The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1910. THE FARMERS UNION PLEDGE

Horowhenua Chronicle, 29 August 1910, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1910. THE FARMERS UNION PLEDGE

luto.M time to time the question is raised us to whether or not the N'ew Zealand Farmers' Union is <a disguised hand of advocates for the 0]) p: sit'on. On occasions there have loon actions by odd branches of the ("iiioii whic*li. plainly betokened a loan ins; towards the Opposition side in politics, lint as regards the Union generally there is, we believe, a wise determination to accept as its candidates men of either party who will subscribe to the Union's freehold pledge. That aspect we hope to see evinced very clearly in this electsate whenever a call conies to the | suffrages to make their selection of a member lor the next Parliament. In the member for this electorate, .Mr AY. H. Field, the present Parliament possesses a member whose adherence to his promise to support the principles of the Farmers' Union has cost him very dear. It will be remembered that Mr Field fulfilled to the uttermost degree his faith in the freehold, by acting on Mr Massey's sido in the No-Confidence motion that was tabled in Parliament some three weeks ago. It was an unfortunate position that Mr Field was placed in by this motion; l)iit when a Government that is sound in policy upon most of the many heads of public desires neglects to conform to the most important ! requirement of the people, it is no wonder that the more courageous of the Government supporters find themselves temporarily driven into Opposition. As between the reactionary forces of Mr Massey and the progressive policy of the Ward. Government, our member, we feel sure, stands solidly for Sir Joseph's party, but we confess to feelings of admiration for the courage he displayed by his vote when the affirmation or repudiation of a freeihold policy was demanded from eacli member of the House. The effect of bis action and that of his four fellow Leberals who went into the Opposition lobby with him will be seen this week, no doubt, in a Land Bill that will recognise the principle of the freehold much more than our legislation of the last two decades has done. This fact, if fact it prove, should be well noted by tho small farmers who form the predominant factor in the New Zea- ] land Farmers' Union. Beyond ; doubt the small farmers Owes a great ] deal to the Seddon and' Ward Gov- t ernments for many aids and abilities j and favours extended in their toe- j half, "lieir one legitimate ground \ For complaint was the persistence c with which the Liberal Party was | dinging to the old fetish' of an un- ] iberal leasehold law. Wlhen that e jlind practice ceases we hope to eee i

the Farmers' Union branches give a more solid, support to the Government candidates than they have done in the past. There ihave been statements made that* at past general election times some branches in the Otaki Electorate have been lass liberal in tendency than they ought ■to have been. In this connection we were pleased to read, last week, the declarations by the president of the Paraparaumu branch of the Farmers' Union that the union had no side in politics, and that so long as a candidate signed its pledges it cared not whether the candidate was Government supporter or Oppositionist. Certainly the present member for this electorate has good grounds for expecting a continuance of support from those members of the union who supported him last year, and an accretion of strength from those members of it who opposed him even after he had signed their pledge. By keeping faith with that promise he lost the opportunity of a lifetime (so to speak). We have reason to believe, and it is current belief in the inner circles of Parliament, that Mr Field had been selected by Cabinet as the Government nomination for the Chairmanship of Committees, but when ihe voted against the Government on a Noconfidence motion he was "dropped ,, hv the Government in consanee with the time-worn precedent that the Chairman of Committees always must be a Government supporter. By the mere fact of having been true to .his pre-election pledges Mr Field should have made sure a continuance of trust from those to whom they were given, but the fact that he was true to them under the special circumstances of the case constitutes a special title to favour.