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Hokitika Guardian, 13 November 1922, Page 2

H’l'he “hole in the ballot” which is going to affect the Reform Party mall teriaTly at polling time, is the muddle ■* the Massey Ministry has made of the nJ finance of the country. On all sides I" the Reform administration has been, rcj criticised most severely by friend and ?! opponent ali-c fur the serious plight “I which the finances of the country 1 5 have been llued. Such papers ns the “| Auckland Herald and the Mercantile ■ I Gazette —strong Govcrnm nit organs—“l have felt constrained to speak out on ■j the subject, and there is also the judgmeat of the Taxation Commission coin■J posed of appointees made by the Re--7| form Government. As indicated m ■ | the thought for the times to-day, Mr 71 Langford the spirited Liberal Labor H candidate for Temukn, referred to the criticism of the Taxation Commission, ■j and himself severely criticised the fin--71 ancial operations of Reform, specially M mentioning the seizure of the reserve 71 fund Sir Joseph Ward had as a nestb| egg in London to maintain the credit ■* of New Zealand at the centre of the H world’s money market. The trend of all the adverse criticism in regard to J the Reform administration was that * ■ Air Massey was travelling along the ■J road to ruin by his reckless methods. J" The occasion for reviewing the situn■J tion is at hand aiid the electors will J J have the position in their own bands very ■| soon now.

■J Another Armistice Day anniversary \ J has rolled by, and yet we have hot ■4 the real peace which the end of the ° I war was expected to bring to a sorely■J tried world. Europe is in a state of H - unrest and turmoil and in a financial “4 plight bordering on bankruptcy. At H* the moment Turkey, feeing very well again after the tonic of victory over ■ | the Greeks, is no longer the Sick Man “J of Europe, despite the defeat and dis- ■ I aster of the Great War period, and is, "4 t in point of fact dominating the affairs Hof Europe. Turkey is a menace at the ’ moment greater than ever, because of n | the want of coordination on the part 7| of tbe Allies at the right time to do Htlie right tiling with Turkey. Britain alone read the position aright, and was H left to act alone. The patched part H was honored'by the Turks just as long M as it suited them. The political upJTj heavnl in Britain lias given Turkey the H | opportunity to tear up the scrap of paj per represented by the Mundania ConH| ference and the Allies will now ha.’I to face ft new position far more diffiy | cult than a month or so ago, had they 71 | cared them to take the Turk at his y true measure. And so the world is n« not going very well. Some of the H principal countries in Euro-io. such as Britain and Italy are “swjfyping H| horses” in the middle of a very deep crossing, and the new teams are going fsS to have a troublesome time to take 3 * the State coach safely across the rough dJ ford. In Now Zealand Armistice Day * * was revered for the memories it still si holds.to the people at large. Locally, * “ ' a fine memorial was unveiled under unaJ fortunate weather conditions, but tbe “ * .personal interest of the public was not damped in any way, there being ■ a “ * large concourse present to honour the occasion. It is pleasing to know that

the town possesses so fine a .memorial for the purpose demands that every, thing done to the honor of the fallcr should be of the best, and at least the people strove to attain that objective