Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1911. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10157, 6 February 1911, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1911. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

The political situation in New Zealand was never more,interesting than it is at the. present juncture. Tie progress of : time and the .development of events has produced something akin to a crisis, i The Government, of which Sir Joseph "Ward is the head, can no longer be regarded as representative of the combined Liberal and Laboxir Party. It has, by its negative attitude towards Labour, forfeited all claims to the support of what are termed the "masses." At (the same time its extravagant administration, its multiplication of State offices, its piling up of the national debt, and its constant increasing of the burdens of taxation, have ostracised a large section of the community which has claimed a Liberal sentiment; On the other hand, the Opposition has severed itself from' the old Conservative school which recognised only broad acres, and has 'become Liberal in the truest and most acceptable phase of the term. The electors of the Dominion, therefore, have no longer, to choose between Liberal.and Conservative in the sense that one stands for progress and the other for stagnation. They have to select between reckless finance and weak administration on the one hand, and a bold policy, of land settlement and reform on the other. After all, what this country wants is riot a" multiplication of, laws and administrative offices, but a policy which will develop the resources of the country

as rapidly as possible by placing men and women upon the land on the best of terms. Can it bo said that the Ward Government is pursuing this policy ? Has it given anything Jike au equivalent for the enormous taxation it has been extracting annually from the people ? Has it opened up the land for settlement as it should have done? Has it endeavoured to make existence easier and more tolerable with any section of the community ? Has it encouraged the growth of families and the

' increase of population? Has it done anything to justify its claim to the recognition of "Liberal?" No!—emphatically No! For years past it has pursued a policy of evasion and equivocation. It has plunged, and plunged, and plunged. It has clutched at every passing straw to save its political existence. In its desperation it has descended to the tactics of the professional bagsman. It has gone a long distance towards corrupting the constituencies, and has been actuated throughout by motives of expediency instead of by a statesmanlike sentiment. The time 'has come when 'the people want a peep into the pigeon-holes of the biggest wooden building in the world. They want a little light thrown upon I the inner workings of things. They want a return to the policy of selfreliance and economy which was introduced by the late Mr John Ballance. They want the real "Liberalism," and not the counterfeit which has .been palmed upon them during the last few years. How can the electors secure these things ? Only by voting Opposition every time. •