THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1912. A CANDID CRITIC.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10581, 12 March 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1912. A CANDID CRITIC.

flit; -extraordinary policy outlined in the Governor's at the recent special session of Parliament is being critically examined in certain quarters. 'By most thinking people the terin ".policy," as applied to the manifesto, is regarded as an impudent misnomer. . The .manifesto was obviously prepared with the object of influencing the votes of Independents and Labourites'in the critical division wmeh was to be taken in the House. That it had .tlie effect its trainers de~. sired, may be judged from the speeches made on the AddreSs-in-Reply and the direction in which the votes of the waverers were recorded. People are now beginning to ask whether the policy -of Sir Joseph Ward will be bind-' ing upon his successors. If it will not, it is fair to assume that the votes of several members of the House were obtained under what may rightly be termed false pretences? If the reconstructed Ministry intends , keeping ■faith \v:th a::d adopting

the platform outlined by a discredited Prime Minister, what, need is there for reconstruction ? It is interesting to note the light in. which some of the prominent members of the Liberal party view the manifesto of Sir Joseph Ward. The Hon. <&. Fowlds, a former Minister, who has the saving virtue of being honest to his convictions, has no compunction about condemning the ''policy" disclosed in the Governor's Speech. In 'an interview, he said: —"There are two or .three items in the Speech so reactionary that I cannot refrain from condemning them. First and most serious is the proposal to raise exemptions under the land tax from £-500 to £IOOO. I would not even have expected Mr Massey to have the temerity to make such a proposal. Then there is another sentence in one clause of the speech which indicates an intention to practically abolish the graduated land tax as it applies to towns and cities. That I object to most emphatically, for if ithcre is any differentiation at all in the application of the land .tax, then it ought to 'be especially heavy on the city sections "where values have been so clearly and quickly added to by the growth of population. I am also very strongly opposed to the idea of allowing County Councils to elect or nominate a proportion of members of the Legislative Council. If that Chamber is to continue to exist at all, its members should either he elected directly by the people or by the people's representative in. Parliament. The latter course is the one which I think the better. My-com-plaint with the Liberal Party for several years past has been the want of a definite "formulated programme of reforms. The Governor's Speech may be said to indicate a new programme, but there are a good many items of which I disapprove entirely. Other portions are in the right direction. Unquestionably, however, the whole programme should have been formulated before, and not after the election. The electors have a right to know before casting their vote what are the programmes of the various parties. It is not a fair thing to formulate and circulate a- new ; P r 9~ gramme -after the election fight - is over."