The Press TUESDAY. DECEMBER 16. 1890.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7736, 16 December 1890, Page 4

The Press TUESDAY. DECEMBER 16. 1890.

iWaaa are two mete of labor eaudidatea. There is the man of the labor clasa pmre and simple. He feas belonged tfc it alibis life, undergoneall kstrials, farmed bis own Judgment of wbatrit wants. He is undoubtedly of opinion that legislation, and somewhat drastic legislation, will alone care the eyile under which, as he feeis, ha and his friende lure suffered, Hβ i* eeaaeioue if

*ff?h*§-*li9 «p|KwfcM«*y:--tta*v*t-*ifc powers which will present their Cause & Xjegiel&ure; and what isnsoTe to the purpose, he has byrnir eonttuot discussions which .events have brought about, impressed the belief on Jbja feUdW-i^oret^tha^ thiols >h.i&, t ne'caW do.^ 4 l^;i§ c trusted by, them,,and in their view he deserves their trusts The objects which he seeks to seoure are saoh as are usually known by the ferms; jl!*ft4, nationalisatibn, State shops, progressive taxation according to wealth, and so on. Tiiiere are,those, we; the working: men i?ha sincerely believe that these objects are right in themselves, and especially necessary - to, the interests, of laborV and with; these views they have ev»r£ righf;t» do their best,/;fco enfotw t&eir. policy, .We do not a©t<s with all this. State workshops have been tried over and over again, and the result has always been a failure. Land nationalisation : c&n \\ only ;$& brought ':*sss-, either fey a gigantap scheme of confiscation, or by what, not so absolutely immoral, is - not, less destructive in its results, an enormous borrowing - operation. Progressive speaks for itself. The iiaorti a| man has, saved the more it takes:from hii% and the sight of ,it 4estroy«('in ¥*$$'->$$*& ! -_ i&e \ ijicentift^:to thrift. The three together will destroy, wealth without which Stated cannot exist, rapidly and, more irretrievably than anything else that has ever been devised. , .We need not tell the-working i»ett t that in subnVa collapse they will certainly not escape; object is to obtain for iGheiuselves a larger share of the general wealth than they, at present enjoy, and what their schemes amount to is | the destruction altogether of the wealth they seek to share. ' : Others will tell them a different ] I story. They are a power, as the late I election has just, shown. The Opposition managers here, whatever they have done elsewhere, have shown in; their electioneering tactics not a little cleverness—of a sort* Their business, according to their conception, of it, has been to secure the labor vote, but not to be in any way hampered by it when: j they had got it. They have swallowed the whole labor programme without making a single wry face over it. They are up to the neck in promises, bat they have taken care at, the same time ,to avoid, if possible, beiug called upon to fulfil them. There have been plenty of labor candidates, real %ona fide labor candidates, ready to start whenever' they were wanted. There were more: of them, in fact, than at all suited the purpose of the Opposition managers., They could not with any safety to the > interests of 'the.party be ignored, but it was most undesirable that anything like the number pressing forward should really get into, the House As far as possible they were started upbn bogus candidatures. One who could just as well have been got in for Christohureh as any of those'■ w.bo actually succeeded, was sent away' to Wellington where he had no chance. Another was sent to fail at Eaiapoi, £■' third to the Halswell The 'same game, was tried at the Heathoote, but there' the labor party was too canny and too strong to be resisted. To placate them > the Opposition threw over one o? their best speakers, and consented with an jJpl' grace to his beiag superseded by Mr.. Tannbb. It has been showu by the (result that three labor candidates could easily have been returned for- Christ* church, but this would never have* suited the plans of the Opposition managers. Their own men first, the working men representatives when there -was no one else, and only then because it could not be helped. This is no more in fact than yrm said by lie* Ballakcb in hie .eminently tactical letter to Mr.. Joyos. Hβ says in pretty plain terms that he does notj want lajbjs representatiyes. j.,We will! quote bis letter :r—" With respect to ( " what is kaown.as labor candidates, I' ! " think the people generally will make!, " a.saistake if they are'Jed away,bj a j ■" cry of tHe>ind. What is wanted is 1 Va broad liberal programme which 'twill protect the rights of labor, and ," promote wholesome reforms of every il .description. A member of Parlia--1 v ment ought not to be * mere dele"gata for a particular class, but "should be a representative pledged •■• tb , principles. T £hH f kind,of reprai " tentative will do more good for the I'" working olasses ' than a one-idead '" man aent to , Wellington to speak by "the card, and who, perhaps, .« would do his speaking badly." Wβ really do not know.that the'thing, could be put more plainjy,,, A /'mere' delegate for a' particular class " is no, .good.' Hβ should be "ft representa- , tiV6 pledged to principles/ not/ a; 'l \ oae-idead man sent to speak by the h< card," This was what was said in the early days of preparation for' tha election. /■ There were evi-. dencea even then of its being indus* Itkibuely and what we have said above supplies some details which at the tinae, J perhaps, were not fully noted. How far i<he;e is any intention to carry oat the labor programme may be inferred from th& altered tone of theiff present deliverances! . What we are hearing now is all in the moderate tone. What seems to be thought is that, '.the party'may maintain itself in power i by means of a policy which, wiiile it ] shall have the appearance of promising i great; things for all its sections in turn, will not really oe allowed to accomplish anything unsatisfactory to its less ad- J vanced supporters. We have- had this sort of game played before. Bills have even been brought in, and where not brought in have been talked of, of which nothing farther has been heard,, bat which, at the same time, have accomplished all the evil of which they were capable by the unrest and uncertainty which they constantly created. This, no doubt, is not revolution in earnest i but it is that which oomes exceedingly sear to ; it. in its effects. Those who i with their eyes open to the wornQuences deliberately commit themselves to games of this sort, know well what injury they are doing to the best interests of tija colony, and are far more to be blamed than its honest advocates, whom they have succeeded in making their dupes.'