WHY WE ARE NATIONALISTS.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9359, 7 March 1896, Page 9

WHY WE ARE NATIONALISTS.

BY WELM-0-OMAN.

The real teat of the fighting value of the National Association i\s a weapon of warfaie is best judged by the dismay it has caused in the ranks of the party new in power. While they consider it justifiable to keep *'.l tha knowledge to themselves, except inch portions as they deem it advisable to nake known through their organs, tbey feel hurt il those who are not in touch with i_*m occasionally breaK out iv print. Ministers, if thoy could exercise their will, would refuse minorities the right of speech iv protests. To their sorrow they have not bfeu able tc muzzle tho Press; and when colonists of older standing than themselves, and men who bore the brunt of the early ssitlement of the colony, venture to express their views, they are douounced as •• pigeontoe. Johunie-, or long-eared Jackies 7, by the Ministerially edited paper at the seat of Government. It is through the leading columns of this entertaining morning journal that we glean where the shoe piuaies hardest with Mr Seodon and his satellites. In the is*ue of iuwday last the leading article was devoted to a critic sm on tbe National Association. We arc jus.lti.d in feeling proau ttt tne nouce tsaen of us; it indicates tout Mr i-recogmsiug our power, and that the staff of the paper ia being arced on to -nd author it ie*, ancient or modern, to hold up ths -nationalists aa being people who i-beni_ W ° rthy ° f lLe aVL W OII of true It fa jast here that we would a* the nedm.io,, organ audits first cousin, tho IsjUtitvit lieus, to dttihe thoir terms. It is nreeaguufld ru!o in D.bathg Clubs that abstract term is _, e d t )y _ apea _er h« should explicitly explain what he in«aa ) byttißla., u .u,g«, he uses. Aud that _. nl "" ? k *' Lot either ti,e Wellington or Christchurch org».s _f the stalled Liberal party give to ns clear definitions of woat thty me.n by a Liberal or a Democrat, " r »y ;ho hyphenated word Liberalliemoerat, aud then wo will know where to meet them. A A !/ qr * hea MP'«ed National Associatiou, lite New Zealand Tim,-* oeing iv the sere and yellow leaf politicly, and burdened with *i'w rra y Blaft * a, 'd a Board of Directors *«« Ministeiiat advisers so bulky that individual efforts have long siuce departed, and Socialism in the lca„.r« taken its place— the National A'socialum is wittily fore•nortened into the _.V. Ass. How hugely this combination of Tipperary giants must "* v « enjoyed th« j..ke. It is the custom of the-foe Zealand Times to serve up aucient chestnuts as ori.iual humour once a week, •DO probably the combined talent of the Times forgot that, tbe abbreviatian was not new, and that it had done real good service iv the 1893 elections. But it is S?. lt ? * pleasuru for us to know that tbe Ministry can find a cause for enjoyment in •nythiog. Ihe real trouble is the growing importWee of the National movement, aod the runts endeavoura in its rouudabout clumsy fashion to depreciate the value of that movement by inferrinc; that the numbers **« small. It boldly "alleges that half-a-a °za- high piiests and a ••.iangwhaoger " eonstitates ths _ghli_g army. En passant, »v noticeable that the recent chaug.. on •he stuff have led to the adoption of *n>ericaaifms of doubtful meaning, which jwatoly edd to the versatility of the leaders, but not to iheir powers of portion. .. "he r<_! grievance appears to be that the •"tionsUsts have ia_fii to assert them- ; v «a in coid type. We have never yet j jMd that it was a crime for auy person or lo publish their opinions or on public matters. The National rf_? iation a COU P Je of months ago issued a *"« headed "The Fatal Letter." quoting to?.* 0 ''"ieial communication by the Premier *?J. oe , Secretary of tho Trades Council of J"™"*, which virtually invited all the unemployed there to transplant themselves to

New Zealand to share in the prosperity to be showered on labourers through cooperative works then being instituted. The "Premier's paper" refers to these as "exploded storit-v'and further remarks tint neither .Mr \V. McLean, who lectured in Victoria ou the .übject, or tho Premier, who wrote, " ever said anything of the kind imputed to ihetn." The Premier's letter was publi-hed iv full in a Government paper ii: Auckland with a njuricii of trumpets as to i;s statesmanlike views, and lor months afterwards New Zeaiau-.i «aa overrun with the scum of Aiistr_:ia. If any Government newvpuper in 1895 de-ires io uety what Mr S.ddon wiote in July, 1.32, .s .Minister of Works, we will not with them, but simply reproiuc. the letter 1:1 all its original b.outy of diction and sentiment, and something further to emphasis, it. Tho remarkable silence ot the Government papers o:i mailers of finance, breaches of the law, and absence of anything deserving the name of a policy, which nave so frequently bee. cjuitneuted on from the p atform and in the Press, is a. sure indication that Ministers and their supporters are all at the length of their tether for materials to catch the ears of the groundlingr. The true state of our public account waa juggled for a few years to make it appear that we were piyiug our way when we were piling up debt, but the truth could not be hidden for ever, aud as it was dragged out ot the Treasury officials by the Public Accounts Committee during the last session, Ministers now reluctautly own the damning f*cta, but plead that the money they borrowed is earning the interest. VVe have shown how far from the truth this is by a review of the position of the Cheviot estate last week ; we know something, but not all, of the farcical result of the cheap money scheme. VVe are told that the endeavours of Government to become timber merchants have led to a direct los 3 of £3000 on a single shipment, to say uothiu? of the expense of an expert, who has cost probably as much as the gilt-edged butter expert Valentine did, and with more mischievous results; we have shown these things among others, and not a single Government paper has bad .ufficient brotherly afTection for the party which supports it to deny or defend anyone of our commeuts. Why ? Because thoy can neither be denied nor defended. The sooner the bedraggled names of j Liberal or Democrats, as construed by the j present apostles and prophet 3, are dropped the better for all concerned. We have a nation to build up, a nation which must defend itself against internal foes equally as against external and foreiga enemies. What better title can we desire thau to be called Nationalists 'I As such we will join with and remain a humble part of the great Imperial Confederation which does, and will, continue to rule the waves and the world. Let who may affec*-, to despise the title of Nationalist we have chosen, we have raised the standard; let who may attempt to haul the flag down. What Jameson fought for in the Transvaal, the Nationalists are struggling for here. There autocracy, incompetency aud class legislation rule, aud Jameson stepped iv as a reformer, and for a time has been checked. Who shall say that his struggle was futile '! Its outcome will be the Ireedom of the people. We in New Zealand have, during the past five years, drifted into a condition of Government by a party quite as objectionable as tbe autocracy of Paul Kruger. And who shall allege that the Nationalists have no reasons for existence? The mere fact of their having a being, daily extending its power and ramifications, is a complete answer to its bilious and discounted critics. Aa an indication of how far-reaohing the sympathies of Government extends towards their supporters, they are now appointing the same proprietors and editors of newspaper, faithful to the Seddonian cause as sub-enumerators for the census. It is certainly an extraordinary thing to do to appoint editors of Liberal newspapers to such positions. The idea suggests many possibility. For instance, the editor of a bi-weekly Liberal journal must naturally be au fait iv the shibboleths of the party. As a census enumerator h-a must interview the "head of the house,'' and, naturally, the virtues of Seddonian rule will be discussed. The editor-enumerator will not, of course, talk politics any further than advising the " head of the house " to try the eff.ct of a loan from the A-vaucas to .-Settlers office. Seeing that sc many men, many of whom are educated, are out of work, it does seem like greasing the fat sow's ear to give these spoils to the victors to editors of the right colour. But, we live and learn new wrinkles every day.