THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 309, 24 September 1943, Page 6

THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN

During the past three weeks there has been a political awakening in the Dominion which cannot fail to have a material effect on the polling tomorrow. The opening of the election campaign saw the majority of the people somewhat indifferent or, if not indifferent, discouraged. Many of those who in the past had supported the Labour Party were conscious of a decline in recent years in the spirit and outlook of those in charge of its destinies. Those of the public who, on the other hand, have perceived the dangers inherent in the encroachments so repeatedly made by the Labour Party on the peisonal and individual rights and liberties of citizens, approached the elections under a sense of frustration. They felt handicapped by a Jack of leadership. Since the inspiring opening address of MiHolland, however, there has been a remarkable change His downrightness, his clear exposition of the positive programme his party has prepared, and the principles they stand for have created an entirely new atmosphere. . ’ It cannot be questioned that public confidence in our parliamentary institutions has dwindled steadily during the last few years, and most people attribute this to the increasing extent to which men behind the scenes can, and have, influenced the Government of the day. These non-representative, and so non-responsible, men, it is generally felt, have attained a position little if anything short of domination in Government circles. The power and authority of Parliament have in a large degree passed from the hands of the elected i epi csentatives of the neople into the control or guidance of those lnghly"nlaced officials of the industrial Labour movement. This is the insult largely of the weaknesses of Ministers and their subservience, not to the mass of labour unionists, but to the small coterie which has skilfully engineered itself into a position in which it can claim to speak for all labour unionists. It is a false position, an affront to the democratic rights of the people and a degradation of I arhament. This is one of the things which has stirred wide resentment even in the ranks of the Labour Party itself, for the men who have used the Labour organization to climb into unauthorized power in. this vvay lave also gained for themselves either highly lucrative positions or perquisites of another kind. , , To the growing distrust of methods and practices used and developed during the last few years must be added a sense of outrage aroused by actions taken by Ministers in the sphere of law and justice Access by the common man to the courts of justice has been blocked in a variety of ways. Judged, too, on the record of some of thenlegislation many people have felt that more has been done to s ued offenders in certain classes of crime than to protect the public, notably by removing, against the known views of those who administer justice, the deterrent punishment for bestial offences against women and children. There is a wide gulf between the action of Hie Government in this respect and the overwhelming body of public opinion. It passes the comprehension of most people why any Goveinment s iou show such concern for law-breakers and so little regard for the interests of the women and children affected. But it is the general background which the Government in recent years has built for itself, of encroachments on individual liberty, ot regulation and restriction, of licences and permits, all subject to ministerial patronage, that has most deeply stirred the resentment ot the great majority of people. Many thousands of electors who troub e very little about party politics and who seldom study closely the details of legislation, have gradually sensed the restraints and restrictions which have been creeping into and hampering their daily lives, and their interest in politics has been aroused in a degree perhaps nevet before experienced. Many thousands of women, too. unable to a tend political meetings have listened in to broadcast political addresses and have learned that the costs they have to meet and the inconveniences they have been suffering from arc due largely to the craze ot the present Government for regimentation of the people s lives and State interference with business. Moreover, they have been told by Ministers of the Crown that the existing forms of control arc to be continued after the war, and they realize that the lives of themselves and their children must be shaped in accordance with this mimstcrid dictation, unless they exert their powers as. electors and voters. And the signs are that few women tomorrow will miss their opportunity to show their power. . The interest that has been displayed in the campaign has been very general, more especially in its closing stages. It has indicated clearly enough that the uplift of the Labour Party under the leadeiship of the late Mr. Savage has dwindled, and there is today an absence of the former confidence in the Labour Party. On the other hand, 1 i. Holland has scored a great personal success, and by his vigorous campaigning, his candid exposition of his views and programme, the constructive and liberal nature of his policy undoubtedly has deeply impressed many who in the past under-rated his qualities or who misunderstood his political outlook.