WELLINGTON NOTES.

Hokitika Guardian, 10 March 1925, Page 4

WELLINGTON NOTES.

POLITICA LPLEAS AN TUI ES. SHADOW OF THE ELECTION. (Special to “Guardir-n”.) . WELLINGTON, March 5

The Hon A. 1L McLeod, Minister of Lands and Chairman of the Organising Executive of the Reform Party, and .Mr T. M. Wilford, the leader of the Liberal Opposition, are continuing in the newspapers their exchanges of party and personal pleasantries, while Mr 11. E. Holland, the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, is joining in occasionally from the public platform to poke fun at the incongruities and of the less adroit tacticians. For the time being it suits the purpose of the Labour leader to score off Nir Wilford, rather than oil' the Minister, his plan of campaign being to drive the Libera!* into an "alliance with the Reformers* and then marshal against the. coalition all (lie discontented and revolutionary forces in the country. But as a matter of plain fact some of Mr McLeod’s assertions which have been allowed to pass by Mr Holland are much, wider of the mark than any made by Mr Wilford. The Minister stated the other day, for instance, that “at the last election, out of twenty-two seats, the. Auckland province returned only one Liberal-Labour candidate, aud that by a minority vote.” The truth is that the Liberal-Labour Party secured three of the scats indicated by Nil* McLeod and the Reform Party, with fewer thni twice as many votes, thirteen seats. Only one of the Liberal candidates was returned by a minority vote,, the. member for Waikato, while no fewer than 5 of the Reform candidates were returned by minoritv votes, the members for Waiteinata, Eden, Roskill, Parnell and Gisborne. -

THE MINISTER'S BLUFF

It is a. curious thing that up to the present Mr McLeod has been allowed to “get away” with, his big bluff without lieing challenged. _ Electoral reform, in the shape of proportional representation, occupies a foremost place in the platforms of both the LiboralLabour Party and the Labour Party, and at one time or another all the local papers have warmly approved of proportional representation. It is true that on occasions they have denounced it just as warmly. But Mr W ilford and Mr Holland, as custodians of their respective parties’ policies should have turned the opportunity the Minister gave them to account. Auckland at the last election provided one uf the most striking illustrations of the need for electoral reform that can he found in the annals of the Dominion. There was a. total of 132,035 votes, recorded in the 22 electorates included in the provincial area. Of those 8b,022 votes were east for Reform. 4b,971 for Liberal, 40.861 for Labour and 10,181 for

Independent candidates. Of the twentytwo candidates elected Id were Reformers. 3 Liberals, b Labourites and 1. Independent candidate. Tn other words each Reformer returned represen test only 6,586 votes and eac h Labourite only 8.132 votes, while each Liberal represented 15.323 votes and the solitary Independent 10,181 votes. Tu any equitable distribution of representation the Reformers would have secured only ten seats while the remaining twelve would have fallen to other parties in proportion to the votes they polled. So nmcli for the Minister's complacent acceptance of the gifts the goddess of luck sends 1 1 is party. “THE THREE-PARTY PERIL." [Tutor this heading the “Evening Post” makes another appeal to the Reformers and the Liberals to abandon “their almost entirely artificial differ-

ences” and to make common cause against extreme Bailout* at the approaching general election. Ihe text for its reiteration of the familiar storv is a statement made by Nil* H. E. Holland at Hulls this week when commentiug upon the newspaper tilts Hint have been going on between the older parties. “liotli utterances,” the siininiurv of the remarks id the* Labour

leader runs, “indicated that, there was a desire on the part cd' the anti-Labour element to join for-

ces in an endeavour to avert a Labour-victory at the polls. The most significant aspect of this development was the recognition, both by Reform and the Liberals that they stood lor the same interests.” The “Post’ would be thankful if if knew that, Mr Holland's diagnosis of the position were correct ; hut it fears that next December Labour i.i,\ winning seats from both the older praties mav become the Odicial Opposition and so bring itself within striking distance of the Treasury Bencheji. It is very generally expected here that Lahour will improve its position at the polls, hut many old Parliamentary hands would not regard this as an unmitigated evil. 4 They believe that nothing else would bring the moderate forces together so quickly as would a Labour Government in power. 4 hey quote the recent experience of the Mother Country as an argument for letting the extremists have their fling and so assist in bringing about stable government. Even a Minister of the Crown lias committed himself to this view, and as far as can he judged from passing incidents it is not so distasteful to the average elector as it would have been three or four years ago.

POLITICAL A.MUNITIES. AVELLTXGTOX, ALircli 6. A triangular contest lias lieen going on during the last few days hetween r A. I). .McLeod, representing Reform, .Mr T. M. Wilford, leader of the Liberal-Labour Party and Mr 11. K. Holland, leader of the extreme Labour Party. Mr AVilford’s latest effort is to endeavour to show that the strategy of the Reform Party and extreme Labour is the same. He says: ‘‘What is the political strategy of the Reform Party and its Press? It is contained in one sentence, ‘ Down with the leader of the Liberal-Labour party.’ The political strategy of Mr Holland is the same, and this political strategy is continuous, whether in Parliament or out, and always has been. Is it unreasonable to suggest when the Reform and the extreme Labour Party both use the same method, that they unite in the same political strategyf .Mr Holland tries to make out' that our party wishes to Labour. Ho is quite wrong. We represent Labour but not extreme Labour, lie represents extreme Labour and not Labour. That is the difference. I never referred to Labour in my statement to M.r McLeod for Labour largely supports our party. I referred to extreme Labour meaning thereby Communists, Internationalists,

Karl Marxists and disloyalists. They do not support us, but support Afr Holland’s party. I put all those “ists” in the same hag with extreme Labour. Mr Holland’s letter is only another instance of what goes on continually in Parliament—an attack on the Liberal-Labour Party from the extreme Labour benches and then an attack on the Liberal-Labour Party from the Reform benches. I wonder why Reform and extreme Labour do not attack each other.” In this rejoinder Air Wilford appears to have scored, for jotli Reform and extreme Labour wish to see the Wilford Party eliminated, or then the Reformers think they vould have a better chance of success it the coming elections, for it is liardy to be supposed that the electors will rive the extremists' a majority vote. ‘Extreme Labour is anxious for eliminition for then the party would have a hance of greatly strengthening its lumbers, and even if not the predomnant party would at least become the fficinl Opposition. The Reformers are ot too happy. Afr Alassey’s health ill not permit him to lead the House, he Reformers are undecided as to hetlier it would be best to have Afr fassev resign oi' continue his nominal ladership and hope for the best, hould Mr Alassey decide to drop out : politics there are three or four asrants for the leadership of the party, id a contest between these would dis- i ipt the party, for each candidate has , following, and not one is of outstand- ]

ing merit. The Parties, however, are reckoning without tlm moderates in polities, who really decide the fate of parties. The moderates are tired of the Reformers and afraid of the extreme, Labour Party. The LiberalLabour Party dejes not impress the moderates; it may do so later on. The moderates want a change but they do not want extreme Labour. A. nettparty comprising the best elements of Reform and Liberal-Labour, with a leader with some force of character would sweep the polls. That party and that leader have yet to he discovered.

JANUARY TRADE FIGURES

The trade figures for the first month of the year made their appearance during the week when the monthly Abstract was issued. The value ol exports for that month was £6,G96,009, as compared with £7,064,644 in January. 1924,. a decrease of £368,585, equal to slightly more than 5 pel' cent. There was a shrinkage in the quantity of butter exported, the total being 14b,717cwt, against 167,872e\vt in the Corresponding month last yen lb it would bo unwise to attach any importance to this, for the shrinkage is probably duo entirely to the vagaries of shipping. The butter exports for the current quartet* will show a big increase, for the grading figures point that way. There was a substantial contraction in cheese, the figures being G3,Boßowt agrtiiist. &37J)Doc\vt Jannary, 1924. Cheese prices have not been so attractive as butter, and probably this accounts for the contraction in 'the shipments. There was a decrease in dried milk, the figures being 1,353,70 tlh against 1.084,844 ib, hut preserved and condensed milk and cream showed a very marked expansion, the exports in January being 304,80311) against 140,7741!) in the stiine month last year. . There was a small increase ill the quantity of flo/.en beef shipped, and a substantial increase in the shipments of mutton and lalnh. the latter totalling 101,494 carcases against 145,502 in January hist. year. Tin* imports for the first month of the* year were valued at 04,808.442 against L 1,349, 318 in anuary 1924, an increase of £459,124, equal to a little more than fifteen per cent. The wheat imported ill .January was valued ut 0107,917, while in January last year there was no importation of wheat. The coal imported consisted of 01,031 tons, valued at £70,905 against 42,(180 tons valued at £48,702, during the same period of last year. The quantity of motor spirit imported more than doubled, the total being 2,104,302 gallons, against 1,035,144 gallons. The number of motor vheieles .brought into the Dominion in January was 1857 and the value £404,575, compared with ; 1782 valued at £332.020 in January last year.

BACKACHE! WHY? Do you rise in the morning with groan!-' Do you feel that you are getting old? Having made up your mind that you are a martyr, do you vent vou*. ill-humour on the family? After a while the pain and stiffness '.euvo you and you forget your troubles until the next morning, when the same (lull pain in the small of the back, the difficulty of bracing your nerves, brings back all the (lire forebodings of the day before.

Tills is the way kidney trouble creeps on its victim, and you are starting on a long journey towards ill-health and infirmity. The kidneys are overtaxed with the work of cleansing out the impurities from your blood. Each day there if-, an accumulation of waste which must upset the body. It forms uric acid and l ric Acid is the most insidious form of poisoning that can take place in > our body. It is tiie duty ot every man, not only to himseii, but to the world at large, to keep Ins health *.n the proper condition I'm* his daily task, and for the victim of Kidney Trouble, Dr Sheldon’s Gill Rills will give just llm little boost his organs need tn make them his slave, instead of his being a slave of ill-health. Dr Sheldon s Gin Rills, 2s and 3s (id. Obtainable everywhere.