THE ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1275, 2 November 1911, Page 5

THE ELECTIONS.

NEWS AND NOTES.

INTEREST IN CAMPAIGN QUICKENING. TO-NiIGHT'S MEETINGS. Mr. It. A, Wright (Reform parly, Wellington .South), Newtown Library at 8 o'clock. Mr. \V. H. 1). Holt (Reform party, Wellington Suburbs wul Country electorate), lit 'i'awa J: lilt at 8 o'clock. Mr. it. W, ,'Short (Reform party, Hutt doctorate), at Town ILill, tipper ilutt, at 8 o'clock.

Mr. I'yron Brown (Independent Opposition, Olaki electorate), at Gibb's Mill, Olaki, at 8 o'clock.

MEETINGS TO-MORROW, FRIDAY. Dr. A. K. Newman (licform party, Wellington Last), at Now Century JiaU, Kent Terrace. Mr. A. L. Ilerdinan (Reform party, Wellington North), at Sydney Street Schoolroom. Mr. W. 11. 1). Bell (Reform party, Wellington Suburbs and Country electorate), at Church Hall, Maranui. Mr. Byron Brown (Independent Opposition, Utaki electorate), at Schoolhoiise, Moutoa.

Mr. J. li. Fitzgerald (Liberal, Wellington Suburbs and Country electorate), at schoolroom, Tawa Flat. Mr. David M'Laren (Labour, Wellington East), at Victoria Hall, Adelaide Road.

POLITICAL JOTTINGS. Tko main roll of tho Wanganui electorate contains BMO names; tlio I'atca. roll totals <085 names. A list of tho places -where the Wellington Central electorate roll may 1» inspected is advertised in this issue.

A list of places where copies of the Wellington East electorate roll may be inspected appears in an advertisement in this issue.

Tho ladies of Maranui wlio are desirous of assisting Mr. W. 11. D. Bell in his election campaign are invited to meet him at Mrs. Guymer's, Main Rotfd, Lyail Bay, at 3 p.m. to-morrow (Friday).

Thirteen candidates aro out for Hie Northern Maori scat, now filled by To l(a----ngihiroa (Dr. Buck). Attempt's have been made to induce sonic of the aspirants to withdraw, but 63 far not one will givo way.

Mr. 'I?. P. Bollard, the Iteform party candidate for the Waikato seat, ill an address last week, condemned the extravagance of the Government; in i building costly railway stations in some places— ■Dunediii, for instance, absorbing several thousands beyond original authorisation, and even more costly duplications like that of Wellington-Unit—while backblocks settlers were being starved for want of long-promised but not furnished roads was strongly condemned by him as cruelly unjust to the struggling settlers outback. The neglect of these people was'a scandal.

At his Hukanui speech on Saturday, Mr. G. It. 'Sykes, a candidate for t'he Masterton seat, was asked tho following question: "Seeing there is no Government candidate standing for the electorate, will you tell us the difference between tio Reform party platform and that of tho Labour party?" Mr. Sykds stated tho platforms wero almost identical, with one exception. The Labour party believed in the nationalisation of land, whereas tho Reform party wc,s distinctly opposed to it. Oil almost every other point' the partics were in accord.—"Express."

Those who hav«i not enrolled in anticipation of tho general election would ba wiso to do so without delay. The writs are issued within seven days of the proclamation declaring* tlie prorogation of Parliament. As the supplementary rolls close with the issue of tho writs very little time is left for enrolling. At every post office, and other easily accessible places to be gazetted, a copy of the main roll can bo found, together with claim for enrolment forms, so that those who desire an opportunity of ascertaining whether their names are on the rolls can do so.

Sir. F. P. Munro, in a speech agreeing to contest tho Buller electorate, stated that ho lvas tooth aud nail against tho present Administration. His platform was that of Independent Labour. Tliero was going to bo a shuffling of tho cards, and the birth of an absolutely new partv after .the present election. It would not be a spurious friend of tho people, but a party composed of men who ivould giro the people a fair and squaro deal, and work absolutely in tho interests of tho people.

Mr. J. T. Hogan, tho istting member for \\anganui, will open his campaign on Tuesday next (telegraphs our special correspondent). Mr. Veitch (Labour) and Mr. Mackay (Independent) have been actively at ivork during tho last week or two, and Mr. Hutchison, who has been "lying low" lately, can I>3 relied on to raako things in Wresting later on. A vigorous battlo is sure to be waged in this electorate. Opinion so far is very divided as to tho result, though it appears certain that the Government candidate will liavo a strenuous fight in the scoond ballot, tho revulsion of feeling against tho present Administration being most pronounced, and not unlikely to result in tho return of a member who will opposa it.

Mr. F. Mander, M.l'. for Marsdon, has returned to Auckland much benefited by his stay of four weeks in a Wellington private hospital. Ho will contest the seat, but is under doctor's orders not to attempt. to canvass his electorate, and will have to content himself with speaking at ono or two of tho main centres later on. The following conundrum was propounded by a questioner to Mr. M'Kinlay, tho Liberal candidato for Bruce, tho "other nifht: "You havo said (ho put it something like this to tho candidate) that in 1800 our debt was .€32 per head, interest charge .£1 12s. per capita, and that in 1910, after borrowing forty-two millions more, it is only, net .£25 per head. llow much more do we require to borrow before wo have no debt at allr"

An Aristocratic Autocracy. "The subsidised Press of Now Zealand is hardly 'playing tins game.'" remarks tho "Wairarapa Age" of Tuesday last. "It is straining every nerve to divert public attention from tho political issues at stake, and is endeavouring to prejudice the Opposition party, which is fast gaining ground in the country, by referring to it as the 'Conservative Partv,' and tho •Tory Party.' Every child ill tho community knows that the Reform Party is morn liberal in its policy than is the Administration which at present claims to represent the 'Liberal and Labour Federation.' 'It would be interesting to know how many genuino 'labourers' belong to that remarkable 'Federation,' which has ft live Baronet as its president. Aristocracy, autocracy, and Labour aro a queer mixture, anyhow."

What Wo All Want. Replying to a letter from Mr. L. M, TsiU, published in the "Lyttelton Times," Mr. J. D. Jlatl, the Reform candidate, pithily sums up the political situation as follows:—

"I ain glad to hear Mr. Isitt is 'all in if and that lie will fight for conditions that will bring prosperity and happiness to the people. That is what we all want and all will fight for, our difference being in our views as to what methods and measures will result in such prosperity and happiness. My opponent says the present Government' methods are satisfactory. Tlicy include extravagant finance and inefficient administration, resulting in an expenditure of a million pounds a month in addition to an increase in taxation equal t'o a burden of ..CI per head for every man, woman, and child in the .Dominion; absence of land policy, absence of local government reform. Will these methods and this policy produce the desired happiness and prosperity?"

Who Owns Them? Dealing with a local postal question, the "Tomilka Loader," referring to the matter editorially, says:—"Until now we laboured under the delusion that I>oth tho railway aad tlio post office belonged to tho people of this countrv, and, in fact, Socialists liavc frequently pointed them out^

as successful instances of Socialism, Wt also belioved that Mr. Millar was iri .<*£ tho railways, and Sir. •J. G.' \V«ru in charge of tho post office, as or managers for the people, and hat they worked together in harmony for tho convenienco of ilin people. But, like a truo sophist, Mr. Millar is trying to provo that all thin is false, and that there is no connection between them, excepting that n postal van in chargo of a jnxil.'U officer is graciously permitted to hang on to tho hack of the train, and Millar's rails. How good of Mr. Millar lo allow this, but at one tiino ho did better. Jin actually allowed 'tlio tetter portion of tho mail for Gcraldine to bo thrown off at Orari' from the 1. '• "I '1 >'ly to tho Mist of December, 190!). then they were brought to 'i'emuka, and tarried by motor-car to Gcraldine, and when that came to an end, Kir J. G. Hard took the bit in bis mouth, ami would not go back to thoold style at Orari, y ,ua . ' H '' |I,vrfwl them 'jcr.ilrline must wait tor i(,s mails, We can soe no remedy lor it but to grin and bear it. To us it appears that tho two Departments tiro not pulling well together." Trampled in the Dust. One of the most .surprising things about the campaign of misrcprei-ciilation ami rte Uiat is wnKwi wuh u '° ° ll tc J 01 preventing Uio Ward Govlr nT <■ .T" f U "">' itS ,losOTts at tho r hnii. «V• 0 J!I'*1 '** 01 * (states the Clirist-iN-v f ,s P lO readiness ol' sunii ii besmirch tho memory of Jxulanco to make him a party to' the ni'i >S <T Cn V I>=tr W l . " f '»s policy, and tlio tiamnling ot his ideals in ilm dirt. Accordingly, we are told by n Gloucester Street manufacturer of political Action lor party purposes that;, in bis speech on Saturday night, "Mr. Forbes showed by the plainest figures that tho growth of the public debt was an ineviU able outcomo of tho Ballanco policy of progressive development and State interlercucc with privato enterprise." No intelligent person needs to be told how utterly untrue this is. Mr. Forbes didn't do anything of the kind, becauso ho couldn't, however much he may havo tried. Further, the growth of the public debt was not the "inevitable outcome" of the Ballanco policy, but tho inevitable outcome of its betrayal, and tbe substitution of the Ward pawn and squander policy for tlio. Ballanco self-reliant policy. No greater insult could be offered to tlio memory of the man who founded tlio political fortunes of tho present party. . . . lint any sort of reckless mis-state-ment or distortion of the truth is eagerly clutched at by Ministerialists and their newspaper supporters at the present time, to conceal tho true facts of tho political situation from the eyes of tho electors, and not content with resorting to theso methods they havo the amazing assurance to allego misrepresentation against their opponents! Fortunately tho Parliamentary records stand for all time as positive and direct evidence of Ballance's conception of statesmanship, and his words uttered on Juno .10, 1802, show what ho would have thought of any person who had dared to suggest that the "inevitablo outcome" of his policy was tho borrowing of .£12,000,000. The "News" then quotes from Ballance'i Budget of 1892, as follows:—

"Borrowing in the London market must cease. Our debt is great, and tlie population to bear tho burden comparatively small. Wo have marched for 20 years at a furious pace, 100 severe to last; and have piled up obligations which should mako sane men pause. But now for the first time WE HAVE DETERMINED ON A 'POLICY OF SELF-RELIANCE -THE ONLY POLICY TO .MAKE THIS A GREAT COUNTRY."