POLITICAL NOTES.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16702, 10 December 1919, Page 9

POLITICAL NOTES.

Too Much to the Point. llis enjoyment of tell'ni: n story wiut n point t;> it has suivlv led -Mr 1-Wlds astray (remarks the "New Zealand llerald">. Consider the :>necdot> ]:«> told on Thursday iii-:ht. the stoty 01 the ln\v who was as'.oiiiuled uhon a 1 cheque was written ;;n-1 cashed. com:n: 1:0111 a hook whi.ii M only two shillings. and who Said, "My wed. I'll t»n>one of those book* wi;e:i I go along. It was told to ill i: st: ate tile unsubstanti.il foundation of many e'i\ P-'!l plni;ti . and Mr Kowhls eon. lid..!: "ThataVw. up the substance of a (iood nianv e'etion pronii.«e«. Hv.t Mr I'owljN ivallv should not do things 1" about telling unkind 'ones win. !i hit off so nentlv the ehvtion promt--of Sir Joseph Ward, his politic al ehiei. iar as he acknowledges a chiet. c.irelv not prod tactics, to say the lea*: el it." Sir Joseph Wm.l w--nld probably be very annoyed if he heard about tr." inoident, even tho;:gh his name is not mentioned in it.

, A Guarantee of Stability and Proptc"Such qualities ?s Mr Massev has 'its* played during the past fivo years an- . till mvded iti New Z.vilaiul statesmanship isays the "'New Zealand Herald"', j Tho issue at this election is less between tliu party and that ilian between men jol moderate views and tho>e who.-o policy is coloured by revolutionary Socialism. No better leader ot moderate opinion is to be found in the Dominion than Mr Massev. lie is a true Liberal and a Doim crat. Asking n • I personal toward tor years of faithful I service to the nublie. he is to-day as lie | was when he !irst entered Parliament, j plain "Mr" Mas>ey. and no ono can i doubt .that he reniaitvs so from nile- : lilvrato choice, lie ean be depended , upon to put progressive legislation on the Statute D.iok. ami at the same time ; to liplit extremists will-out compromise, i Hv returning Mr Massev with an ahso- : lute majority in Parliament- tho eoun- , t:-y will know definitely tho lines of its political development during the next three years. Lnder no other circumstances can it enjoy a guarantee against I legislation of a dangerously experiment:!! type. . . . With such a party ; in power the country may rely upon liio , stable government which it needs above j all things during tho reconstruction period.

Mr Mauey and the Cbeesc Purchase.

It is generally Icnoirn by the producers tliat Mr Massey is a fast friend of the man on the land, but some of tho political onemics of Mr Massey have been trying to make tho farmers believe otherwise. Tt has been stated that when Mr Massey went to England in ?I'l7 he found that Air Ellison, representative in England of the National Dairy Association, had mado arrangements with tho Home Government al>out the price it should pay for New Zealand rheeise for the coming season, that Mr Massey objected to this arrangement and mode another bnrgain, "nritli tho result that the Now Zealand producers lest- one million pounds. The trrnth of this matter is that Mr Ellison, who, by the wny, had no power to deal with the Imperial f«nvernment on behalf of New Zealand, had concluded a_ tentative arrangement: for the sale of New Zealand cheese. Air Massey considered that tlio price was too low, and in sulisequent negotiations he persuaded the Imperial Government, to pay ono halfpenny per pound moro for the cheese. A halfpenny per pound meant an incrense to the producers of some £200,000. and this sum- was gained by the action of Mr Massey.—"Do minion."

Power—or Promise!? Coal was disappearing assot. and wns going to become nil auxiliary instead of being the main source of power and light in New Zealand, said Mr Jones in lifs address nt. llurwood latitnight. He had been shaking that day to a Chrisichnreh snwinillor, who lold him thnt ho used electric power in his mill, and it cost him JL'-l 10s a month, whereas tho cost of Fteam power would ho £50 n moutii. Mr Parry had stated that there was hydro-electric energy representing over 1,000,000 horse-power going to wnsto in New Zealand. Tho Reform Party was going to take hold of electric development with both liquids. "Now. I ask von," said Mr Jones, "which wciUd oe the l>et'ter scheme for tiiisi country? Tlie nationalisation of coal mines n.s proposed by Sir Joseph Ward, or tho development of hydroelectric power as proposed by Mr Masfwy ? The.re is no comparison between tho two proposals. And don't forget thnt in the tStatd coalmines the men have 'gone slow' nnd havo nut up tho price of coal on tho ipoplo. ' A Budding Baddo.

Mr .Intnos Horn, the Liberal candidate for tin? Wakatipu seat, told the electors tlio other evening that when ho was asked to stand ho looked over the map of the electorate and thought twico about it. However, he been prevailed upon to come into uie field, and ho really thought that if given tho opportunity he might bo ablo to do Bome (rood for tho electors and not, at auvrate, very much harm. Evidently another Mr Bnddo.

Mr Mutey Agree*. "Never so long as I am in Parliament will I servo under Massey," said Mr Wilford, when questioned as to hi* attitude if a Coalition Government was again formed. Mr Massey would, no doubt, endorse the emphasis. ** Sherlock Holmes. Some of tho ''crimes" charged against tho Reformers are worth noting, says the "Dominion." Mr H. O. Browno laboriously indicted the Reformers foi having deleted from the plans tho dome which it had boen proposed to put on tho new Parliamentary Buildings. And with ruthless hands .Mr Browno laid bare the base motive of tho act: it was save expenditure."—Actually to conserve tho public money! False Doctrine. According to Mr Norman Mclntyrc, Independent Labour candidato for Mataura, tho newspapers wore trying to hoodwink tho people into believing that increased production would solve tho problem of the cost of living. lle would tell them that increased production simply meant morn profits to tho middlemen. That is tho sort of pernicious rubbish which makes ono long for tho nrrival of tho time when political candidates, before appealing to tho electors to Bend them to Parliament, will have to pass an examination in political cconomy. A "Dod." Mr Wilford, at Eltham: "Tho meat contract, too, had b««n allowed to lapse through lack of initiative, and though New Zealand had an offer of an opportunity to renew her contract with the British Government, that opportunity has passed, and tho High Commissioner was informed that tho Dominion would have to wait until arrangemen ts had been made with Australia and the River Plate. Failure to renew that agreement wonld lead to a great reduction in our shipping ia"ilitje-. ,\ woeful JacJ: of business capacity had been shown." Mr E. P. Lee, at Weston (North Otago): "Hie dealt at length with tinmeat contract question, pointing uiu that New Zealand meat had been sold to the Imperial Government up to tinend of Juno next. With reu-reni o t<> contracts after that date, he road the following cablegram from the High Commissioner to Mr Massey, dated November lltli last: 'With reference to your telogram of November .3rd, the Hoard of Trade states that they are giving equal anil simultaneous consideration to the possible extension of Argentine, Australian. ;n:<i Now Zealand contracts respectively"