NOTES OP THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2326, 7 December 1914, Page 4

NOTES OP THE DAY

One of the electorates in which Reform prospects are particularly bright is Wairau, where Me. John Duncan, the Government candidate, is prosecuting a vigorous campaign with excellent prospects of ■ success against the Wardist nominee, Me: M'Oallum. The latter won at the. last election by the narrow of 142 votes.. Apart from his personal qualities and the intimate acquaintance with the affairs of the district which he has gained by long experience, Mk. Duncan is assisted in no small degree iby a comparison of the Wardist record with that of the Reform Government,, where the province of Marlborough is concerned. As he has not failed to point out and emphasise in his speeches, practically nothing was done during Sir Joseph Ward's term of office, to bring about closer . • settlement in Marlborough; The great _ estates were left practically undisturbed, and hundreds of young men were forced to leave the district instead of remaining to cultivate and im•prove its lands.' With the advent of the Reform Government, this era of neglect terminated. Already the great Hillersden ■ Estate has been cut up and settled, and the Wither run has also been purchased for closer settlement. Speaking of these things to people who are acquainted with the local facts, Me. Duncan naturally able to frame a scathing indictment of the Wardist Party which eo long neglected the claims of the province and a strong case in favour of the cf the progressive Government which he supports. Of course the fact that Mr. Duncan while a member of the House of Representatives proved himself a sound and practical,worker, whoreas Mr. M'Oalluji's chief claim to distinction is that of a political scold, must also prove a material factor with a oommunity composed so largely of praotical business men and hard-headed small farmers.

The anxiety of the Wardist Liberals just now to disown their association with the Federation of Labour must be rather galling to the members of the Sooial Democratic Party. Having assured themselves that the Red' Federation is fully committed to! voting against Reform candidates, the Wardists are now desirous of convincing the public that there is nothing between tne two parties. _And the proof they put forward is that there is a Wardist candidate running against Mr. Herdman as well as a Social Democrat; candidate! This is too ludicrous to' deceive anyone. Even tho Social Democrat candidate has exposed this sham by pointing out at his meetings that Mr. Turnbull's csndidaturo is a farce, and that he was only brought out because the Wardists are afraid of their association, with the "Red 'Feds." They know quite well that the seat was a perfectly safe one for Mr. Herdman, and that neither Me. Holland nor Mr. Turnbull had any chanoe of winning it. They brought out Mr. Turnbull simply so that they could say that it was proof that there was no alliance. Had they thought Mr. Holland had the slightest chance of winning they would have kept the Wardist candidate out of the field as they have done with Mr. Robertson for the Otaki seat: Mr. Webb for the Grey seat; Mr. M'Combs for the Lyttelton seat. The Federation of Labour wants to kill the Reform Government, and the Wardists want to kill it, and they; are working together with that object. It does not matter whether it is called an Alliance or an Agreement, the fact remains that in a large number of seats the agreement has been arrived at not to run candidates against one another. And should it unfortunately happen, aj is most unlikely, that by any chance the Reform Government was beaten, then most assuredly the Social Democrats and the Red Federation would dominate tho situation and forco their extravagant ideas down tho throats of tho people of New Zealand.