CRITICISMS AND FORECASTS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 13, 6 May 1914, Page 7

CRITICISMS AND FORECASTS.

g;,. The fortunes of the Liberal section of the heterogeneous Opposition Party are now at a very low ebb So acute has their position now, become that they have in des,permit ion made and are still making friendly, overtures to their quondam partners, the Social Democrats or iled Feds, to sink their political identity, forfeit privileges gained, and rejoin them in their hopeless endeavour to oust the Reform Government, and to place themselves in power, but, for the present, the Red Feds have rejected these dog in the manger offers and contempt, for the reason that they object to be made use of as a stepping stone to assist the Liberals to regain power without some recompense, and because they also covet the Treasury Benches themselves. But as the mountain conic! not go to Mahomet, Mahomet, had perforce to go to the mountain. Therefore, judging by indications and developments, it is more than probable that, should the Red Feds definitely refuse to become absorbed by the Liberals, the placehunter and the irresponsible section of the Liberal Party will he obliged to throw in their lot with, and become' absorbed by, the Social Democrats, and in name the oncc-gfea f Liberal Party will practically disappear from the political arena".- It is also- oh the cards, and by no means improbable, that the Liberal leaders in their unenviable position, and to gain their objective—the Treasury Benches—may endeavor to engineer a compromise with the Social Democrats, and combine their respective forces with the mutual understanding that should the combination succeed in winning the verdict at the December polls, two or more of tho successful Red Fed candidates will be rewarded with places in tlie now Liberal and Social Democr^tift,.Administration, with New Zealand’s only baronet as nominal Prime Minister of the combination, and that a number of defeated canchuaces of the same persuasion will receive a call, to the Legislative Council, as a sop in return lor their timely help. Whether the moderate Liberal elec-

tor will agree to fie /yolcl in this manner remains to be scon. It .goes, without contradiction that the Liberal Party (hiring their lo.ng. .term of office, - placed many useful and desirable measures on the Statute Book, and at. the same time they, also. forced muesli; unasked for. and mischievous legislation op to untliinkiiig ‘public, . which has, in a measure, fostered and helped to lay the foundation'of the Red Fed movement ip Zealand, by directly and indirectly ‘offering special iiidupypieihs to the plien agitator, and’ oilier undesirables 'from the old lands, to invade our hitherto peaceful shores. But, similar to old, anjl ,dis,fi ?o tnnny/o tumeiTrrr-aLC-.'U.i 1 1 used machinery, the Liberals, as .a party organisation, have now become rusty and t obsolete, worn out with old ageing! . corrupt administration, and are only fitted for Lhe scrap heap. But like -they, still believe that they' are .young; pud wanted. Tlie gospplj of as now preached in New Zealand by the Liberal is but ,a sham, and is but one remove from socialism. A cold blast of wind from .the south, and * • '■ ; , falling barometer, usually denotes and precedes a snow storm. Likewise, ‘and in a similar manner,, will, revolutionary socialism follow in the footsteps of decadent Liberalism. The doctrines of socialism as preached by the alien leaders of the Social Democratic organisation (who congregate in the large centres) is but the- parent of, and prelude to armed revolution, anarchy, and civil war, followed by the sacrifice of many human beings; the wholesale destruction of old established institutions and property, sounding the death knell to all individual enterprise, learning and civilisation, Jaw and order would disappear, Christianity would bo replaced with barbarism. It is to be hoped that the whole of tjio moderate thinking Liberals (they are still a number of genuine Liberals in the Dominion) and „ all those, men and women who ligve any regard for the present and future welfare of the Dominion and its people will pause and reflect before lending a helping hand to effete Liberi alism, thereby paving the way to revolutionary socialism, with the ultimate destruction of all things pertaining to civilisation. Infinitely better to support the same evolutionary programme of the Reform Government and continue to enjoy many benefits and privileges of civilisation, law and order. The majority of human beings are not, as yet, tired of civilisation with all its faults. Neither have the people of New Zealand arrived at that state of mental and bodily decay to desire the change from civilisation to savagery, so as to save themselves from, extinction. The time will come when .barbarism will again prevail, with its'many cruelties.and degrading customs, but that time is not yet. Therefore, stamp out decadent and shoddy Liberalism, and, its legitimate offspring and natural heir, socialism, will, with its impossible teachings, starve and die. a natural death.— f am, etc,, F, ,). JACKSON.