ROOT 'EM OUT!

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10474, 10 November 1911, Page 6

ROOT 'EM OUT!

[To Tlie Editor.]

Ss rj Sir "Wilfrid Laurier has been presented fromi dixy to day -as a traitor to his race and province. He litis, been pilloried as engaged in a Jingo movement to enslave the compatriots, to destroy Canadian autonomy, to /sacrifice ttthe honour and integrity of Canada to the soliemes of the British Imperialists. Sir Wilfrid Laurier in a. speech at Montreal endeavoured to pirove that lie had not surrendered to Imperial persun.siion or coercioni. 'He pointed out that in 1902 lie had resisted and defeated the proposal that the Colonies should equip and maintain a reserve f;>ree of the army ito foe held at the

I disposition of the War Office, and also the proposal that the Colonies should make an annual cash contribution towards the maintenance of the Imperial Fleet. He claimed; that because of his opposition the proposal was abandoned as far as Canada was concea'ned. The above quotations «re taken fromi cable despatches, sent to this country on the defeat of the Canadian Ministry. If Sir Wilfrid Laurier is accused and driven from office ly the people of Canada, asi a tvai»>r to his country, what can be said of the conduct of Sir' Joseph, Ward, Baronet? Has Sir Joseph Ward sold the people of New Zealand, for a paltry title? Let the fallowing brief men-tion-of has acts speak for the'aselves:— Sir Joseph Ward was elected by. and owes everything to, the Libe.vl Party. They gave him their oonfidence with (their votes. He founl

the party .uniited, tranquil, and con-

fident of the future. The Liberal Pamty and its Government, h'-.id gained a world-wide refutation for

the success of its measures to aplil't the lot of its toiling masses. Throe years ago no one dreamed tlhat w* liad entered on a phase which, is • ci'd to be the Last of a democratic Government, first being Radical!, Conservative, and'last rotten. Two members, lof the Ministry who had honest convictions and desired to carry further the wise policy neretofore carried out \\e.vo driven to ;.•- sign on acoouiiit of the rottenness prevailing -under Sir Joseph Ward's leadership. This gave a great clnock to thousands, of people, who had prided themselves on .being connected with the Liberal Party. It is believed by miany people thlit the reason of thiVga-eat change in the Liberal polCcy is that Sir Joseph Wa:d is a natural borm flunkey, who has become &o intoxicated with the attention paid him ,by royalty and the aristocracy of Great Britain, that it had turned Jus brain.

There must he something in this theory, for every itime Sir Jois?ph Ward returned from '•■. London 1 e brought back either-some ; silly notion

like changing the title of New Zealand from Colony to Dominion, <r hysterically giving away the j>ri-i-j of one, and offering two fbatt-lesthip's :f necessary to the British Government, and last oif all M& act of forcing a hated inscription for t!v rii"t time on a British) people. Of com se Parliament passed those laws at his bidding, but it has* heen tTititbfully said that the Parliament just pasted away would pass anything except a reduction in their .salary. Just turn to the quotation, of "he cable news. from. Canada once more, and if you have the liesst knowledge of the true meaning of what Sir losepli Ward has. done, you wall begin to realise that under the flimisy j»veience of defending New Zealand,

yoitr dhrildfrem Jiave been sold, and -.the hard earned' wealth of the eoirwnun-

ity placed at the disposal of any JiiugO Government that may hereafter be elected in Great Britain.

And. what a wretched, cowardly Conscription Act it is. All children of 14 years must serve tfil their thirtieth year in amy part of the world. Aaiother phase of the bold Conscription Act Sar Joseph Ward is responsible for is-, that a boy is taken from- under the parent's control at a critical period of his life. If the Iwy would rather play marbles, learn music, or a, tirade *to get his living by in after years., he is denounced; a'S a coward, and an uuidesiraMe cha.racrter. If his father and motQier also object, they presumably, hla-viuug '{ho best interests of the child at. heart, are treated as of no account, and cannot even go to gaol instead of their boy, if they want to.

A Mr Napier, one of the leaders of the Navy League, and :\t present a candidate for Parliament, stater in a speech to the elector;; that hie estimate is that it .would cost £900,000 a year to rarry out the Defence Act, and that hii& estimate has been, proved to be tdie correct one because the military authorities have decided not to carry out the Act for the present, but to wait a while and inn-ease the amount gradually. In addition to the above cost, the Xavy League, in a recent conference, demands, further expenditure on the British Navy as well as more boys to become food for powder.

We are now paying £250,000 a" year to the Navy, and don't forget that it is an easy transition from boys, to compel all men to serve, and spend every pound that can he raised to fight the battle of the titled and wealthy Jingo friends of out only Baronefc. The .late South African. War andthe Aresent thieving raids in Morocco and Tripoli, .should be enough to show that under the .pretext of defence all great military 'systemls have been used for aggression.

The only thing anti-eonaaription-isits and, dissatisfied Liberals can do at the coming eletion, is to boycott all memibens of tlie present Oabinet, also all Liberal candidates who are in favour of coii'scription and a supporter of the present by voting for the Labour or Opposition candidates- as seems best. You can then g.uccesisfuilly root out the Baronet, and all his supporters.—l am, etc.,

H. DIJGGAN, Wellington, November 9, 1911.