The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1925. TO PROVINCIAL LIBERALS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 257, 30 October 1925, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1925. TO PROVINCIAL LIBERALS.

For the cause that lacks assistants, For the wrong that need* resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that tee can 4a.

Some of tlie Auckland provincial j ! electorates have this time the distinction i •of being asked to choose between four j parties—Reform, National, Labour, and j Country. With all due deference to The earnest men who are carrying its banner. the Country party's objects appear to be • fully provided for by :;<e existing parties, which include a fair proportion of members directly engaged in or associated with rural pursuits. Labour is not likely to appeal to many voters who are connected directly or indirectly with the laud. It is suspect fur its land policy, among other tilings, and its ultimate objective of socialism i* not attractive to men and women in callings that are so strongly individualistic. It would be absurd to ignore the fact that the districts outside Oreater Auckland contain considerable xiroaii populations, which every year are becoming more important. Without, however, desiring to set town against country, we may remark that the Labour movement is almost entirely a growth of :he towns, and that it is inclined to look upon rural problems with the eye of the townsman. In nearly ail the electorates with which we are dealing now the Labour party has no chance, but there are cont-ests in which votes given to Labour may weaken the chances of the Liberal candidates. We say Libera! of choice, because, the word Xational is still strange to electors. The people of the Auckland province should not allow themselves to be bamboozled by the nonsense that is talked about the Reform party's higher claims as a friend of the farmer. The farmer owes ever so much more to Liberalism than it does to Reform. During the long reign of Liberalism, while the Conservatives were steadily opposing the beneficent legislation of Ballance. Seddon. McKenzie. and Ward, the Liberal party was helping the farmer in many ways. It was freeing the land by breaking up the big estates and promoting settlement: i: was furnishing cheap money and giving the farmer concessions: and in various directions it was helping him to get more out of his holding. Those good works must be carried on. and this is best done by tiie par*y that began them, a party that has an attractive policy, that will not make such blunders as the extravagant purchase of land for soldiers, and that will not be subservient to the great vested interests. We are not appealing to the provincial voter on the grounds of his own interests, but on those of the whole community. In the national interests the Xational party should be strengthened, so that it may carry out more efficiently the dutie* of the Opposition. or take over the Government. Xew Zealand, we hope, is over the worst of its post-war difficulties, but there are troublesome years ahead, and Parliament, as it has been constituted, has shown no marked ability to grapple with the problems that beset the people. The wise course is to trust to the party that it not shackled by conservatism or committed to the fallacies of Socialism. In the Bay of Islands tlie people have been represented by a member who was elected as an Independent, and is now a Reformer. The electorate used to be Liberal, and it has an opportunity. j through the candidature of Mr. Hornblow, of going back to its old faitb and setting its representation on a surer footing after the shifts of the last decade. In Marsden Mr. Murdoch fully deserves a renewal of confidence, and electors should remember that every vote given to the Labour candidate increases the chance of Reform's success. Coming to the seats south of Auckland, we do not see anything impossible in >vrestin<* Thames from the Government and winning it through Mr. Willy for the party that held it for so long. In Ohinemuri Mr. Poland carries the Libera! flae. though lie calls himself an Independent, and he merits the continued support of j Liberals. There is no reason why the ' quite undistinguished career of Mr. Macmillan. who beld Tauranga for Reform at the by-election, should be prolonged. Ti:f> Xational pas-iy lias a good candidate in Mr. Coulter, the j Mayor of T<? Arolia. In Waikato Mr. !F. Lye. who has held the seat for three ; years, should be ?upported; and in the j Raglan contest the fact that the Hon. R. F. Bollard is popular personally should i not be allowed to obscure his weakness as a Minister and the deficiencies <yf his j n.-my. Liberals should support Mr. S. C. - Lye. the Xationalist candidate. In ■ Hamilton Mr. Mi'.ner has a hard task, i but there is no need for Liberals to j despair. In Franklin Mr. Rea is conduct - j ing another plucky fight, this time in ; very exceptional circumstances, and he j should have the support of all Liberals. iln Waitomo the Xationalist flag is beim? ! carried by an able and energetic candi•date (Mr. Broadfoot'i. and we look to the [seat being won for the party. In Rotorua ! the Liberal-Labour vote. properly ! concentrated, should be sufficient to elect Mr. Clinkard. Down in Waimarino, if our Wellington friends will permit us to invade a portion of their province that is closely connected with Auckland. Mr. i Smith has an excellent chance of regaining the seat, which he lost three years ago through the splitting of the antiReform vote..

For the guidance of voters we append the following list of constituencies and candidates whom we recommend in the Xational party's interests: — Bay of LUnda . . R. HORNBLOW. Mar*den M A. J. MURDOCH Franklin . : J. REA Hamilton H. W. MILNER Waikato „...-«. F. LYE Raglan .„. S. C. LYE Thames -„. W. E. WILLY Ohmemuri H. POLAND Tauranga R- COULTER Rotorua C. H. CLINKARD Waitomo W. J. BROADFOOT Waimarino R. W. SMITH