The Press. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1910. THE INFORMER IN POLITICS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13905, 2 December 1910, Page 6

The Press. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1910. THE INFORMER IN POLITICS.

In tho course of his speech on Wednesday. Sir Joseph "Ward claimed to , he tetter informed of what was going j on in different portions of tho Do- ( minion than any other man in it. It { is possible that in regard to certain ; matters tho claim was well founded, i lint r.e do not see how the Premier j can regard it us any catt.se for boast- j iiiEr- Knowledge of the kind of whi-:h j "tie showed himself possessed can j only he obtained by the help <>.' j persons who act. on behalf of the- Go- j vernment, the part of political spies \ and informers. 0t:o passage in Sir j Joseph's speech waa a revelation of the I extent and thoroughness ot the system i with which he has surrounded };im.self. An Opposition member was given a copy of the notorious pamphlet, and during a train journey showed it to an acquaintance. The fact was duly reported to the Premier and noted by him, to be quoted aud magnified at the psychological moment. Another member was -eported to havo banded about copies of j the pamphlet. The informer seems to j have mistaken his man in this case, for j the member concerned flatly contra- j dieted tho assertion, but with so much : mud flying about some of it was sure to stick. Tho Opposition organiser had three years ago possessed a ; copy of the original work from which j the so-called Black pamphlet was produced. So far as he was aware, only j four men knew that he had seen it, but j in a fortnight Sir Joseph Ward Had been apprised of the circumstance, nnd his acceptance of j ,m assurance tbat . the pamphlet would never be used to injure him publicly or privately, by the Opposition organiser, did not prevent him referring in Parliament to the organiser as carrying tho pamphlet through the country prior to an election. Wo are not, however, so concerned with thcuse that the Premier made of the information—iv some cases the misinformation —brought to him of the doings of his political opponents as we are that such a system of espionage should exist in New Zealand and should be encouraged by the head of the Government. It was common knowledge | at one time that the Government wero kept closely informed of the doings of opponents and supporters in all parts of the Dominion. The persons who supplied thum with information in various centres were more widely known than they perhaps realised. But we had thought that the system, which was said to include the keeping of a "black book," in which the remarks and actions of members and others were noted for future reference, had been dropped to a very large extent. It seems that wewero mistaken. After what was said by Sir Joseph Word. every member must feel that his slightest action and his lightest word may be noted by some informer, and reported to Wellington. The Premier's remarks convey the idea that ho has converted the whole Dominion into a vast whispering gallery which ends in his official rooms. It is not a feature of our public life of which, as a people, we have any reason to be proud, nor which can have anything but a bad effect upon those who make use of it. Any position which it is sought to maintain by such means is a precarious one, as history shows, for the rulers who, distrusting their friends no less than their enemies, covered their countries with a network of spies, usually were giving good cause for their nervousness. The suggestion by Mr Harries that the Premier should '"discourage this sort of thing" was made in tho most friendly spirit, and was one that Sir Joseph Ward might well adopt. But we are afraid that the man who has once thought it necessary to listen to gossip and tittle-tattle of thi3 kind finds it difficult to abandon the habit.