POLITICS AND REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 762, 10 March 1910, Page 4

POLITICS AND REFORM.

[v :-;>■• A VICTORIAN EXAMPLE. . I*:':-HOW PUBLIC OPINION IS MADE £;:-'.\S /. , EFFECTIVE.: - ■•'■ t;vv/-f ■"''":■■;: : ■;;.:■• '""' ■' ■-■' : : "' '.V ".' ■,:■'. iO :V'..;.- ■".-. .■■■"",'(CofifributedJ-- V v. ■'■'; l : -; : -/- ; v^ ; - vr-. ; : .•ii-- . ■■/■■■■;;■'., te:;.'.. in politics .depends'"upon one fV:." or;:."otlier. or all of Hhreg j";V : an'.issue; and nn organisation. Soiue-i.'-'..:times one- mil; predominate, 'sometimes •\ .; ffinother.' We. New. Zealanders. have' seen "whole country divided up into those Kv,who. were, for Mr.; Seddon and those who '■V :; ,irere against .him. , ;' We have even .had i '; the humorous. spectacle of ■ a newspaper £''.':.' supporting-- nearly every piece _of lcgis-[•i,f■.'-"■'-lation. Mr,; Seddon "introduced,.'.and , yet !y . 'hating,him. so intensely that it became •?:. ■ \ v;the strongest. Opposition organ,. ; in; the. I'-': V country.', Across , the Tasinan ■ Sea our J.V'i kinsfolk have been engaged in a series j.::. of., struggles 'in which organisation has p:V;playe& the leading pstrt. They have seen jt : .-.ppiiticaL:'parties-take' form /and -..-shape f ': ■■'. ; :and grow rapidly without having either !;'■,"' leaders of note or any single predominat-. !/, i-ing issue around, which to rally their - .' : BU'pperters. . " : : ■'" ■. •.:•'.■ '.'■ i ;: ',.:..'At present in New Zealand _there. is ■ [: : ;/';:wxt;to'nothing in. tie iprganisa*. i' ; '; :;■ wi there "is no popular.'leader; and Ui' is no single issue before the. publjc. V; ; par. polities are flat; &; : : ijble—the -playground of : purposeless 'me-

: . , ; iipcrity. ; .The Goremment is not . in •'wrnest. about, anything but ■continuing ■:- : '-.' : 'tj' be the Gevernment, and; the Opposi- '-■■'■[ tlon : .is em ..desperately, anxious to ,be ■ priident and cautious and ~nqt,.prejudice!. •,'iis position that it-will 'sdoii' leave ; no' ','■:. jesition at;>U to'.prejudice. Of, course, '■• leaders are; born and;,.not■:made, and it -\ ts-no use'quarreling : with auy man ,be- : cause he bis riotthe qualities of a , Kit- ... Bflener or a Roosevelt..; B'nt issuesdearly; ':■' puf;'and organisation made effective..are ■"'. fliinge that we can'have,'and must; have," .11 ever those opposed to tie present reign •Irf-misrule are to do. more'-thau fworry v. Bir - Joseph ■ Ward about Captain ' Kny...;(»tt's_ troubles or' Mr,,,. Rwves's ; eight ;soun3s-'a week.• ; : ' --j ,; .'■■■/■. ;'/ ■'■.*s?}. '■:':■ Attack.Needed. : -'- "■■■' V' v .Because there are no issues before the '■ "i gnbjic,, it does .not.follow ;that there: are . aot any issmes which require to be brought - forward.; :On the contrary there, are : .''half a depen different' issues wjiicli. would -"'ibow be being keenly'debated "frpm,one '•' end of Neir Zealand to , the- othor ■■■ had : "the Opposition been fully alive, to the ■ tepda of'- the occasion. ■'• Nothing is ; more. ■■ essential to success than . concentration , ■'an| persistence, and nothing mo ? e . fcW ; : then .timidity and. p'rocTastination. ■' A. • general may. have, thebbestt t army ■..in. the ; -.world, but he: 'can , win/rio. battles .if. he ■•■'"'jinll. risk nothing' njore , than -of. ■;eutpDsts. The over-wise ■■ in life' always :■ lend; by standing -stock' still.;'.-. . ■■;•■■ '.■'■ ••'" : ' ; :-Sew. ?ealaad is by no. means satisfied : the'present Ministry..; There is liny 'Vamou'nt of .latent discontent inthe coun":,try, : The:-public feels.'■:.?vaguely-'V. , that. ..; things are by no rabans as they, should ' Tje^' There has been; too. much financial, ■juggling, .'tKe'Civil Service has been used ; .to6 largely ;as a and ' Jthe parcelling out of: roads'- and ipridgea.■■;'in - one selid ; lump' every year :is -mud- ;■■'■: dlesome,': eitraTagant, „• and ' rjajculous.- : >sn>ere' is no,: system 'in. it, 'no general :;principle ; , of;.- distribution, and.,, .'no? .boidy has any Bound idea the '-real needs of the. ceuntry, are: being met. ■ The :arrangement"'.:is -desirable only.--to. -jthepoliticalios-rpllcr. , .His little jobs are'enugly stowed awaj aniong the thou- .'■':; snjds of' other, items; , -'" The' public: has a -=Very,good idea of whit goes on, and it ■ ; i6 heartily/sick of it. The only question. ' is-whether the Opppsil'ion is-going to' vend the business, for ■ jt,' or..- whether ",'things are to go on until the public be- :: comes so tired of seeing the; country. run.. r'.for;the benefit of a handful of politicians '.that-it rises up.. and . makes a. clean ,Jißweep. on its. own: account. .This is what happened: in Victoria some .years ago. : !An4 the VictorianJexp'erience ; --is. sp" val- : j.nabje.io showing ..what can-bedo.ne.by. "concentrating attention, on a few simple '■'•" issues 'that jt ;deserves, to-be recalled.; ' V 1 "vWhen the Australian colonies decided to : -federate it was freely representtt). that ;., though" the. new ' Federal Goyernnient i'w'opld cost! .'money, .yett.a greal;.; part :of: ; ; that 'money iwpuld'.be- made up by-tho ■' Bavjngs ''which the States, would effect, ".'■As is usual in such cases federation was V found to. cost far .more than had. been: J estimated,.and the.State Governments dis- ■■'•■■' played no desire ■ whatever to : . reduce their expenditure and their" importance. W In i both:. New South Wales and Victoria !■' the three-party stage had been reached in ■;;'.politics,.':'and, .though, the Liberals -were ■' in.;gqwer in-both. States they were only "in office by a more.or lqss tacit

. understanding '■ with ■ the, Labour caucus. Money \ niras/v'shoTclled.i-out. in dray-liiads in/the giving .of ,- employment through .the Bublic .Works Departments, and the cost of government/rose rapidly., .Then ■'."an Victoria came a revolution, of a kind /wholly unprecedented in' Australian pbl-', itics. - ; . : i_ ... S ; 'hv ■ :■::'.:■:'.'] '■:■■'( : IWhat Kyabram Did. . v ■.; ;■• Q- , ■ : .: ?

, It began in: this wise. At the small country town of Kyabrara a little, group of men, mostly farriers,-met,iiv'Novem-ber, 1901, to discuss the weed for reform and- economy/ in State politics, ,'l'he local jshire council [passed.'resolutions, in favour, of a reduction in the number of members .qf.rParliamont''ahd of .economy, inthe Departments,- It-iras ; decided to: hold | a public meeting.in : .the also- , to ; ; Eend-,. ; . circulars, to , ' the ■ local'- "Ko'dicsi throughout-, the "State;: suggesting '. that , similar.'-steps *bo' taken', .JThe circulars were posted,: and"'within a. few;' month.? over pile.,hundred public meetings had besn held in all parts pf tho State. Tte movement i was absolutely .spontaneous. Neither' , "political party knew , quite what to make'of this revolt; ef the' people- against popular government.- Members pf the Ministry at first, .affected' to ignore and ridiculo the "few idiots at Kyabrain,".: but;-the movement ■which these few men had started spon set .Victoria ablaze froai one end .to the ■ ether. : r A;.Citizens'-/itefpnn,: formed'with branches everywhere, a great . demonstration was, held. in. .tho. Melbourne Town Kail, and from the ; beginnin; of March tp the , middle of ■ April,.. space ■ of ?ix jneotings were held in' Wwnty-four.''! different 'centres. , Finally, on April 17, a conference of reformers was held, at' which 250.deleRa.res .were present' from.-every centre' of impprtance in tho. length and br«adth/.of the land. The. conference unanimously adopted'what had become knpwn as the "Kyabram Platform," and for.the:first time fpr years an issue was presented tp the people teed of all'partisan and interested motives. It was the. ro\ J olt. of' the public against the. professional politician.'.- ■ :'"•■■ . ';. :..:■. .•■!»j:; , !'.

The-Trades Hall and the Civil' Service united in. a strange alliance, and made efforts to belittle and arrest'the-move-ment. 'The horny-handed toiler, the County Court judges, and the aristocrats of the Civil Service fought unitedly against curtailment, of the Government expenditure. ■■ So little had the; Government realised the strength' of'. the 'reformers that in-Jnne th« Ministry was defeated- by Mr, : Iryiiie,' tho Opposition leader, on a purely minor matter., Lafer on Itr. ' Irvine found'members-so Mnsiiicere in their desire. for. 1 reform that he appealed tp the country; Then the pld liberals, having sown the wind, reaped, the whirlwind. 'The party 'mis'aiihihi-' lated, He ally tho Labpiir party suffered severely, and Mr. Irvine, who liad adopted tho ,-Kjabram platform,-came back from the elections with 'a solid .two.-to-pne . aiajority,'- v : -' ■.■'•'"■'. Another Revolution ~ This Victorian revolution,' be it noted, from Kyabram at.a.'total .-■ cost' of.r twelve pounels- odd.fpr paper, stamps, : and labour. It put clearly to the people the issue which the professional pblitiicians had obscured beneath a multitude of irrelevancies, and the answer was as cnishinjly emphatic as anyone could desire. Inspired by the Victorian erauijile,. reform Icajiu's wen; organised in New South '.'Walts, , ., and, though th,cre was nothing like Hw-smiip another big victory in tho

cause of economy had to be registered in that State. The riotous extravagance of the ' Ministry was abruptly ended, and a Ministry pledgod to moderation and reform was installed .under''.the leadership of Mr. Carruthers. As in the sister State plain'issues understanded of the people were mado the grounds of a vigorous comprehensiblo and clear-cut figkt. There was no lackadaisical .peddling of small goods, ami the wordy insincerities.;of-ordinary political life "'availed little ■ when' the crisis .come . ... .?.:--.. ,•■...- ■''■

A political party can arouse enthusiasm only when it for some definite .national idem. But merely to stand , ;for an .ideal is not"enough. Lord 'Rosebery has : stood ■ for '■'. it'.' Variety of ideals.in British, politics, and Mr. Alfred Doakin'&r , ' as'mViny'in Australian politics; yet it would be difficult to find more;-ineffective, and impotent figures than these two men make. (The truth is the ideals a man has—iir a party —the--more • contemptible does he beeoino if the matter, ends there for him. Ideals 'mert'ly-td;.''prat«''i)lea'6%ntl} - about , from time to time .are worthless. The dreaming.idealist may/gain- a little passing applause, but' it needs men ready to undergo privations and.-fight steadily on to rouse' a.'''country.•" Last, year was a' year of „,. timidity. Organisation, concentration,''ahilA'a broad and sane outlook .on . the future are needed. How many.years.is it since the country . wasvlast madefto feel and realise that in ,its' : present-day. politics it ■■.is laying the foundation ; on -.which a nation is to "be built and that'it'is worth jrhile taking more than ordinary care to see that those foundations are well ana cleanly laid?. . .■■.■■• ■■■;;■