The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1890.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3632, 7 October 1890, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1890.

Wjirw; a liatf|e is fouglit thero is somo heart in tho combatants; the firing of tlijo guns, tlie 'blast of l||o trumpets, tho shouts of Ihc leaders, and the movement of tho troops quicken the pulse and excite the imagination into believing that war is a glorious thing, But wben the curtain closes on the scene, when a s|ipypy i? made of tl|o glim battle peld,'and tlio dead are 'counted and the wounded numbered, then and only then is realised the horror of the combat The day after the battle is the time to be dreaded, and in our little labor war in New Zealand wo arc nearing a sadder experience than rirjy go l|?yp yet pucgunlered. When the Union leaders, bay'e'madp their last futjle effort and virtually throw up the game, there will he a general nut, and on the field will remain a long list of killed and wouuded. Thousands of men will be found thero with wives and families depending on them, men whose occupations are gone, vjiqaa megrjs of subsistence are killed, ant) thousands of o(]>pr3 who haye suffered serious loss and disaster by t||o conflict, fl'lnle tho battle still lasfs there is eofpo liono find gome help, but onge [|in lighting is ovpr, and the rations stopped, and each man left to fftoo tiip wolf that the Union leader has brougliji to his door, there will be indescribable misery and suffering. There will perhaps bo" some'who will thoughtlessly sjiy I'spprp tjjem right" but we trust a' better and moft) generous sentiment than this will proyuil, There was something heroic in the loyalty with which .the strikers obeyed the foolish, lire wicked call " Come out men:" it was a ni-.ul cull to answer and no man with a ivit'e and f'Jtnily was for ono moment Justified in jeopardising the welfare-of those dependant upon him by obeying such a call, but the action was not ignoble, jfc lyasj honest though'mistaken and the penalty for the'error wi]l bo a serious one, The heayiest penalty of all will be the lot of tin Union leaders who have made such a grievous blunder, who have wrecked the fortunes of thousands of ikeir fellow men, aiiij now do not know which way to turn, In the Conference they have failed to justify their conduct, and in the campaign they luvtdisplayed culpable incapacity. All that appears now to remain for them to do is to retire from the public position they have been occupying, sadder and wiser n.en. Their intention may have been good, but their judgment has' been hopelessly bad, They have no doubt been deluded by tho poliipl claptrap habitually used by many prorojiicnt pnblipmen in New Zealand, who have fpfjefj pn the labour vote fflr/wis. The wind has

beep eownby men 'occupying "eminent positions.- IVo fancy Sir George Grey is reßponsiblo for much of it, and now the whirlwind lias to bo reaped. The present struggle is nbw.virtimlly.at an end, but' there is much misery and distress to be endured by the. losers before they can regain anythiug like the comFort and prosperity which tboy formerly enjoyed. It has been said over the water that boycotting is a gun which kicks harder than it hits. We are • beginning to realizn this in New. Zealand, where the public have bden liit fairly bard, but the kick, the l'eoil of thfe weapon, which is prostrating the Unions, is a much more serious affair.