POLITICAL NOTES.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16704, 12 December 1919, Page 9

POLITICAL NOTES.

"Minority Rule." "Xo idea is entirely new. and it is well-known that the policy of minority rule was not originated by Mr wiien lie abolished tho Second Halloi. hut was quite popular durins the t>nl:r.■ period when the Conservatives were >11 preine in the country." I; ha> remain* d for the "Southland Daily News.'" true to the '"dear dc.nl past." to revive memories of an elec tora! measure which has not, so far a» we have ever heard, another friend in New 7. aland. As for "minority rub'. w;is not the "lirsi-past-the-post' f prin ciple in force during nearly tho whole of the lenj: period at Liberal ruler Reform Kept Its Promises. One of tho charges ajratiiM tho Go* ernment is that i; has imi fulfilled i'> programme of 11 1 11. That view is noi. held bv Mr J. T. Paul, president of the Labour Party. These are his own words (uttered on July ;!Oth, 1 Ollj>: - "The Reform Party carried out its platform as it was put forward. That- itlie marvellous tiling about the Roforn l'artyn. Tho Rolorm P;irty is a party to which I am ab.-oiutclv opposed, bin it put that platlorsn before the people of this country, and. during its shor: existence it carried that platform int.« legislative "licet. Many of tho planks of the platlorm L am absolutely optxis ed to. but titer.' i- the jiosition that wo cannj: shut our 1 yes to — that this parly defeated tin Liberal Party and put its legislative proposals 011 the Statute Rook." Of course, retmrivs tho Dominion." this was not said at election time. Today the Warclists and the extremists are saying quite the _ «pj>ositp. Rut. tlie facts speak for themselves. A Triumph of Personality. On rising to speak at Pat tic II on Monday night. Mr Massey was greeted with applause from the 1 ody of the hall and more "boo-ing" from the hack and gallery. No sooner had ho said •'Mr Chairman. Indies, aud gentlemen," than pandemonium again broke out. Mi Massey calmly stood facing tho audience. says tho "Herald." and soon the dominant personality asserted itself Gradually the noise subsided until thenwas silence. "I don't ex poet a j>olitical moot ing to be like a Sunday f-rhool gathering,Mr Mussey said, "but if anyono thinks he will put tin out by 'boo-ing' and making noise he never innde such a mistnko in his life." (Applause and "boo-iiiß.") lie referred to the ChrisUhurch disturbance, and said he was pleased tho proportion of people of a similar typo in Auckland was exceedingly small. "This attempt to disturb meetings.'' he declared, "is ono of tho most cowardly things over attempted. (Ap plause and uproar.) And no <mo bui cov.-ards and dastards would attempt, it. ] don't thTnk many of these people are here, but thorn who are. I nope, will not forget what 1 say." (Applause.) Almost immediately complete silencc was restored, and for tho rest of his speech there was no attempt to howl liini down. Interjections wore frequent, but Mr Massoy, who was in good trim, scored off most, of them. The Meniere of kit Sincerity. The "Dominion," commenting on Sir Joseph Ward's speech at Martinborough, say:-: "Particularly in what he had to say about public works he turned his back on realities and prattled away in a fashion only tn be likened to tliat of a child building castles in Spain. . . . Absurdity is too mild a word to describe his statement that, 'in three years wo must finish all the authorised in this country. Any ono who thinks for a moment, ot the hundreds of miles of railways authorised. but yet unbuilt—railways, some "of them, surveyed through immensely difficult country—may woijrb this statement for himself. It is worth weighing, not so much for the sake of exposing its absurd estrava•y.nee as because it affords a standard i>y which to measure tho political sincerity of the Leader of the Opposition aud his .sense nf responsibility." The Conservative "Liberal" P«ty. Speaking at Riverlandß, Mx J. 0. Armstrong (Independent Reform) said that he was coininir forward as an Independent because ho hoped to bo able to allv himself with others in showing that tho party form of government could bo abandoned with advantage to the country. Hut if the old party system was to eontinuo he would support the Reform Government. As a matter of fact be did not think there* was any wide difforcnce the two main parties as regarded their desire lor tho well-being of tlio community. He did not. think there was any of the old-time conservative element in tho House nowadays. As for the Liberal Party, which had such 'a gre«t name in the past, it had_ moved so far away from its old traditions that it was really more conservative than the men whom it had been condemning as belonging to thnt school of thought. Perliaps this change had taken place, because its members had become more wealthy or aristocratic or somethin:: like that. (Laughter).

Which if to he accepted? Speaking at Itiverton the other day. Sir Joseph Ward said: "Aggregation in the Dominion during tho past few years had been enormous. Parliament had not done »ny thing to prevent this aggregation, and laying himself open t<> a charge of being egotistical, ho was prepared to ssr tho proposal ho inibmitted to the House was only one that woulfl have any effect." Speaking in the liouso of Representatives on the Land Laws Amendment Bill, Sir Joseph Ward said: "Thoso of us who have bocn in this Pflninnicnt for a number of yoars may congratulate ourselves upon tho very fino advance which has been made in the land laws of the Dominion. lam rather inclined to think that if somo of the men or former 'lays were amongst us to-nicht they would marvel at somo of Ujc proposals contained in this Bill I mean thev would marvel with appreciation It looks almost as if tho leopard had changed his spots when one realise* some of the proposals contained in this Bill, and remembers what a tremendous fight we had in the past. . . Th" proposal to prevent aggregation ofland 15 Which Sir Joseph Ward has to bo taken seriously, the ono who spoalus in Ilivnrton, or the ono who speaks v.\ Parliament ?