POLITICAL POINTS.

Press, Volume L, Issue 15139, 1 December 1914, Page 6

POLITICAL POINTS.

vSir Joseph Ward presented c statement to the House- on September 9th. IC'IO. sowing that 10-11 hands had been dispeiibvd with, <>00 o( these boing employe:! in the Railways Department, and lon in the Publi? Works Department, the latter principally on tho roads, but in every ense tho more poorly paid workvr.s being the victims of the Ward ire retrenchment policy. There w.i h th»n no war. no industrial disturbance There was only one thing wrong with the country, namely, tho Government in charge, of it. At a meotirg last week Mr Hogan, one <>f the Opposition candidates for Wnnganui, violently condemned iho two followinj; sta'-eme , '..-. : •-■ "An Ad!\iir. , .strn , .i:-.r wiiirii. :i:toxiratc<i wit!) tho power nf ctint ::>i;o- ■> nfiicf. h-is for m;i;:y y.-ars CPJiti.nua.il;.- ;•::! ircii ued flouted Labour. ni;ido no c-l:>>rt *.>> copn with tlio ii'.cjou'Scd cost of livi—pr. or to relieve 'he «-orkoTs of tho frrciwing- 'jnrdrn of taxitiou." "To-day -3 tho day of .';j>>-. tin? !»•'••:h of tho now party that will battle in \h<: mtorc?la of all. asjainst Bolic-cl Kniijhts ami Sham Democracy, who -n-il! give, ynu the t-f«iay, ihf frwho'd to mo.-row-- :a fart, v.ny old thinic'--juot for '.he sake of otfi<v." Unhappily for Mr Ilogan and Sir .1. ti. Ward and Mr Witch, the author of. tliose piateinents wns Mr during the election campaign oi liHl. Willi Mr Hogan in the field against him. it is quite possible that Mr Veitch, who has been burning inconso to Sir J. (i. Ward may revert to his old form. » An Opposition paper invitee its rcjilers to "contrast this demonstration (of friendliness at one of Sir J. fJ. Ward's meetings) with the carefully arranged gatherings at which Mr .Massey epwikft." This confession that- the gatherings addressed by the Prime Minister aro "carefully arranged,' , is of interest. Of conr.se we all knew beforo that the hoots and animal noises supplied by Sir J. G. Ward's admirers could not bo extempore, but it i* as well to have the point admitted.

Tho Opposition papers havo lately been praising Mr A. AY. Hogg for n's sturdy commonsen.se and candour. They do not, however, quote the best evidence on tho point, namely, Mr Hogg's account of tho Ward retrenchment scheme in 1909-10. Mr Hogg eaid, .speaking from knowledge gained as a Minister: — "Tho I'oads Department, of which I had charge—tho moat useful department in the Public Service—was smashed to pieces. Kemonetranco was useless. The department, with iis trained officers and fetalwart army of roadraakors, was wrecked. Tho boasted earing to bo effected by retrenchment was made at the expeu&o of tho co-operative labourers and land settlers. The destruction of the Koads Department was due to no vindictivenoss, but it was an act of euprcin© folly. I venture to say that a more cruel or suicidal act of bad policy had never be*n inflicted on a young country. At a time of universal etiffering, when work was unobtainable, thousands of men were summany turned "off the road work to beg, borrow or starve. How they haunted tho laboui depots and applied to the Benevolent Boards for charity 1 How tho eettlcre and businoie residents in the little centres petitioned and protested against tho removal of labour from their roads and tracks! The et!<j» I heard, tho scents I witnessed, I ehall never forget. The Treasury wae declared *_,ipiy and men and officers were dismissed .1 the rate of a thousand a month."

Tho other day Mr T. M. Wilford quoted a formal letter in which Mr Alassey informed an applicant for a billet that his case would go before the Public Service Commissioners for enquiry. Nowl an unkind friend of Mr Wilford's recalls the following letter:— Wellington, October 25th, 1896. "Dear Jlr Seddon.—-Let ine introduce by this Mr Joseph Mulvaney, who is a eupporter of nfysclf in Karori,. iiud who did a great deal fqr Dr. Newman on the laet occasion. Mr Mulvaney has considerable influence in Karori, and has to ask for assistance from you, such as a nightwatchman'e billet, or anything else tbat ia suitable. Will you do what you can for him ? "Youra truly, "(Sgd.) T. M. WILFORD."

Much of the bitterness of the Opposition M.P.'s is duo to the fact, that while they can submit applications for jobs to the Public Service Commissioner ior the purpose of enquiry, they can no longer enrich our public lifo Ly little efforts like Mr Wilford's letter.

This exposure of Mr Russell's readiness to accommodate himself to whatever eeems best at the moment regardless of previously expressed views is of interest because Mr Russell, next to Sir Joseph Ward, is the most prominent figure in tho Opposition, and by many is considered to exert greater influence in its Parliamentary ranks than tho Leader of the party himself. Tho party has leaders who are ready to faco all ways, and tho party follow those leaders blindly.- That is the very real menace of the Wardist Party to-day— it stands definitely for nothing that; is likely to block its way to office. It will, if necessary, accommodate its views to suit the Federation of Labour or anyone else, as it has in tho past changed its views on important policy questions for no better reason than that it seemed probable that tho change would give it a. tighter hold on office. It wants office at all costs. Mr Sullivan's scourging of Mr Russoll was a scourging of the whole Wardist Party, for Mr Russell not only is a leader of that party, but ho typifies it. "Tho Dominion.''