LIBERALISM.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 November 1919, Page 3

LIBERALISM.

ITS ASPIRATIONS AND ACHIEVE- • ' * MENTS. BRIEF RECORDS OF THE PAST (No. 1.) , Now that .a general election is near, the time is opportune for a review of what Liberalism has done for New Zealand in the past. This brief sketch is not to be regarded as a complete his- : tory of the Liberal movement and its success; but it may fairly claim* to ' provide full justification for our confident belief that its triumph will ensure the progress and prosperity of our country and its people for the fu- . ture. j LIBERALISM AND DEMOCRACY. I “What is Liberalism P” Liberalism is , Democracy, and Democracy is “the Gov- ’ eminent of the pfeople, by the people j for the people. . Liberalism is thus a political system j system which would secure through the voice of the people, the realisation of Democracy’s grand ideal, “the great- . est good for the greatest possible num- , her.” It is this form of “government ( ffiy the people, for the people,” that the j true Democracy seeks to attain; and it is because Liberalism has in the past achieved so much for the people, by pleading their cause, and defending their rights, and advancing their interests, on purely democratic and constitutional lines, that we confidently claim the sympathy and support of the electors of New Zealand for it to-day. FjRST PHASE.—GREY. ; During the early years of colonisation , and settlement the people were too much engrossed in the struggle for exist ( ence to pay much attention to politics; ( and all that time the wealthier classes were strengthening their hold upon political rights and privileges, and were ! establishing for themselves a practical monopoly of the land. To Sir George J Grey belongs the enduring credit of ; grasping all this, and of convincing a ( policy which might ultimately enable j this country to realise those Democratic . ideals which that great statesman, al- J most alone among the distinguished j public men of his age, had already come to appreciation at their true value. Sir George Grey’s main work was his advocacy of manhood suffrage and his denunciation of land monopoly. A remarkable tour that lie made throughout , the Dominion did much to kindle the fire of Liberalism, and at last the Continuous Ministry which had held power " with short intervals for many years, suffered with final defeat. For Grey’s propaganda of “one man, one vote” had, by rousing the people against the limited franchise of the time, compelled liis opponents to concede manhood suffrage ;and as a result the election of 1890 ,at the close of the great maritime strike, placed the first Liberal Minister in power, with Mr ißallanee as Prime Minister. BALL.ANCE. When the Ministry took office, the country was in a parlous state. Its finance depended on the property tax, which taxed property without reference to its earnings. Economy, in the shape ' ■ of retrenchment, was the mainspring ( ! of policy; enterprise was dead, doles j were the remedy for unemployment, and the population was beginning to emigrate. THE NEW TAXATION.

The new Government took hold with vigorous determination. It made good the promises of its members, by repealing the abnoxious Property Tax. The

tax-payer was freed from paying taxes on his buildings and his personal effects, the taxes on all these were transferred to land and income. The need for checking land monopoly was not forgotten, neither was the necessity for encouraging the profitable use of the land neglected. Graduation of taxes was introduced for the first time, and care was taken not to touch the im prowements. This was the touch of j true Democracy. > It was also the touch of sound, finance —a touch which secured good, balances for many years and revealed as | time went on the financial strength j of a self-reliant people. j THE NEW HUMANISM. j But the Liberal Leaders saw clearly i that their chief duty was to the people themselves, nnd from the outset they took a firm hold of the Labour problem. The Liberal Government established a Labour Burteau, set up agencies all over the country, found where men were wanted, and sent them to the work. The Liberal Government fought emigration and relieved the congestion of the towns. Doles ended the exodus • ceased, and the people who had gone ; began to return. . j It was government of the people, by the people, for the people-true Democracy. The principle was extended m one remarkable instance by the establishment ( of the Co-operative Contract syste , the railways. ’ Naturally enough this was a te - rible shock to the Conservatives ot those times. Here was a shameless interference with the divinely appointed law of supply and demand, and. the eternal principle of free But in spite of shrieks of protest and torrent, of »W, the Government Ipe - severed, kept these men on » “ in gangs carefully selected, and in the entf the system went Its to The men made good loads « ' BO o"nt of the people, by. the pjopie, for the people-true Dcmociacy agam. ))C co ntinued)—*