The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, October 6, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1307, 6 October 1914, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, October 6, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The general elections, as previously mentioned, are to take place this year as constitutionally provided, probably at the end of next month or early in December. A fair amount ot business has yet to he done before the present Parliament is dissolved, but ample time will be afforded candidates to get in touch with their constituents before polling day. The war will no doubt occupy the chief place in the people’s eye, and politics will be given second thoughts. The elections this year will be stripped of pyrotecnics, and platform oratory will not carry much weight. We doubt if any difference would be made in the polling if the people went to the ballot-box tomorrow or two months hence. The candidates in this electorate will be : Messrs W. H. Field (Government), B. Gardener (Opposition), J. Robertson (Social Democrat). Mr Byron Brown will also contest the seat in the Reform interest. It is hoped that the contest will be restricted to the three party candidates.

There are many false prophets in Auckland, writes “ Mercutio ” in Saturday’s Herald. Some of them at the beginning of the war assured us that the clash of arms would bring disaster to our trade and that great sums would be required for the relief of local distress. Two months ago there were people who could not see a silver lining in the cloud. It was useless to urge them to keep their pecker up, worse than useless to ask them to keep their gloomy forebodings to themselves. Fortunately, the majority of Aucklanders had faith in themselves, their country, and their Empire, and the favourable state of trade and employment to-day is due to the faithful majority. Had we all been pessimists storing our gold against the evil day, we would not have had to look very far for distress and unemployment. If we can judge by the attendance at the theatres and the picture shows, Auckland as a whole has not felt even the need to economise. As to the future the time of crisis, so far as trade and employment are concerned, is over. Even the prophets of woe have become cheerful. The Kaiser’s plans have miscarried, spring has come in Auckland; who can be sad at such a time ?

Writing in the Clarion recently, Mr Robert Blatchford said ; I met a man who has long been one of the most uncompromising and active of the pacifist leaders. He stopped to talk with me, and he told me, much to my surprise, that he was now on our side. “ I see now,” he said, that we could not have kept out of the war.” And he added, “ But I am afraid of Russia.” For my part lam not afraid of Russia. Not that I trust Flmperors or Kaisers. Indeed, I have learnt sorrowfully that this is a wicked world. But assuming that we can put the Kaiser in his place, Ido not see any cause to fear Russia. By the time we have settled accounts with Germany I think we shall all of us have supped full of horrors. I do not believe that Europe will want another war for a very long while. On the contary, I am hoping for a federation of the European States from Norway to Italy as a guarantee of peace. Eet France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Portugal, and Spain form an alliance for the preservation of the status quo, and there will be no need to fear Russia or any other Power. Eet us have an armed, enlightened, democratic Europe banded in an open alliance for the preservation of peace ; and let any autocrat or bandit break the peace at his peril.

Japanese papers contain a number ot declarations by prominent public men on the question of Japan’s declaration of war on Germany. Mr Oishi, the leader ot the Doshi kai, at a councillors’ meeting ot the party on Thursday, August 20, declared : —” I doubt the wisdom of deciding our action in the Far East only through the request of Great Britain. We ought to act simply under the principle that our ally’s enemy is pur enemy. Had Great Britain not declared war we might have remained neutral. But now that Great Britain is in war her enemy is Japan’s enemy. That enemy naturally will consider Japan as her enemy, and might endanger us at any time. It is in accordance with the ethics of war that Japan should forestall the enemy and make war first. It is desirable that we should make our position clear as soon as possible, and sweep away the enemy's influence from the Far East.”