The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1919. THE RANGITIKEI SEAT.

Taihape Daily Times, 8 October 1919, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1919. THE RANGITIKEI SEAT.

With which I'l3 incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News.”

There are not_ wanting indications -that a. general election of inembers tof Parliament is drawing near, for Reform candidates -are already publicly notifying their candidature in various electorates of the Dominion. Taihapc is losing the services of Mr R. W. Smith, owing to its separation‘ from the W'.ai'lnarin_-o‘ electorate, and it has become part of an electorate that no present member of Parliament has sufficient following in to warrant his contesting it. The new electoral ‘territory now known as Rangitikei, is likely to produce a fairly large crop of aspirants for parliamentary honours mo less than four having -already announced thelnselves. A fifth, General hielldrunl, has ‘-been mentioned, and it has been announced thwat-lie is the accredited Liberal candidate, carrying the seal of genuineness placed on him by the ‘ Liberal Party leaders, but there seems . to besome doubt whether General Meldrum will come forward, as it is credibly stated that he has signified a definite intention not to enter the politica.l‘arena at this time, preferring =rat"her to take a long rest after his twar services than immediately plungea into a political campaign. Vlfp General t Meldrum is not in the field, an oificial Liberal candidate for this electorate ,is yet to be selected. Of the four already announced, three have defintitelyg declared in what interest they have entered -the contest-——-Mr Burnett is Liberal, Mr +Leth'b.ridge, Reform, and Mr F. P, Brady is on the Labour side; Mr A. J. Jioblin, judging fnom his published views, will be an Independent. The only candidate bearing the indisputable impriniatur of his party is Mr B. P. Letihtbridge, who is standing in the interests of the Massey Government. There is a wide and distinct divergence of policy between the Liberals and Reform which some cunning people have contemptibly been trying to cover up. By trickery, disgusting insinceri-ty, and duplicity some years ago Labour was trapped in the ' fields of its natural enemy, and it seems “that similar craft and low cunning is i at work at the present momen-t in the l same party to make people believe that there is a sameness of policy pervading Liberalism and Reform. To such a degree of low Ineanness\has the practice gone th'Lt,,. Sir John Findlay and Mr’ Isitt have thought it advisable to imake clear in the chronicles of the I House that the policies of Liberalism ’and Reform are as wide apart as the poles; that there never can be rapprochement between them. Mr Isitt stated -that the National Cabinet was [purely a war expediency, and that sort tof thing was right. out of question in the thought of all progressive people. An alliance ‘between the Liberal Party and that sane Labour Party that shared with Liberalism -the credit of the achievements of the past, would _be a natural outcome of their mutual sympathies. Sir John Findlay followed, and quoted Hansard and political history, leaving no shadow of ‘doubt about there being so little difference between them that -they ought really to be on almost all occas-i~ons in the same division room. What -we wish to make clear is that at the forthcoming election the fight will be on distinct and clear,-cut lines; Liberalism and Labour are determined to crush out R-eforni apostles of land aggregation, profiteering, and privilege. When it is understood that the land policy of Reforrn has swelled the ranks ofland. and commission agents to nearly 11,000, men who live by land jugglery, parasites «-11 land exchange; men who are rtakzn from the. ranks of production to fill openings that the Reform land policy has made for them. Is it not in the interests -of the country that entirely new ; methods of scttlcm.ent"werc '.ldopr.e:l't We have, however, merely made r.3fer- t ences to clear away any delusion -‘tho-It I there being anysimilarity in the poli- 1 cies of Liberalism and Reform. Thisj country urgently needs a truly and purely representative Parliament, not a body engineered "by specious cunning and craft. A Government elected by a factions minority, whether it be lieform, Labour, or ‘Liberalism, cannot honestly claim. to represent the people, and it cannot logically, argue that it should be. supported against any (.1.1.1€1‘ minority, In fact, there are indicatiollS. not only in New Zealaud, but in Britain and in other leading nations of the earth that privileged minorities are becoming a. thing of the past. In

the great railway strike in Britain a _ti'tled aristocrat very nearly wrought‘ the destruction of the Motherland; and: it may fnirliy lie «claimed t'h:aAt the Empire has been saved inuthe greatest labour _«unheava,ll in ihilstdry {by the liberal “Lloyd George” and the sane labour “Thomas. ”. It is time all realised that the masses will- no longer tolerate a privileged fninority, and that ‘ all attempts at fierce by any engineer- 1 ed ‘fninority in this country and else-' where will be metiby whatever power “I 9 masses are ‘able to efiiciently wields Let it be understood that the settle-] ment of the British rail-way strike has conferred on Labour another Magnzil Chart-(1, the true history of which is‘ yet to be written. At .no time in the history of New Zealand has there been such imperative need for people to‘ exercise the kcenest judgment in .recording their votes as in the coming general elections. I