The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1908. MR. MASSEY AT WHANQAREI.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 163, 3 April 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1908. MR. MASSEY AT WHANQAREI.

if Although Mr... Massey s .Whangarei address, a summary o/ -which .appeared in - yesterday's.', kmc, was 'wigi-liy, as was inevitable from fclie Hvi,ie range-of subjects dea; I villi;. H makes interesting leading, i-.-v.l wJiaiever 'criticism may be hrought against it, it is at •least secure from tlie charge of vague.ucs?: ov unreality. -To our mind the "yjiiAt useful, portion of the speech was i lliat in. .wliicli Mr.. Massey came to close.-quarters . with the Government's xaitude towards Socialism; and although, in an age of cheap education i.nd'slovenly, thought'his warnings of the dangers l ,of Socialism will be widely disregarded, it is impbssible to believe, that tlicy will not set many people thinking about the matter who never thought of it before. Mr. Massey has evidently _ discovered. that the process of education will be very slow if : he and other ; Individualists confine themselves to abstract logic. Much more can be i accomplished by such shrewd analyses of the actual situation as that which distinguished this part /of his. speech. It cannot be too often insisted that Socialism is none the less Socialism for coming in instalments. As Mr. G. K. Chesterton once put it, with his inimitable! lucidity: " It is not against the thing that it is swift, or in its favour that it is slow. On the one hand,, energy is all the finer if it is sudden energy. On the other hand, paralysis is not anj J nicer 'because it is creeping paralysis." This is a fact the more to be remembered because, by dint of disclaiming any sympathy with " revolutionary Socialism," the Government may hypnotise itself into the belief that "evolutionary Socialism" is a thing different in kind, and so lead the country towards a situation from which there must be a long and painful process of recovery. Of much timeliness, therefore," is Mr. Massey's contention that, as the goal of the "revolutionary Socialist" 1 is " the, nationalisation of the land, the nationalisation of all industry, and, as far as possible, the limiting of individual enterprise," " Sir Joseph Ward, whether he knows it or not, is being made use ot by tho Socialistic party in Parliament, .by. men in the

Cabinet and outside the Cabinet, who are wore politically astute than himself. The more clever of the Socialists are well content with the "evolutionary Socialism" of the Government. ,know that tliey cannot get all t-fiey want at once, " but they ask for •what is likely to be given them in one session, and then they increase their demands the following session." The Socialistic drift of the Government is most clearly _ observable in the land policy, of which Mr. Mnsscy had much to say. Nobody who keeps in touch with realities ever dreams of doubting that, the best way of obtaining the full efficiency of the land as a wealth-pro-ducing factor is to encourage the energy and ambition of the landholder. There is no greater, incentive to energy, than the prospect of ownership, and' the Government's policy of land nationalisation is, therefore, antagonistic to the best interests of the country. Although the Premier denied at Onehunga that lie was in favour of land nationalisation, which lie defined a-s the " taking of ' private land' by. confiscation or otherwise, and vesting it m the nation," Mr. Massey pointed out that under the Land for Settlements Act the Government, in the strict terms of the Premier's own definition, is nationalising the land at the rate of half a;'million pounds per annum. The point, however, requires no long demonstration. It is satisfactory to find that the Leader of the Opposition does not intend to relax' his ■advocacy of .the freehold with limitation of area for Crown tenants. We can only touch briefly upon Mr. Massey's array of examples to demonstrate the readiness of j/.the'. Government, to compromise.' It is the fashion nowadays in sonle quarters to regard as evidence of fairness in an Act its unpalatableness to'extremists on either side, 1 as if two wrongs made a. right. The object of the / Government's • compromises is not the discovery of the golden mean, but to avoid making trouble for itself by-, an abandonment ■of consistency and principle. In the past, the Opposition, has suffered from the neglect of its leading members to give a categorical list of ■the chief items in its policy. Mr. Massey has wisely bowed to the. popular insistence upon a list that can/be read at a* glance, and while the Gov-/ eminent is still confounding the more candid of its allies by declining to state a, policy, the Leader of the Opposition has laid down a clear ? programme for his party. The freehold, an elective TJpper House, local government reform, economy, in administration, a real Native land policy, a fair' allocation of public works expenditure, and the encouragement of , industry and freedom from unnecessary restrictions—these make; .up,,a definite and valuable | whole; . .With the energetic co-operatioh of his colleagues, Mr. Massey should be able to exercise a wholesome educational influence* onpublic opinion. So. far he has been left to, carry on alone' the business of counteracting the influence of the/Ministers, who are spending the taxpayers' money as nevei- before in their ceaseless travelling,; throughout' the .Dominion') for ; electioneering purposes. It is timethat-lie received the assistance of his_ colleagues,' rind we hope that they will.bestir; themselves. The speeches of their, leader should put fresh heart into moderates throughout •the country, but even a good case may be'.lost by default. ''