SOLDIERS AND POLITICS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 239, 6 October 1916, Page 2

SOLDIERS AND POLITICS.

PROPOSED NEW PARTY.

A MILITARY LEADER NAMED. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, October 4. There is much talk here, among civilians as well as among men. returned j from the front, of the rise of a ''Soldiers' ' party," that is going to revolutionise the I political life of this country, and give it ' a significance and a distinction it has j not possessed in the past, .lust how the soldiers are going to accomplish in the twinkling of an eye what two generaj tions of civilians have failed to achieve in six or seven decades the promoters of . the movement have not yet explained: | but they are satisfied a new force is about to enter New Zealand politics, and make itself heard and felt in the constituencies and in Parliament. Already the question of a leader is being discussed, the name of an officer in high command now serving with some distinction being more frequently mentioned than any | other, and a policy is being shaped in i the minds of some enthusiasts. There is to be no parleying with any of the j other parties, no servile acceptance of | old shibboleths and old traditions. Everything is to be brand new from top to bottom, from the platform and pledge to the badge on the lappel of the political I soldier's coat.

THE FOURTH PARTY. I When the political soldiers come down ' from the skies and translate their high . aspirations into practical suggestions it !is difficult to see bow they are going to launch a fourth party upon the troubled sea uf politics without coming into more or' less direct conflict with the parties I already there. The only rational purI pose in their venture caß be to remedy defects, small or great, in the existing state of affairs. Some of them are blaming the Reformers for what has been i done or left undone, some are blaming the Liberals, and some the Labour party. .They went to the war with the party ! prejudices which possess other members lof the community, and probably they ' have returned with those prejudices no , better defined, but just as pronounced. las ever. When they have bad time to i look around for themselves, they will i realise that a permanent coalition between the Reformers and the Liberals, which is the heart's desire of some timid souls on both sides, is no nearer accomplishment now that it was two years ago, and that the conclusion of the war will bring them all the opportunities for political fighting they bad before. If the political soldiers are as good as their present word,' their votes and influence will be thrown on the side of sound logical progress, no matter by what name it may be called, and in this way they will render a much greater service to themselves and to the people at larg<; than they would by dissipating their strength upon an attempt to achieve the impossible.

LAND FOR SOLDIERS. J A matter of more immediate im-j portance to soldiers than the formation oi a new -political, party is.-brought into ; prominence by the Government's invitation to landowners throughout the Dominion ..to pu,t a price. on of j their properties as they are prepared to sell to the-State for the purpose of, closer settlement by mon who have re-! i turned from "the "war. ""The Wellington Land Board, thanks to the enthusiasm I of the Commissioner and the hearty co-i operation of his colleagues, has done very excellent work in providing returned men with opportunities to make homes for themselves, but like the other boards it has little land suitable for subdivision into small areas at its disposal, and has been compelled to leave a num ber of eager applicants unsatisfied. The cases of these men cannot be met by compulsory acquisition because the law does not allow the State to take small areas nor to "pick the eyes," as it were, cut of larger estates; but it is hoped that many owners holding land of the character reqnired will stretch their patriotism to the length of offering portions of their properties at reasonable rates. The Minister in charge has no intention of allowing the State to be exploited in the name of 'patriotism, but he is anxious to place as'many men as possible on the land under such conditions as would enable them to become producers within a reasonable period.

MORE MEN. The suggestion made the other day to the effect that an appropriate tribute to the New Zealanders who have fallen in the fighting that is going on in the western front would be the dispatch of additional troops to the assistance of the Mother Country and her allies is being endorsed in several influential quarters. The iDominion," having pointed out that there are 6ome 80,000 unenlisted men in the First Division of the Reserve, and estimated that at least 15,000 of these, a six-months' supply of recruits, are fit for service, urges the Minister of Defence to consider the propriety of increasing New Zealand's contribution to the great army that is asserting the cause of right and justice. "We believe," it says, "it would be sound strategy for New Zealand either to increase her rate of Reinforcements substantially, or else to set about the for-| mation of an additional body of, say, two brigades of infantry to be put into the field for the spring campaign of next year." Of course, the military authorities speak guardedly of this proposal, waiting for a lead from the Government, but persons who take a keen interest in defence matters, and particularly in recruiting, believe that the additional men could be readily obtained, and that their enlistment would be the finest possible reply to the enemy's suggestion that the Dominions are growing] weary of the burdens imposed upon them by the war. i