HERE AND THERE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1310, 13 December 1911, Page 8

HERE AND THERE.

CAMPAIGN POINTS AND PRESS COMMENTS. Proud, of Its Young Colt. Speaking at Kilbirnio bst night. Dr. Newman said that, on liis arrival at the hall, an elector had informed him Mint tilers was a rumour afloat to the effect that the Koform party hud pulled' Mr. W. 11. ]). Bell off the platform because it did not like some of his utterances. So far from this being true, the lieform party was proud of its young colt, and most of them had a regret that lie was not going on with his speeches because, everywhere ho went, lie made converts. Dr. Newman hoped that, for the credit of New Zealand, the Suburbs electors would return such a brilliant young man as Mr. Bell was. _' She Did Not Come to Fight. At seven o'clock last evening there was quite a. largo muster at the Aro Street .Mission Hall at a meeting of electors convened by Mr. Fisher at short notice. Mv. fisher dealt with the statements that hnd been circulated in that' particular portion of the electorate by a certain woman. However, notwithstanding the invitation offered by advertisement, the woman in question failed to put in an appearance, and Mr.. Fisher had no difficulty, in persuading the audience, many of whom were personally acquainted with the details, that deliberate and systematic attempts were being made to defeat him by unscrupulous persons who had no

regard either for the truth or for common decency. Mr. Fisher addressed the meeting upon other topics, and assured the electors that there was no chance whatever of there being retrenchment in the public service in the event of the Opposition being returned to power. Later in the evening, Mr. Fisher, when at the Druids' Hall, received a telegram from Mr. Massey on this subject as reported elsewhere. "A Menace to Society." Mr. G. Ingram, president of the Auckland branch of the Labour party, says:— "It is not good, in my opinion, for any party to remain in power for twenty odd years. If it does, it becomes autocratic. It does nol develop with the growth of popular ideas, and gets out of touch with the people, so that by and by it forgets what it is for. Thus it becomes a menace to society, instead of the leader of social reform. Taking all these points into consideration, tho workers will be justified in voting against tho Liberal party. By this means they will help to bring about a change in the Administration of tho country, and will have the prospect ot building up, in the near future, a united movement of the people, by the people, for the people." Political Half-Breeds. Speaking at Kilbirnie last night, Dr. Newman referred to the growing tendency of a certain class of .candidate to endeavour to obtain the Government support without having to wear tho Government label. "Piebalds, I call them," said Dr. Newman, • "or political halfbreeds. How they do hate anyone who says that they are Government supporters." "Repentance Came Too Late." "Many reasons will, of course, be forthcoming "in explanation of the disaster that has overtaken the Liberals (says tho Chrjstchurch "Press"). We venture to suggest that one of the more obvious is the revulsion of feeling against the Ward policy of bribing the people with their own money. The disclosures during the latter part of the campaign of the large sum's of public money scattered around Southland, particularly in Aw.arua, must have been very damaging, and the uneasiness caused the. Prime Minister was proved by his apologetic attitude towards his critics.' He even went so far as to promise a commission of inquiry into this'expenditure, adding that it it should be' found that the money had been misapplied, refunds would,be made. Coming from the arch : spender .himself, a statement of this nature was, exceedingly significant, but unfortunately for him repentance camo too late... Not only in Southland were hundreds of Government votes turned over, but in other parts of the country there was an astonishing change of feeling."

Some Sayings By Mr. Fisher, Below are just a few of the sayings that helped to arouse the fine display of enthusiasm at Mr. Fisher's meeting in the Druids' Hall last night. "I was so disgusted with the unwarrantable and unconstitutional action of tho Prime Minister in presenting the Dreadnought that I joined, the Opposition. I say that no more unconstitutional thing has ever been done in this country." "I would give every member of Parliament who had a vote the right to walk into any State Department and see the voucher for any payment he likes to name." "I believe T have a long career before me, and it would bo better for me to be defeated now as an honest mail than to win on a slinter." ■'You may think i aui egotistical, but I know what I know. I am capable of going into tho House ami holding my own with any of them there." "Remember, in this election my back is up against the wall, and I am out for a fight, and I like it." Giving Them the Final Push. Any hesitancy on the part of the electors about the completion of tho work that has been begun may. and, in our judgment, must, result in the production of a condition of affairs in which a handful of members will be afforded the opportunity of dictating their terms of support to a Government that will, if we may judge by its past, be prepared to cling to office at any prico (says the "Otago Daily Times"). If. on the other hand, the electors believe it to bo for the good of the country that there should be a change of Administration thoy must not, now (hat they have got the Ministerialists "on the run." as Mr. AViuston Churchill would put it. be deferred from giving them the final push Hint is all that, is necessary to; expel the Government from the Treasury benches. It is demonstrably the case that the position of the Government at the present moment is distinctly critical, . It requires every rote that it caa get next wttk if it is

lo hong on to oflice. It must win onehalf of the second ballots in order that if, may have a I'arliamenlary party of i'orly members—that, is to sav, exi'ic.lly iinc-hall' of the House. And this is on the assuniplion that the votes of all the {our .Maori memlicrs are given in its favour. Hut the task of winning fifteen out ri the thirty second ballots may bo confidently _asserlcd to Ik- beyond'the Government's power. labour Platform Not Signed. According to Mr. E. J. Carey, who spoke on behalf of Mr. Moore, at Scatoun, last night, two Labour men whom the party exiicct Id see returned to Parliament have not yet signed the party's platform. "They will sign as soon as they were relumed la the House," added Mr. Carey. A little later Mr. Carey said: "So long as we are a Labour party, we are going to insist on pledges from candidates." A Platform Triumpn. The rowdy meeting addressed by Mr. Fisher at L'ollingwood during his visit to Australia, when he spoko against tho Federal referendum proposals, has been the subject of questions at several of his meetings. Mr. Fisher etatcd on Monday night ho thought the question would come, and ho had brought along a report of the mooting to be ready for it. He then read tho report with excellent effect, and showed that although (owing to tho company ho was with) he could not at first get a hearing from the audience at Collingwoed, he cveutually did so, and the meeting ended with "cheers for Mr. Fisher," and other marks of onthusiashi. Ho added that ho was

afterwards very well treated by the Labour people. He considered that it was the best platform triumph he had ever had. He also explained that his attitude on the referendum was the same as that of some of the Australian Labour leaders. The audience on Monday night interrupted Mr. Fisher's reading of the report at one point to give him three rousing cheers. _ Counter-cheers for Mr. Fletcher were given by a small section of the audience, but were overwhelmed by hostile sounds. A Candid Ministerialist Paper, Thus the "Taranaki Daily News"—a strongly Ministerialist paper:—"The experience in England and Canada lately shows that the public like to go with the flowing tide, and for that reason we believe the Opposition are more likely to increase than decrease the lead they gained on Thursday. It is idle to speculato as to tho causes of this change of opinion on' the part of the electors. It is confined to no particular Dart of tho country: it is general. This is the most disquieting part of the whole situation, from the Government point of view . . . No party can carry on the Government of the country without. a workable majority, and it is to be hoped that whichever side wins next Thursday will win substantially. The final figures will, it .is'certain, be awaited with even f,T- ater interest than Thursday's." Mr. Fletcher and the Brewers. "A strange thing happened in tho Town Hall Concert Chamber on Monday night,' 1 said Mr. Fisher last evening. "My opponent has been all through the campaign as a three-fifths majority man. But last night he Was asked if he believed in State control. He said 'Yes.' He was then asked 'What majority?' /What was his reply?" A voice: "Bare majority. I was there." i Mr. Fisher: Yes, a bare majority, in connection with State control. It means that on a local option question when the brewers are in danger, ho is in favour of three-fifths, and on the State control question, which .is going to bo tho salvation of the brewers if they can get it, he is in favour, of the bare majority. Now, we know where he is! The Second Ballot Folly. "it has been well-known for some time," said one Ministerial journal, "that Ministers themselves are disappointed with tho operation of the second ballot!" Whereupon the Christcliurch "Press" .comments: "We'have an idea that 'disappointed' will not express adequately the views of Sir Joseph Ward and his colleagues as to the operation of the Second Ballot Act after next Thursday. We were further told that 'there is every reason (o hope that in tho new Parliament they (Ministers) will move for its abolition/ That is extremely probable. Most of the .members of the party that will bo in power in the new Parliament are stronglv opposed to tho foolish voting system that the present Government foisted" on to the electorates." False Coin Nailed Down. • I fr, Fi , sh * r dealt last ni K nfc in.downright tashion with personal slanders that aro being circulated for the purpose of damaging his candidature. A written question was handed up to his platform in the Druids' Hall: "Is it true that you were eourt-martialled in South Africa, and recommended for dismissal to the Defence authorities here?" . Mr. Fisher: "No. It is not trne, and if the man who wrote that question will ■stand up, and put it in tho form of a statement, I will take criminal proceedings at once." A voice: Why did you'come back? Mr. Fisher: I came back with mv regiment in the ordinary way. and I served as a volunteer for n year afterwards. Do you notice that every night, after my opponent's meetings aro over, these questions come along. He begins at a quar-ter-past eight, and is finished at a quar-ter-past nine, and then these questions como along." No Withdrawal. The Second Ballot Act forbids anv candidate to withdraw between the firs't and second ballots. So far, none of the candidates have shown any desire to do so.

On Record. "They're up-.against me with all their money all their influence, all their public Departments. But did you ever hear any of thorn riuote from Hansard any wrong vote of miner" said Mr. Fisher last night. He challenged anybody in I In; audience to name any volume, of Hansard out of the i'i lying on the table' and see if he (Mr. Fisher) could not turnup something in it to'show-that he had acted in accord with '.'>* Labour programme. (A voice: "We want. DaJinl") Mr. Fishers offer was put- to test by two or throe persons in ihc auiieoiccj and k scored eijnaUi.

Vote To-morrow, A mistake which has been made by .some Wellington electors has also been brought to light in the Masterton electorate. Tim "Age" says:—"Strange though it may appear, there are a number of electors ill the district who consider that, having voted for Mr. Sykes on Thursday lusl, thr-y r.ro r.r.i entitled to vote again. It need hardly Ik> said that Ihose electors are entirely in error. The election on Thursday next is practically a new election. The voles recorded last week count absolutely for nothing. It if< the privilege, as well as the duty, of every elector whose namo is on the "roll to vole again on Thursday 'next, and it is to be hoped that this fact will be made as widely known as possible." Another misconception is that the names of those who did not vote at. the first ballot have been struck off Hie rolls, and deprived of their right to vole again to-morrow. This, of course, is altogether a mistake. Those who did not. vote last week, as well an those who did, have the right and the duty to go to tho polling booths to-morrow.

Mr. Hindmarsh Again. Mr. Hindmarsh indulged in another outburst against The Dominion last evening, alleging that it had intentionally left his name out of tho list of candidates who had found favour with the Secular Education Defence League. Thk Dominion printed the list of names supplied by the league. Mr. Hindmarsh apparently sent in his replies later and received tho endorsement of the league, and we are very pleased to give him the publicity for what it is worth.

Second Ballot Voting. Some electors apparently still cling to the idea that, having voted in the first ballot, they need not vote in the second ballot on Thursday next. . This is a mistake. The first and second ballots are absolutely distinct, and the only way to vote for a candidate in the second ballot is to go to tho poll and record a vote in his favour, exactly as was done in the first ballot. Only votes polled on Thursday next will count in the second ballot contests. From the Cradle to the Grave. "You're taxed from tho cradle to the grave, and taxed after death by means of the death duty."—Dr. Newman,' at Hataitai. The Freehold, ' An analysis of the result of last week's election reveals tho fact that there will bo a substantial majority in 1 the new House of Representatives in favour of the "freehold tenure," as applied to the land. It is somewhat belated, therefore, for the Wellington evening paper to endeavour to make the question of tenure an issue in the second ballots—"Wairafapa Age." Oamaru and Masterton. There is almost a pathetic comparison between the political situations of Masterton. and Oamaru at tho present time (says' the "Age")! Both townships are "dry." Each has been represented by a Minister of the Crown, and the ono member for over twenty years. Neither has the slightest disrespect for the man who has represented them for so lengthy a period. Both are tired of the Ward Administration, and want a change.. Oamaru has done the trick at the first ballot. Will Masterton follow suit on Thursday? The Otaki Seat. In reply to a telegram from Palmerston North with respect to tho attitude of the' Reform party over the Otaki seat, Mr. Massey states: "My reply to the Otaki electors is that we could not possibly accept a Government candidate, and if any arrangement has been entered into as between Mr. Monckton and Mr. Robertson or.their respective committees, it should be strictly adhered to." Putting Another Turn On. The Government put another turn on the taxation screw, and, because'they squeezo out of your pockets more taxation, they boast that the revenue is increased.—Dr. Newman, at Kilbirnie last night. The Government and the Workers. "A Worker," writing in the Auckland "Herald," states:—Nothing is more amusing than the complacent manner in which Government organs console themselves over tho loss of tho Parnell first ballot with.the infantile hopo in Mr. Mack's ability to transfer, if he will, the workers' votes to Sir John Findlay at the second baUot They forget that tho workers have lost faith in the Continuous Ministry, which has for 21 years obtained their votes on the slrengtn of promises that have never come to fruition. Mr. Mack was put forward by the workers in their manly determination to redress their grievances by breaking thi power of those who had climbed to office on their backs. Neither Mr. Mack nor an angel from Heaven could force us to return to the useless alliance with those whose only record is the empty book of unfulfilled promises. Let .Mr. Mack, if he will, tamely return to the Government fold; but, with apologies to the poet for liberties with his verse, 1 would say to tho workers' "Be not like dumb, driven cattle; Do each a hero in the strife." And on Thursday next show, by returning Mr. Dickson at the head of the poll, that you cannot be transferred like sheep on a station to the next-comer,

A Level-headed Man. The speech made by Mr. Veitch before the Railways Committee last session was described by Mr. Fisher last evening. as one of the soundest and ablest speeches lie had ever heard, Mr. Veitch was a very level-headed man, and Mr. Fisher hoped he would bo returned at the lop of the poll for Wanganui. (Applause.) Turning Down the New Nobility, Mr. Fisher said last night that- if the Labaur party in Auckland had not, decided to turn down Sir John Findlay. his faith in I lie- Labour party would' have gone down considerably. "1 am very glad to Hunk." he continued, "that the Labour party lias been wise enough to turn down the first of the now nobility-(enthusiastic applause)—and \ hope the Labour partywill be wise enough here to turn • down a supporter of the n«iv nobility." (Fur-, tier joyoui applause.)

Impressing Parliament. At Brooklyn last evening Mr. Wright ivplicd (o an inlcrjector that it tli<l not matter how well a member spoko in the House, he made little impression on his fellow-members. A voire: Because they are all asleep! Mr. Wriiflit remarked that, tho impression was mneli the same, whether members were asleep or awake because, most of them came pledged on all tho leading questions of tho hour. The Period of Secrecy About to End. There is now every chance that after a very longthy period of secrecy, the doings of the Ward parly will como under review, and the truth ho known regarding many matters that are still mysteries except to Ministers and the heads of Departments. This fact alono should he sufficient to secure the return of the Reform candidates at every second ballot.— "Waikato Argus." The Soreness of Mr, M'Laren. Tho "Wairarapa Ago" says:—"Mr. David M'Laren, the class-conscious Scotchman who was the solo representative of Labour in the last Parliament, is very soro that he should have been referred to by Tun Dominion newspaper as a supporter of the Ward Administration, and has delivered himself of a tirade of abuse which is as petty as it is childlike in its peevishness. Is Mr. M'Laren ashamed of the Ward Administration? Docs he regard it as a reproach upon his political character that ho should be classified as a supporter of Sir Joseph Ward, Bart.? If ho does,

then it is the plain duty of the electors to return men who will save him from the danger of such a reproach, and prevent his colleagues from suffering a similar indignity."