MR. ROBERTSON’S PLEDGES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1012, 27 February 1912, Page 3

MR. ROBERTSON’S PLEDGES.

SOME TRENCHANT CRITICISM.

BY A TOKOMAKU SUPPORTER.

Mr T. E. M’Millan, of Trkoijmaru, writes as follow's in yester|day’s Dominion :

|S|| “As a matter of political justice, I trust that you will find space in '0 your widely-circulating columns 7i. for the following :—A resolution was passed at the Flaxmill Union

conference in Palmerston to the

ij. effect that Mr Robertson, the Labour member, should be released from his pledge to vote no-confi-dence in the Ward Government. Now, sir, that resolution has 5.’ caused me and many others conpi. siderable consternation. At the recent elections I endeavoured, .-4 with, I believe, some success, to persuade a certain number of people to vote for Mr Robertson at the second ballot, in order to put a I nail in the coffin of the Ward Government. I am a wage worker and a unionist, but also, I trust, a person of reasonable views, who tries to see that people other than , wage workers are entitled to a place in the sun ! This being known, I was able to influence the votes of some people who were inclined to refrain from voting at the second ballot, and people who would have been changed from noncombatants into active opponents had they come into contro- ’ versial contact with the overzealous Socialist who moved the resolution referred to. Prior to , this I had seconded a vote of thanks and confidence in Mr Robertson, and, in the course of a eulogistic speech on bis behalf, I had stressed the fact that, although ■ I could not agree with some of Mr Robertson’s Socialistic views, I, nevertheless,’ thought that Mr Robertson would be a member of one thing which was a most crying need in New Zealand, namely, a body of men of sincere convictions who w'onld stand or fall by their principles and pledges. You can imagine .vuat mortification this resolution caused me. And what does it amount to ? Simply this—the people of New Zealand have said most emphatically that they would not any longer tolerate Sir Joseph Ward on the throne. “Well,” say the political charlatans, “we will put a figurehead on the throne and make Sir Joseph the power behind it,” Good gracious, the ignominy of it is ; worthy of political intrigues in countries less civilised than New 'Zealand. Atone of Mr Robert- -- son’s shannon meetings he said that the Liberal party was effete, and had lost its inspiration, and that new blood was required to revivify Parliament, and yet he is requested to support the defunct clique which he despises. Another statement from the same source Politics in this country

have sunk to a very low level, and remains for a Labour party to ise them to a higher standard.”

standard, forsooth. Will —at the outset of his v- career —in political charlatancy aud quibbling, raise politics to a higher standard ? No, but it will raise Mr Robertsou high and dry " as a political shipwreck at next election. This resolution has obliged me to humbly apologise to those whom I endeavoured to persuade to vote for Labour. I trust that Mr Robertsou will not be base enough to yield to what appears to be the expediency of the moment, that he will not jeopardise his political future aud that of the cause of Labour generally, but above all, to do justice to what is best in the ranks of Labour, and show those of his supporters who are mere opportunists, where the path of political honour lies.” The Dominion adds the following footnote: —

“Our correspondent appears to imagine that Mr Robertsou, who pledged himself to the whole of the Otaki electors, labours under the delusion that a section of those electors can release him from the bond he gave, and which alone secured his election. There is no reason to believe, so far as we are aware, that Mr Robertson proposes to dishonour his pledge in this way. The point made by our correspondent respecting the degradation of politics aud the degradation ot Labour which must necessarily follow on the base violation by a Labour candidate of a publicly-given pledge is, of • course, quite sound, aud is well made.” Our Levin contemporary, referring to Mr Robertson’s statement that he could “see a way to vote for the Government against Mr Sl , ( .Massey’s no-confidence motion still keep his pledges,” says : * “It is well-known to anyone who has followed closely the course of the recent election in this constituency that the whole campaign was fought out on the clear-cut issue of “Ward or no Ward.” This battle cry was raised specially strongly at the meeting of the joint committees of Monckton, Brown and Robertson, and at that gathering it was unanimously agreed that that, aud that alone, should be the question to be decided at the polling booth. The retirement of Sir Joseph Ward, '.>refore, has left the member for - Uiaki with an absolutely free hand as to voting for or against the Government which is to be run apart from .Sir Joseph. Mr Robertson’s speech in the House last night, read in conjunction with the resolution passed at the mass meeting of his nominators on Thursday last, should be a very good indication as to how he will exercise his vote when the Noconfidence motion is finally settled. “It is difficult to see how any

man standing in the interests of Labour could vote against a reconstructed Cabinet backed by the amazingly democratic platform brought down in the Governor’s speech.”

Our Levin contemporary in yesterday’s issue, says : “A number of supporters of the Opposition and of the Labour candidate held a private meeting on Saturday and passed, so we are informed, a resolution of confidence in Mr Robertson. The opinion was expressed by Oppositionists that Mr Robertson would vote for the ndconfideuce motion, and this resolution was passed with the object ot strengthening his hands. Per contra, it is vehemently contended in other quarters that Mr Robettson, who has always repudiated any compact or understanding with Mr Massey’s party, is solely the nominee of the Flax Hands’ Union, and that they have now released him from his pledges and given him a tree hand to vote as he thinks in the best interests of Labour. It is said that the meeting on Saturday was more like a funeral service over disappointed hopes than a political meeting, Mr Robertson visited Levin on Saturday, and on Sunday he had numerous callers from the Opposition urging him to vote for the no-confidence motion. On Saturday night the political situation was hotly discussed in Levin, Mr Robertson being severely criticised in some quarters and warmly eulogised in others. It is difficult at present to ascertain what Labour in the mass thinks ot the situation, but those members of the Opposition who most bitter ly assailed Mr Field, and who “threw in ’’ for Mr Robertson at the second ballot, are intensely charg riued.