The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1917. THE TWO DOMINIONS.

Taihape Daily Times, 7 November 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1917. THE TWO DOMINIONS.

(With which is incorporated The Taihape Post and Waimarino News).

An election is pending in Canada. Yesterday there was cabled to us some important features of the Canadian liberal party's political platform. It is interesting to us if only for comparative purposes, and as evidence against the extreme negative position our National Government has entrenched itself in. It would be idle to discuss the cost of living question further in its application to this country, it would be nothing more than beating the air, but to set what the Canadian liberals are bent upon against the attitude taken by New Zealand conservatives on precisely similar vitally important war time issues, may be profitable to us, that is, to those whose silly ignorance does not render them objects of disgust. For we must not lost sight .of the fact even in this little community that there are those who will turn up their noses at a Lloyd George in law and statesmanship, a Haig in war matters, and would pooh-pooh the Pope .of Rome into Hades. These are the people who have either lost full control of their reasoning faculties, have never been blesed with any to control, or are so consumed with greed and have become so fettered to faction feat there is only one political colour on earth they can discern Under the scrutiny of such intelligencft Sir Wilfred Laurier and the Canadian liberal political platform can be nothing more than a laughing-stock, for hasn't that essence of the world's statesmanship in New Zealand decreed that what constitutes the political religion of Canada is largely impossible, and, that which is not, leads to political damnation. However, Sir Wilfred' Laurier and Canadian liberals advocate, and are going to the general elections with the very antithesis of a policy our national conservatives have condemned as impracticable or impossible. What an eye-opener to the world if they are returned to parliament with a working majority! How ridiculous we shall all look in New Zealand in our self-assumed political wisdom. The ex-Prime Minister of Canada has outined a Military Service Act that he says, expresses the

majority's desire. It favours conscription, not only of human flesh and blood but also of wealth and resources, which would otherwise ITS militarily exempt, as they are in New Zealand. Only by such sacrifices can Canada honourably do her splendid part in the war to a victorious end. The proposed Canadian Military Service proposals favour tariff reform, removing burdens that have recently been placed upon the people; drastic control of food supplies and prices; elimination of The fundamental .objection to ' the conservative Military Service Act in Canada is, it does not conscript wealth while it does conscript human life. It seems that in Canada there is a majority of people who believe that human life is of more value than wealth. What a contrast to what the majority in this other Dominion believe. Our Hansard reeks with assurances that conscription of wealth is impossible in practice, and yet here are Canadian statesmen and the largest political party in Canada staking their parliamentary reputation and risking their success at the elections on their endeavour to make conscription of wealth a part of the laws of the land Sir Wilfred Laurier says, in emphasis, that if he is returned to power he will do his utmost to mobilise all Canadian resources requisite for war purposes. How unstable, vacillating, insincere, watery this country's legislation is to-day compared with what it was in the times when the band of Canterbury pilgrims first pitched their tents, weary and footsore on the banks of the Hautapu. It was land settlement then, it is land aggregation now; it was increasing production then, it is decreasing production now; it was building new schools in the backblocks then, it is closing them up now for want of famililes on the land; increased setlement made business to boom then, decreasing settlement is causing business to languish now. Is it surprising that Chamber of Commerce conferences are calling out for increased production? Certainly not, while we support a policy that can and must entail a largely decreasing production. "Production is wealth why, like. Canada, do we not urge the mobilisation of all our resources to win the war and to' save us from the famine looming in the future, We are proclaiming to the world that we p-re quite willing to conscript our human life, but our wealth must not me touched We are quite opposed to unreasonable extremes, 1 ' and we offer no objection to the conservation of our wealth, but we do maintain that in all human tenets it should be used to increase production. It is a fact that wealth is being held back to such baneful extent that money must become so appreciated : in value that even our producing community, who now think themselves secure, will find the conditions created operate towards their bankruptcy. "We" ask our farmers and people generally to look back on the days that necessitated an "Assets Realisation Board." Let us not be cozened and cajoled by powerful money interests into consenting to the continuance of a policy involving decreased production Putting more men on the land will provide a prol!t- , able use of the country's wealth; let us, like Canada urge its mobilisation for the purpose. There are hundreds of millions of wealth lying idle while our volume of production is dangerously below what is required to meet taxation that must and will come. On the other hand ail our businessess are languishing because the producing human life has been mobilised to a dangerous extreme. Representatives of the Dominion's business are crying out for increased production, but the National Government's tearing up of the Efficiency Board's Report indicates that there will be no increased production unless the people demand it.