The Maoriland Worker WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1918. LABOR'S CHALLENGE TO REACTION
Maoriland Worker, Volume 9, Issue 359, 13 February 1918, Page 4
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The Maoriland Worker WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1918. LABOR'S CHALLENGE TO REACTION
When Labor decided to enter a candidate for the by-election for .Wellington North it was felt lhat -vvhat, was desired Avas not so much the return of a man.as the vindication of a principle, and the triumph of an idea. The National/Government for three lung years had stood as the buttress of privilege and the rampart of reaction. It stood for oppression, stagnation and class legislation. ]t assumed unto itself powers, denied by the Constitution, and when these illegalities were questioned outside Parliament it framed War Regulations with which it ruthlessly bludgeoned its critics." It stole the freedom of the people, conscripted the young men, and when the young men protested, believing in the constitutional right of a British subject to criticise measures sanctioned by Parliament, their leaders were thrown into jail and their voices stilled. It fastened the chains of Militarism on the young life of the Dominion, but it cringed and grovelled before the Profiteer and Exploiter. It mocked the people with a farcical inquiry into the Cost of Living, but made provision in war loans for the rich where they might shelter their riches from the reach of the tax collector. It sent the pick of the youth to face hardship, mutilation, and death for 5/- a day, but it subsidised the most grinding- monopoly in New Zealand, the Union Steamship Company, to the extent of two and a half millions sterling. It held red blood so cheap and red gold so dear that it offered one as a sacrifice to the other. Then, when it heard the angry mutterings of the people, it again violated the spirit of the Constitution that its own miserable life might be prolonged. With "prescience of coming disaster one of its number made his political position a stepping-stone to the judiciary, being aided and abetted in -establishing a rotten precedent by his colleagues in Cabinet. Thus a by-election has been precipitated in a constituency which has been looked upon as a stronghold of Reform. Aware of the magnitude of the task, conscious of the dark forces arrayed against it, but confident that the justness of its cause will be its inspiration and its ultimate triumph, Labor lias entered the lists against the nominee of the National Government. The issues at stake are vast, they are vital to the future well-being of the country, and in fighting the campaign along these issues LABOR IS RAISING THE BY-ELECTION FROM THE SLOUGH OF PAROCHIALISM TO AN EVENT OF DOMINION IMPORTANCE- The principles for which Labor stands are writ large across the face of the world. They are at present shaking the Chancellories of Europe and threaten the destruction of Militarism and Capitalism. They stand for government by consent of the governed, and the rights of the people to call their governors to book and to dismiss them if need be. In New Zealand that right has been abrogated and Democracy has been flouted by a vicious Rump which no longer represents the people it oppresses. In Mr. Holland, Labor has entered a man uniquely equipped for such a contest, a man who has struggled and suffered for" her cause, who has championed her in the darkest days of her trial, and who with piercing dialectic has exposed the shame and hypocrisies of her opponents. Mr. Holland's indictment of the National Government is made on the broad lines of principle and equity. He has never descended to person-/ alities, but his criticisms have been fearlessly caustic and ruthlessly logical. His platform in the Wellington North campaigh is Dominion â– wide, and his speeches make articulate those incoherent mutterings which we hear from all parts of the country. The electors of Wellington North hold a great responsibility in their hands when within a few weeks they go to the polls. Their choice is simple, but its effect will, be far-reaching and lasting. Briefly, they are asked to decide for HOLLAND AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRATIC FORCES OF THE DOMINION or LUKE AND ABJECT SURRENDER TO THE REACTIONARY PARTY AT PRESENT IN POWER, Mr. Luke is the candidate of Reform, running on the National Government's "Wm-the-War" ticket. His platform is a platitude which is being exploited by the Tory Press at the present time for all it is worth. We are solemnly told that the ultimate success of the Allies depends on Mr. Luke's return; that Mr. Holland's election would be hailed in the halls of Potsdam. Now, with all deference to Mr. Luke as a very estimable citizen, could anyone with a modicum of humor imagine him standing between the Allies and world disaster? The Wellington North electors will surely not be taken in with such cheap claptrap. They are people with perspective and plenty of humor. They have a knowledge of values, and they know that neither Mr. Luke nor the National Government for that matter are essential to war-winning. BUT THEY ALSO KNOW THAT IN THE INTERESTS OF THIS LITTLE DOMINION THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE TO GET OUT AND GIVE THE PEOPLE. A CHANCE TO ARRANGE THEIR OWN AFFAIRS. SUB-EDITOR.
