MR. FORBES' CANDIDATURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 121, 13 November 1911, Page 4

MR. FORBES' CANDIDATURE.

Mr. Forbes, the Independent Opposition candidate for the Taranaki seat, dt;e s not believe in hiding his light under the proverbial bushel. Prominence and publicity seem to be a.< necessary to his constitution as rain is to the Taranaki dairyman. At last election he felt he had a call to one of the Wellington seats, ofFered his valuable services to the electors, was very confident in his addresses as to his 'success—and scored 4.51 votes. A few weeks ago the call came again, and he rushed into the Taumarunui fray, but on the emergence of another "Reform" candidateblessed word, ''reform"; it sounds better than '•conservative"—he gracefully retired, so as not to prejudice the chances of the official "Reform" candidate! But the "call" came again, this time to Taranaki; and during the past week or so he has been peregrinating about, impressing on the benighted and unsophisticated folk of this favored electorate that they want a change in the present representation, that the Government have no change anyhow, and that they ought to replace Mr! Okey with Mr. Forbes, a man. he assures them, of brilliant parts, with all his years before him. versed in everything appertaining to politics and the people's welfare, a patriot to the core, and able to "lose his two opponents on the public platform either as a speaker, a debater, or a critic!" It would appear almost superfluous for Mr. Okey to come forward in these circumstances. Why the Opposition Party have not hastened to restrain Mr. Okey from again offering his services is hard to understand. If half of what his modest and energetic adversary says is true, Mr. Okey would be ill-advised to continue his candidature. It would he better for the Oppositionists that there should be no split in their ranks, and consequently that they concentrate their forces on the stronger man, who, from his own showing, manifestly is Mr. Forbes. The Party nianagers may have already seen the futility of carrying on their'backs such a weak and discredited candidate as the present member, and secretly resolved to throw him over in favor of this enterprising and energetic young man. Seriously, however, we cannot bring ourselves to an acceptance of the value Mr. Forbes places on himself as a political force. His speech was of the stock order, one that may have been heard from dozens of Opposition candidates during the past few weeks, and one that will probably bo heard again in the Theatre Roval to-night, served up, of course, in a different way. First of all, we have "the crisis" that the country is face to face with—an old friend that is trotted out triennially. Then we have the serviceable handles about the Government running the country headlong into debt and general perdition; that the Government is unduly increasing the annual expenditure, as well as taxation and the cost of living; that the Government is non-progressive, without a policy, without even a reputation, being corrupt in administration, and so on. On the other side, we have told us that with the Opposition in power only the path of virtue will be trodden, and all the pitfalls of this life avoided; that the country will be developed to its highest point and made to blossom as the rose, without, straining the finances or continuing the present "extravagant" policy or adding to our public indebtedness; that everyone \yill be happy and contented in this new state of Utopia; and that the "reformers" who will bring nil this, about will be for ever regarded as the saviours of their country! And thus' the political game is played.