I'lie bourgeoisie of Britain are "class usurpers," therefore they dc-serve the same treatment. Down 'with the House of Commons; up with the Soviet. Will our country friends who do not see the official orsron of the Holland party note this? These are the men who want to vote out the Massev Government. Moral: Every loyal Britisher should vote to strengthen the Massey Government.

Bludgeon. Argument. 1 "iy says Mr. 'J'. Bloodworth, Labour - candidate for Parn?li, "Labour is prevented from expressing: itself politically and constitutionally, then tlio time is raining when Labour will express itself in t-ove other wuy. It' that happens tilien the niiddJs-cluss will suffer most and longest. There is no political hope for the middle class except through the Labour Party."

More Crimson Propaganda. One of the idols of the "Tied" extremists is Bosa Luxemburg, who wrote in November, 11118: "The civil war which they aro seeking in apprehensive anxiety to eliminate from tho (Russian) Revolution, does not admit of elimination. The civil war is only another name for class war, and the idea of introducing Socialism without class war by a Parliamentary majority revolution is a ridiculous plebeian illusion . . . "What, then, is to bo gained by this cowardly detour of the Constituent Assembly? Time and strength are dissipated, and lost in arguments between woif and lam'b, whose ob- 1 jeet is to cheat our Socialistic aims.

. . . . The symbol of tho new Socialistic order of society, is ... . the Workers' Parliament and the representation of the urban and rural proletariat. . The Constituent Assembly is a superannuated heirloom of bourgeois revolutions. a litis!; without contents, a relic from the era nf plebeian illusions about a 'united people.'"

The Constituent Assembly was the elected "Parliament, which the Bolsheviks promised to give Russia. They have not kept tho promise. They prefer a "Bed" autocracy.

Lookina Elue for Mr. Wilford. A Hutt elector wants to know the polling at the different booths in the electorate at the last general election, presumably with a view lo estimating his candidate's chances of success. Here they are.— Wilford. Samuel. Peloiio 2088 1(172 l/ower Hull 1)151 HOT Xoiokoro TiG 33 Muritai 112, 192 Wainui-o-mata 18 , r i7 Kpuni 51 111 Blnckbridge 79 87 Taita fiC m Siiverstreniu 03 7.'! Trent ham til! 53 AVnllacevillo 12 57 Vpper iliilt 271 208 Kaitoke 29 2(1 Totals 3977 3031 ' H will be .seen that Mr. Wilford luid small majorities at Kaitoke, Lower Hutt, and Trenthain, and a majority of over 1000 at Petone.-. Everywhere else tho Eeform candidate beat him. Kaitoke and Tipper Hutt are not now in the electorate. and the Labour candidate will eertainlv cut off his Petone majority. Arid to this the fact, that Mr. Rishworih will eertainlv noil much better than Mr Samuel at the Lower Hutt, indeed his maioritv there will be a very large one, and Mr. Wilford's chances of re-olection ionic blue indeed. As a matter of fact, there are shrewd juoges 'who consider that the tide of feeling in Petone, _ as elscwhen-. has turned so strongly against the silT.in<r member that the real struggle on election de.v may rest between Mr, I,'Miworlh and the Labour candidate. Mr. Prilehard. )lr. Rishworih certainly has "made good."

Th(! Waitomo Seat. Mr. ("I. nilinlt. who was nno of the Hi roe candidates nominated' for the "Waitomo seat, is standing in ilio Laljour interest.

The. Lost Legion. ' "Asia mat Ipr of fnot. between the Liberals and Hip Iteforniers tli?ro is not very much dilferenco of opinion." declared' l'r. A. k". "Newman, lieforni candidate for Hie Wellington East seat, at his meeting at I'osencalh lasl night. "My mvii opinion is Ilvat nut of .this general election there will como 'I wet parlies. The Liberal Parly wili probably break up. Pail of il will go I" Reform and the othr-p part will go ' 11 l.aboui\ The Liberal Parly me always beaslinv of .what' Ihoy did. At one they bad great leaiieiv like .'olin Balls', nee, Si'dihni. Sir ''ohn M'h'ciii'.ic, and others bul the bo>! part of III" Liberal Parly is underground -Ihey have gone lo a belter pbire. Tim (iiosciil leaders are very iii--I'erior, and <hnT hold Ihp opinion of the piihlie very nnirh. Tb?y dnn't tf eem to have any active tenders at all. No parly can live on its past."

Reform Kepi Its Promises. One of Ihp ehirgcs against Iho, tiovcrnHK'iil is Dial il lias not I'ullilled ils programme of 11111. Thai: vjpw is mil held by -Mr. .1. T. Paul, president (if t.Jio Labour l'arly. These arc his own words fullered on July 'ill. I!)Hi):- -"The Reform Parly carried oul. ils platform as i( was put"'forward. Thai is Hip marvellous thing alioul tho lieform Party. Tim .Tieform Parly is a parly to which 1 am absolutely opposed. IttiL it put that platform bcfoio ilie people of this country, and during ils short existence il carried thai platform into legislative efl'ecl, ]\lany ol Hi;' planks of Die platform 1 am absolutely opposed to, bul there is Ihe jios'ilion liial we cannot slml our eyes to— t'lint I his party defeated the Liberal Party and nut il.s legislative proposals on the Statute Book."

Of course. Iliis was 111)1 said ill eloe--1 ion lime. To-day I lie Wardisls and the extremists are saying (|iiilp (hp opposite. But the fads .-.peak fur themselves.

"A Political Trick," "Wo do not know ivliy the Press A£6(W ciation allowed itself to Ijo used for the circulation of the Ashburton story re« garding what Mr. H. M. Joues says Mr. Howard Elliott said to him in conncctioa with an alleged proposal that Mr. Jones should retire from tho contest for the Ashburton iseat (remarks tho (Jliristchurch ".Press"). What—if anything— took place between these two peopls thexj may explain. What wo aro concerned about is tho misuse of tho Press Association to circulate a story wheh has for its object only the prejudicing of "tho Eeform Party. Fortunately, tho Prime Minister has been ablo to deal promptly with the matter.' Ho regards the affair as a political trick, and that it is a trick is clear from the insinua* tion made by Mr. Jones in his "wonder as to who was responsible for tlieso easy entrances into tho Upper House."This is such a seriously improper suw gestion that it is difficult not to believe that even responsible persons ou tho. Liberal side will condemn it."

"God Save the Kinq"! When the Labour candidate for Franklin, Mr. E. Piggott. addressed the electors at Papal,ura on Friday evening last, interjections were fairly frequent during the early part of llie speech, ami i\t the conclusion the following vesolu--1 i«n was earned:—"We citizens of Papafcura_ declare our loyalty to King and llmpire. and overv sympathy for Labour iy its lcgi'.iic.ate aims, but decline to be represented by one: who would support I ho parly led by .Mr. 11. i:. Holland, whom we deem disloyal to his King and country, and the. brave soldiers who left Xcw Zealand to lielit for ns." An amendment to the elVect that M.r. .Piggotl be thanked for his address was lost. On thci original resolution being put lo Iho meeting, those in favour stood un and sang "(led Save the King." 'Iho motion was carried bv a large majorilv. 11 is these gratifying little episodes that convince 1 he nubile Hint men of the Holland Ivpe are merely leni|Nirary hlolches on, the nolilical landscape of "God's Own Country." i

Jlr. Blood worth must at.leasfi be com. . plimented for putting- into plain words | what his fellow-extremists—Mjssrs. 'Holi ; laud, Eraser, and company—have heeiv atv ! considerable pains lo camouflage. ;

A Practically-minded Miner. Mr. D. Q. O'Brien, the miners' eandt" ! date for IJtiller, who has returned to the [ mines after serving his country at tha ! .war, does not believe in nationalising tha ' mines. "The nationalisation of coal mines is a plunk in the Liberal Party's : platform, but," ho says, "on this <iueslieu I will support it only on a no-con-, j licence motion, as 1 think it would not j ho advantageous to the worker or tlio ; people as a whole for the State to take • over existing coal mines held by private ' companies."

Boomerang Philosophy. The burden of these "free'' thins) that the vote-hunters arc perpetually promising must in the long run (saya Ihp/'Manawatii Times," a Liberal jqurnal) fall on the industrious and ! tho thrifty, and it is the industrious, thrifty, and responsible citizens who KhouW striJcc out tlio name of the spendthrift promise-maker, because it is lie who ia encouraging the leaning habit and .help-, ing to bring about the very perils which bo affects to deplore.

It is sad, but true, that whenever a, journalistic supporter of the Liberal cause endeavours to sound a lofty nolo it invariably treads on the corns of tha. Wardists.

A Jolt for the Wizard. Replying to a (luestiou a? to whelhes lie was in favour of paying the Leadei' of the Opposition a salary U3 well as an lioiiorarimn, Mr. Sicley (Liberal) said, tha oilier night, that lie was not prepared to suggest such a proposition. It wag sometimes difficult to know who was the I,wider of the Opposition.

It's a hard, cruel, unkind world, Sifl Joseph.

The Wizard's Bank. ' " "His (Sir Joseph Ward's) State LanK suggestion was based on the idea of pureluding the Bank of Now Zealand, and immediately receiving from it 'an annual revenue of t Cs(Jfl,oofl a year.' As wo pointed out (observes the Chritstchurch: "Press") I the bank, to do this, would have to yield several hundred thousand: pounds more profits than it did last year, and nobody of any intolligenco would believo that it could do it under Scale management'. To argue, as Sir, Joseph docs, that because tho Stale Bank; of I'rancc, in a period of unexampled financial stress, was of great value to the State, the Bank of New Zealand run as-n State Bank in time of pence would immediately yield an annual profit of half a million, is an attempt to throw cluut in tho eyes of the electors, and wo will not pay the Leader of the Opposi-. lion the poor compliment of assuming that ho does not know it."

But DOES ho know it? People aro beginning to wonder whether the Wizard is only just a wizard.

Labour, But Not Liberty. When asked what hardship it would bs for a young man In undergo military training .Mr. Briudle, who .is conlftsting Gisboruo as a Labour candidate, iaid that tlm only hardship would bo flip, taking away of tho individuality of the man, bccauic wlien ho came under military discipline ho must not think, he must niorely obey. That was ;l hardship Ilia Labour Party did not stand for. And. ■ yei (observes I lie Auckland ".Herald") - f'uw aptly it describes tho condition of tho political aspirant who wgjis tha pledge of the .Labour Party and adopts its platform. He must not think, lia,,. mu.it. merely obey I lie iviueus, whether bp accepts its decision or thinks- otherwise. Anybody w'lio doubts that need 'i only recall the history of the present) ; parl.v and its altitude! toward Mr. Veite.li, becauso ha thought, and voted, instead ol obeying, when it was a matter of opposing or supporting tho .Military Pervice Act. If any further evidenco worn wauled Mr. Walker, who is again standing for Duuedin 'A'ortb, furnishes it< Answering a, question, be said:—"My first regard must bo to tho political platform. Every man returned as tho official Labour candidate must comply with tho requirements of tho n]atfonn< .Vny request made to mo as a member, s.) long <w it is in harmony with that ■ piallorm, will have my support."

No Taihoa for liirn. Mr. W. 11. Lysnar, who is contesting the Oisbome seat as an Independent Ueform candidate, says that lie is going into Parliament to see Umt trusts, profiteers, and high-living costs are properly dealt villi. "I am only going: to teach members of Parliament simple facts so that they will know what to do," he said nl: a meeting. "I am not going into Parliament for n long time. Just get certain things done and then out I come. 1 liavo many :uueh too important matters to do to stay vhcro for tver."

ill'. Lysnar has n breezy and unconventional style, and the electors of Gisborne are showing signs of a desire to get things done. Tliey are rather tired of tlio' taihoa attitude of tlio genial Sir James Carroll. Still Hair-Splitting. Sir Joseph Want is still telling H'fl country that it should have nothing 1° do with a "local navy." Ho says in. the same breath that his policv in tins respect has been vindicated by Lord Jel--1 nLie's leport. What Lord Jellicoe recommended was Ihe establishment ol «i New Zealand Squadron, to be stationed norinallv' in Xew Zealand waters but fnrmiii" a part of a British Pacific I'loot The squadron would l;o manned and maintained I>v ,% J>yM«>u]d lie a unit ot Iho Imperial' Fitet in tuuo ef war.Lord Jellieoo also recommended that Xcw Zealand should aeqiij'ro wareraff for harlwur defence. If Sir Joseph Ward approves of that scheme. his need not (rouble to condemn o-bogey "local navy." Xubody has advocated' anything n'.orc local than Lord Jellicoo proposes.