The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 21. 1914. Parties and Public Opinion.

Press, Volume L, Issue 15156, 21 December 1914, Page 6

The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 21. 1914. Parties and Public Opinion.

Our Opposition friends, we aro glad to.see, arc, upon the whole, showing a readiness ,to discuss the political situa- . " tiort rather jnoro reasonably than has . I'ecn usual -with ■ them. We on the Reform side are bound to recognise this, and to abstain, at any rate for the present, from, pressing the full caso ngainst Sir Joseph "Ward's party. This solf-denying ordinance does not, however, prohibit an examination of the facts which ]io behind and beneath the . very interesting position in which, the ■ politicians flnd themselves. Of far more ' ; importance than tho politicians, to all those to whom polities is- not a mero - game, is the general body of the electors. We have dealt in previous - articles with the ovidenco of tho polls in favour of a really remarkable growth in the strength of the public favourable to the Reform Party. That tills evidence has been overlooked by some .people is made clear by an astounding statement in the Dunedin "Star" to the effect -that thero was a . great decrease in the aggregate Reform vote. According, to Sir Joseph Ward, only three-eighths of tb'e votes ; polled.in 191 i went to Reform, or .382,000 out of 486,000 vote*, leaving 'Reform in a minority of 122,000. . l^t this year's election tho Reform votes numbered 236.121 out of a total of -19-1,774. This means - that the Reform vote increased, by 54,000, while the votes of those opposed to lleforni decreased by 46,000. -The Reformers, in a minority of 122,000 ihreo years ago, wero last week m a minority of only 22,600. If wo take, instead of Sir .. Joseph. - Ward's, thi» ' figures of our local Opposition contemporary, .wo find the Reform vote set

ary's issue of December 30th, 1011 —as oiilr 1C7.2G0 oni. of i-G0,1}6. If these I figures aro correct, we obtain this in- ! structive coinpamtive t-ablo : — : In In Gain or 1011. I9H. Loss. Votw for H^for:u .. ICT.2CG i3C,l2i GB,SjS V>tes asT.inat liciorm .. C32.Ss'} 253X53 ."51.227 loss On our contemporary's own showing the Roforra minority was reduced this year from 13.J.000 to 2*2.500. It is v.itii no rr.erelv partisan purpose that we give theso figtircs", indeed, -n-o offer as miicli for the honest consideration of our opponents as for tho instruction and encouraßon-.ent of our readers. Obviously, the IJcforra vote has grown enormously sinco 1911, *.vhi!o tho votes of ail tbo other parties combined have correspondingly shrunk. It must b e noted, as necessary to .1 full nriderstand;.'i£ of the drift of opinion in tho constituencies, thai tho direct Labour vote hn~ shown a great increase. and that a large proportion of the votes secured by .Sir Jo-eph Ward's candidates "svere T.abour voles, wfiich would liavo been given to a Labour cnndid.nf.ehad sncli a candidate appeared in every constituency. The meaning of this is obvious. The electors are rapidly being divided into two distinct group? and nmgitig themselves with the Reform and Labour parties. A minority—perhans already less in number than tho Labour army—are siill attached. for various reasons, to tn c old regime, but in .'i very. short timo the logic of circumstances will force these to take their plarcs.Tnor.e or other of tho two ienl 'parties contending for tho direction of thc-j-xfiitiqnfs affairs. New Zealand, indeed;-ii-SvdrVeloping along the line long nsb'- : -}Vrtwitted as inevitable; it is approaching "/and ™ay almost bo said to 3iavo rea'ch'M, the point at which as embodied in tho "'ftoJorriii frankly confronts LaboilNSociali.sm. Political development; never' Stands still. That it can bo still is tTie fallacy underlying t lid-"vain belief of Sir Joseph Ward that nothing has happened sinco the days of BaUanco and his appeal to tho electors to restore tTio Ballanco Party to office. . Wo need hardly stop to remark that tho party of Ballanco is much moro like the Reform Party than like tho Socialist-ridden Party led by Sir Joseph Ward. Whatever tho manoeuvres in Parliament may accomplish, they cannot check, cannot even affect, tho irresistible development of opinion in tho constituencies, and tho figures wo haro quoted show: clearly tho lino along which, that development- is proceeding.