The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, July 18, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1273, 18 July 1914, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, July 18, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Reform Party in this electorate is laced with a difficult problem in that it has two candidates standing in the Government interests, and unless one is prepared to stand down the splitting of votes may result in defeat. Mr Brown claims a prior right to consideration by reason of the fact that he has contested the seat in the Reform interest in times past when the party was without organisation, and on one occasion came within an ace of winning. Last year an official candidate was brought out and Mr Brown split the Reform votes with him and thus brought about defeat. The Government has selected this year Mr W. H. Field as the official candidate, and bis selection has caused a good deal of dissatisfaction among Mr Brown’s supporters, Mr Field has announced himself as a straight out supporter of the Government, and no doubt the Government had good and sufficient reasons for giving Mr Field precedence over Mr Brown. It is now for the supporters throughout the electorate to find out those reasons and endorse the Government’s choice or in the alternative throw the seat away. While Party Government obtains discipline and even self sacrifice are necessary and it remains, therefore, lor the Party organisations throughout the constituency to be one minded in respect to a candidate and present a united front. No doubt the conference at Levin to-day will arrive at some definite conclusion as to the position and the way will be cleared for future action.

The usual interim return of sheep in the Dominion on 30th April, 1914, was presented to the House of Representatives onThursday. The total number 1324,595,405, which represents a net increase for the Dominion of 403,595. In the North Island there has been a decrease or 175,314 and in the South Island an increase of 578,909. The decreases are in Wellington (244,401), and Napier and Gisborne (65,675), and the increases in Auckland (134,762), Marlborough, Nelson and Westlaud (2029), Canterbury and Kaifeoma (319D22). and Otago

(257.75 8 )- Although the number of the sheep in the Dominion flocks show an increase of over four hundred thousand, the export of frozen meat for the season was a record. Taking no account of legs and pieces the export tor the past six years have been as follow : —1909, mutton (carcases) 1,899,446, lamb 2,910,358; 1910, mutton 1,711,839, lamb 3,423,918; 1911, mutton 1,979,534, lamb 3,708,468; 19x2, mutton 1,918,119; lamb 3,035,783; 1913, mutton 2,133,226, lamb 3,181,991; 1914, mutton 2,360,962, lamb 3.808,006.

Commenting editorially on the proposed constitutional reform of the Legislative Council, the Auckland Herald says;—“This parti-san-domination of a Legislative Council originally intended to be composed of representative citizens, non-partisan in temper, and independent in character, inevitably led to the situation that exists to-day. New Zealand has been driven into antagonism to the which has made it possible for a chamber without any national standing to dictate to the national representatives. This state of affairs is being firmly dealt with. It has been necessary, of course, for Mr Massey to create a temporary majority in order to secure the passage of a measure which will make the Council a representative body, but this was a mere expedient, forced upon him by the refusal of the previous Council majority to accept reform. When the constitutional reforms now practicable are in full operation, New Zealand will be governed, in the Council as in the House of Representatives, by men who have the confidence of their various constituencies. This will be effected in spite ot the querulous opposition of those who profess to be democratic, but show no hesitation in resisting democratic reforms.”