THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." Helensville, Thursday, June 13, 1915. THE BY-ELECTIONS. THE POT AND KETTLE AGAIN.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 3 June 1915, Page 2

THE KAIPARA AND WAITEMATA ECHO WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE KAIPARA ADVERTISER & WAITEMATA CHRONICLE." Helensville, Thursday, June 13, 1915. THE BY-ELECTIONS. THE POT AND KETTLE AGAIN.

The Bay of Islands election, owing to the unseating of Mr. VerDon Reed, is announced to take place on Bth inst. It is to be a real Party fight, owing to the tactics and misrepresentations of the Reform (?) boasters. •

The re-election of member for the Taumarunui seat takes place a week later, In this instance, we think our old printerchum, Jennings (when we were boys together on the oJd " New Zealander"), is safe. Since the days gone by, when good old Dick summoned Mr Jennings out of the " Star" office to the Upper House, he has always adhered to his Liberal principles, and all inducements for a lucrative billet would never make him turn his coat, unlike some one else we know. Of course, at election time, there are always some one or two frivolous charges got up for the purpose of biasing one side against the other, and this time the charge is made against Sir Joseph Ward, as Leader of tbe Opposition, that he was the cause of the general elections taking place in December last, when our Empire and Allies were involved in the present disastrous war, while the boot is upon the other foot. A perusal of Hansard proves this. The new election for Bay of Islands, now upsetting both sides of thn-- House and the People, is wholly caused by the late member (disqualified), and the tactics of his friends, and it is a dastardly shame the public should be put to the great expense involved, when the money could be devoted to war and charitable purposes.

None are so blind as those who won't see, yet Mr Massey and his followers would have us believe that Sir Joseph is wholly wrong, and his party is infallible. As the "Star" aptly puts its:—

The Reform Ministers claim that Sir Joseph Ward, and not Mr Massey, was responsible for the holding of the elections last December, and is, therefore, responsible for political controversy and for consequent disunion and disorganisation in the country during the progress of the war. This allegation is so entirely contrary to fact that we would hesitate to criticise it if we had not the precise words of the " Reformers " before us. But happily their statements are on record, and we will proceed to lay before our readers parallel extracts from speeches by Mr Massey, Mr. Herdman, and Sir Joseph Ward, from which they may judge for themselves the amount of confidence that can be placed in the " Reformers," and draw their own conclusions.

Speaking in the Bay of Islands electorate the other day, Mr. Herdman told his hearers that the reason the elections were not postponed last December, was, that the Opposition would not agree to a postponement for twelve months, or until peace was proclaimed, if the war ended before the year was out. This, according to Mr Herdman, was " suggested " by Government, but the Opposition would hear only of a postponement. for three months, which would have been useless and illusory, and so the matter was dropped.

Let us proceed to show that the Liberal claim is entirely consistent with " the known facts of the case," and that the assertions so confidently made by Mr Herdman and the NEW ZEALAND HERALD are flatly contradicted by Mr Massey himself, as report ted in HANSARD.

For in the speech in which Mr Massey discussed this question on September 22nd last, he put the case before the House in the following terms : —" The suggestion was made that in view of the war in which the Empire is unfortunately engaged and the consequent strain and excitement, the eleetiong should he postponed for some time. The subject has given my colleagues and myself a good

deal of serious and anxious

thonght. . . . There is • not to-day the stress and excitement that there were "three or four weeks ago. Under these circumstances I have come to the conclusion —and my colleagues agree with me —that the proper thing to do is to go on with the elections at the ordinary date, that is to say, in all probability early in December . . • . We have looked at it from the democratic point of view, from the point of view of the people, from the constitutional point of view, and from the point of view of what we believe to be best in the interests of the whole country, and the conclusion we have arrived at is that the elections shall be gone on with at somewhere about the ordinary date."

Now, our readers will observe that there is nothing in all this to suggest even in the most distant way that Mr Massey was anxious to postpone the elections, or had any intention of doing so on any terms. Mr Massey told the House that there was " no precedent in the years of democratic rule" for any postponement; that it would be "unconstitutional"; and that if he agreed to Sir Joseph's proposal Ministers would be accused of hanging on to office like leeches." We have still to consider the count in Mr Herdman's indictment —the statement that Sir Joseph Ward was willing to postpone the elections only for three months, and no more, and that negotiations between the parties broke down on this point. Our readers may have noted that even the " Reformers" have not the hardihood to allege that Sir Joseph never made any further proposal; in fact, the New Zealand Herald, to do it justice, admits that Sir Joseph suggested that if war was not over by March or April, " Parliament should meet, and decide what to do."