NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1307, 9 December 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

. The unhappy situation of Mb. Millar, who is threatened with defeat on the second.ballot for Duncdin West, can. hardly extract much sympathy from tbo public. Tw..< really bad electioneering scandals that have fortunately come to light in time to stimulate the public appetite for news tell heavily against him. It is not suggested that Mr. Millar was responsible, as a candidate anxious about his chances, for the deplorable bid for the railway officers' support which was announced in the Railway Officers' Institute circular that wo printed on Wednesday. Tho Minister's eleventhhour admission of the soundness of the railway officers' grievances, against the redress of which the Minister had vigorously fought, wan, on the face of it, a dodge of the Ministry as a whole Yet if he had been a strong man, Mr. Millar could_ have prevented, as the responsible Minister, tins naked election bribe. His opposition to the railway officers' demands last session was based upon tho cost of satisfying them: many thousands of pounds were involved. But what arc thousands of pounds when a Minister and a Ministry are in peril ? Still more gross, and far more foolish, was the- summoning of a section of the railway hands on Wednesday afternoon—the day before the elections—to receive the pre-election increase in pay. At Addington, according to the Tress, each man's extra pay for the period involved was 95., and some of the humourists amongst the men "expressed themselves as highly insulted at their votes only being assessed at 95." This is the sort of thing that the Reform movement aims at killing, and the great Reform revival ought to, and we believe will, sweep away Mil. Millar in punishment of his connection with a Government that dares to do these things.

_ The appeal by Me. Moore for a junction of the Labour forces with the Wardist faction in order to beat what he called "Masseyism" in the second ballot for Wellington Suburbs is almost the most amazing thing we have ever beard of in the world of politics. We give in another column some extracts from Mr. Moore's campaign speeches. In these ho condemned the Government in unmeasured terms and urged that it should bo "turned, out of office on the ground of corruption and dishonesty." He poured a flood of boiling indignation •on "the Liberals, who had grown rich and fat after twenty-one years of office," who "utterly disregarded the consoquences of anything they did." The only thing to do was "to put the Government out of office." "By uniting with Mr. Massey," clean government could be secured. "Clean administration could >bc got from Mr. Massey, whereas it was impossible to get it from the party that had grown so rich and so fat out of the game of politics." And now MnMoore appeals for a Wardist-Lab-our- combination against "Masseyism" ! The most charitable thing one can say is that Mr, Moore has lost his head altogether in tlio excitement of being in the second ballot. The electors may be trusted to conclude that a man capable of such an unparalleled somersault is quite unsuited to guard any good interest in Parliament.

A quaint and significant feature of tho election of 1908 was the trouble that befell most of the Ministerialists in whose electorates the Prime Minister delivered an election speech. He visited, in his final rush, Carterton, Paltnerston, Geraldine, Timaru, Feilding and Auckland, and also spoke at one of. Mr, C. H. Izard's meetings. As a rcsmi Mr. Hornsby was beaten, Mr. Wood was beaten, Mr. Jeffries polled heavily in Geraidine, and Mr. Caiipbell in Timaru, Mr. Guthrie won at Oroua, Mr. Kidd was defeated in Auckland, and Mr. Izard robbed of his last chance- of contesting the second ballot. The result this year has been rather worse for the Ward party. Sir Joseph AVard visited Pukekohc, and increased Mr. Massey's majority; he descended on Parnell, .and now his late colleague is practically assured of defeat; he talked at' Ditnnevirke. and the Waipawa seat has been lost to him; he talked in Taumarunui. and Mn. Jennings has been beaten; bo talked in Palmcrston and Mr. Buick has won; he took a turn in Ashburton, and Mr. ' Nosworthy headed the poll by a big margin; he talked in Timaru, and Mr. Oraigie has now to faco a second ballot; ho talked in Gore, and Mr. Anderson's majority has increased; he talked in Invcrcargill, and Mr. Hanan is not only forced into a second ballot, but threatened also with defeat; finally, he < talked and talked and talked at Winton, and reduced his own majority of 2183 over his nearest opponent to 518. The more tho people know of bjm, it i 3 plain,, the less they like him.

The cowardly and underhand way in which attempts are being maide to damage the candidature of Mr, Fisher for the Central scat calls for the strongest protest and censure. We do not know who is responsible for the despicable slanders which have been set in circulation concerning him, but anything more contemptible it would be difficult to imagine Long before the campaign opened a dastardly story was set in circulation concerning Mr. Fisher's holiday visit to Australia, which Mn. Fisher on his return exposed for the baseless lie it was. But the campaign of calumny goes on. Not content with attacking him personally, be is attacked through his parents with lies and half-truths that must occasion deep pain, and which even if they were true have not the slightest bearing on politics, and are no reflection on Mr. Fisher himself. At his meeting last evening, and in tho presence of his wife, Mr. Fisher was subjected to one of these attacks, and tho police considered it necessary to remove tho oifender. It was a most despicable personal attack, reflecting on tho dead, and Mr. Fisher naturally was painfully affected. The large meeting very properly showed its disapproval of such tactics by a verystriking demonstration of svmpath'v towards the candidate, which must have done much to soften the painful nature of the incident.

Owing to the large' number of second ballots in the Wellington Education Board district, the board has decided to closo tho schools throughout tho district on Wednesday evening, Dcoombor 13, la-