REPLY TO "DAIRYMAN."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 154, 25 November 1914, Page 8

REPLY TO "DAIRYMAN."

To the Editor. "Dairyman" must toe in a bad way to boost" up his candidate for the Taumarunui Electorate when he finds it necessary to fall back on the cry of Red Feds and Liberals. His memory must be short, or he must think other peoples are when he forgets to

tell your readers that his leader, the present Prime Minister, is wholly responsible for the introduction into the House of the greatest of Red Fedders, Mr Payne, in addition to which it must not be forgotten that he specially went out of his way to secure the return of Mr Robertson, the so-called Red Fed member for Otaki. At the second ballot in both cases, Mr Massey was instrumental in securing the return of these members, so lie and he alone must take the consequences. They were not so servile or docile as was anticipated l)v the Tory leader,' otherwise we should not have heard so much about their being opposed to farmers. Evidently the whole thing depends on whether these men are amenable to the blandishments of Toryism. If so, it is all right, but if they have wider ideas of ineum et teum, then they are all wrong. This is the way of Toryism. In regard to the strike, the less "Dairyman" endeavours to suggest that the Government had any hand in the suppression of tiie unfortunate and ill-

I advised step taken the better. To endeavour to suggest the Government were strong in the matter will be derided by those who followed events closely. Like all actions of the party, the strikebreaking showed' a most lamentable weakness. They were afraid to tackle the question by boldly setting the proper channels of law and order into force, but handed the whole matter over to a body of self-appointed merchants, who were reaping a golden harvest out of the position by increasing the cost of living to the farmer as well as the rest of the public. How much old stock that would have found its way to the destructor was disposed of during the time these misguided men were breaking the law? Yet the farmer, who takes no interest ;n politics, except for a few days once, a year, I speak of the average of us, is deluded into believing that Massey was responsible for breaking the strike. Nothing of the sort. It was the farmer himself who brought about this desired end, and lie alone, and mainly at his own expense, and certainly at great incomenience to many. So far as the jmsition of the Liberals in not putting up a candidate where there is a Labour one standing, this is moonshine. If "Dairyman" follows the papers he would find this state of thins exists in many places this election, find wie;r it lines not the Liberal Party fully realises that it is beter.to have labwr represented (as it has a perfect right

to), than allow tlie seat to go to a minority vote by the Tory candidate being returned, for it is better that there be even Red Feds who would be in a minority in the House than be dominated by tlie Tories, whose whole and sole aim and object would be the betterment of . the few rich at the expense of the many poor, including the small farmer. Surely it is significant that the Premier's opponent, who was his chairman in 1911, himself a small fanner ,is now ■ opposing his former chief. Why? Let ■ us take Mr Glass's own statement: —"I , cannot support Mr Massey again for 1 , am now satisfied that he is not the. i friend of the small settler, but of the i squatter." Surely such an indictment i is sufficient for any average man on the ; land, and judging by the feeling of the country in the North Taranaki district, this will be distinctly shown on December 10th. An analysis of the voting at the 1911 election will show that Mr Jennings received some 1552 farmers' votes, whilst Mr Wilson, with all the specious unfulfilled promises behind him, secured only !)G more than his opponent. This does not look much like the farmer being against the Liberal cause; in fact, under the circumstances, it shows plainly that the support was almost equally divided, but after twentyseven months of the Massey reign the average thinking farmer will of a surety support the man whose party alone, was responsible for the introduction of cheap , money to the man on tlie land.—l am, etc., ; ON THE LAND. t Waitara, November 27, 1914.