The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1911. THE ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 138, 6 December 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1911. THE ELECTION.

To-morrow night I\ T ew Zealand wjll know whether or not Mr. Massey is to be Premier. The prophets have prophesied, tongues have wagged, mud has been thrown; but the people will decide. We are among those who believe that the people are not eo greatly influenced by harangues and wordy political fights, accusation and counter-accusation, but that past achievement will weigh more than promise for the future. To-morrow the people must go to the booths asking themselves what right the Ward Government has to remain in' power.' They must also ask themselves whaj; reason there can be for placing the Opposition in power. On the one hand there is a Government party which has a record of progress and achievement extending over twenty years, and, on the other hand, there is a fused party of imitation Tory and Labor Socialist, whose claim to place is that they have persistently fought those measures and those reforms that have kept the Seddon amd Ward Governments in power. There could be no possible harm in' turning out the Ward Government and in substituting a Massey Government, if the people decided that the achievements of the former hud been of no consequence and that there was promise of a happier regime under the benign leadership 0 f the enemy.of roo.st of the progressive legislation. One has not to convince the people of the greater excellence of Mr. Masscy and his party, but that the Government which has made such great strides in national, humanitarian and social legislation is no longer fit to carry on the work it initiated. The people must ask themselves whether, supposing Mr. Massey had been Premier during the past years, lie would have countenanced the many measures that have 60 advanced our happiness and prosperity. It is possible to criticise the Government with the greatest possible justice. That we have not hesitated to do on many occasions. Disguised Tories suggest to the people tli.it they are the true and only Liberals. Mr. Massey, who has so persistency fougbfc the reforms the Government Party has carried, would not repeal any of the Acts he fought. This being the case, why dispossess the present Government from the Treasury benches? The laws ar» all right; at any rate Mr. Massey and his supporters say they are, and why not allow their administration to remain for the present in the hands of those who passed them? Anyway, we see no reason why the Government should not bo given a renewal of tfio confidence the country has for so many years reposed in them. Mistakes, as wo have said, they have made; some things that obtain we do not like; some lines of policy we have no great sympathy

with; hut we cannot feel that the present Tory-cum-Sccialist Party would be any improvement. On the contrary we hold the view that the Opposition, tied as they are to the fat man and big landowners (though the socialist and small farmer portion does not appear to be aware of the fact) cannot have the real sympathy they profess for the small man, the. struggling settler, and the worker. If they had, surely they would not have so bitterly assailed the beneficent constructive measures brought down during the past twenty years, and vainly endeavored to prevent becoming law. They were, for instance, opposed to old age pensions, to workers' compensation, compulsory acquisition of lands for close settlement, the Arbitration Acts, protection of workers' earnings, advances to settlers, graduated land tax, etc. For the cheap money schemes they predicted disaster, crying out that capital would be driven out of the country. Some of the financial institutions, unable to get their 10 to 20 per cent, from the down-trodden, struggling settlers, were certainly driven out of the country, as they should have been years before, and the settler can now get his money at a fair rate, at five per cent., and the difference in the amount he has to pay in interest enables him to carry on profitably and reach a position of comfort. As a result of these operations, the country has progressed in a remarkable way, whatever may be said to the contrary by the Jeremiahs. Xo other country has the wealth or the trade per head, no country where the conditions of living are so easy, no country where the wealth i 3 so evenly'distributed, no country where the small settler or worker has such opportunities of advancement. It may be suggested that no country has such a large national debt, but alongside this can be placed assets that reduce the amount to a nominal figure, and show that the debt 5s 70 per cent, revenue providing and has been a material factor in developing the country and placing the people in the prosperous position they are at the present time. AVe do not think, therefore, it is in the interests of the country that Sir Joseph Ward should be driven from'office, but that the country would be justified in extending his lease of power for another three years. Mr. Massey has done good work in opposition. The country would also be justified in extending his period of office for another three years.