THE Ellesmere Guardian. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15. 1919 THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XXIV, Issue 4123, 15 November 1919, Page 2

THE Ellesmere Guardian.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15. 1919 THE GENERAL ELECTION.

"With which is incorporated The Ellesmere Chronicle. Published at Leesten, Canterbury, N.Z.

The Parliamentary election will shortly be upon us and no doubt many people will have difficulty, amid a mass of confusing issues, as to whom they should vote for. Without presuming at this stage to advise our readers, we may legitimately point out a few guiding lines to those who may have their doubts as to which candidate would be the better man to represent them and to assist in legislating for the good of the Dominion as a whole. Firstly, we want ordered government. Order is the great law of the universe. Never a hair-brain-ed fanatic but what must evolve some sort of order before his theories can be given effect to. You may revolutionise, turn things topsy-turvy, but until you. can produce order out of chaos you will produce nothing of a con-structive nature. We want then, men with the capacity to build and keep the machinery of State running smooMily, so that there shall be no more destruction than "is necessary to clear the ground for whatever new edifices may be required to accommodate the spirit of the times. It is wretchedly trite, but we must repeat that the Dominion's greatest need is more production. Our national indebtedness is now so heavy that we imperatively need a heavy excess of exports over imports, and this is the only really sound way in which to wipe off our'debt and reduce the amount of interest annually payable. Every assistance, therefore, must? be given to the farmer and the manufacturer to produce to the utmost. The cost of living is a problem which affects every grade of society, and more particularly the wage earners having largs families. Any practicable suggestions towards this end from candidates, will merit serious consideration, but such methods as the giving of subsfdies, apart from the justifiable ones granted as war and post-war measures, are not to be recommended, the net result being the putting j of money into one pocket and taking it j out of the other. Bound up with this problem, very closely, is that of the shortage of houses, and every candidate ihoul be made to promise definitely ;hat he will at least do all in his power o ensure that existing legislation is >romptly given effect to. The demands

of education also must be met m broad, liberal spirit, if New Zealand 4b tq hold its own in the markets of the ' world, and equip its4f to be largely-self-sustaining in the event of another international upheaval robbing us of the finished products of other lands. And neither must it be forgotten that the primary great purpose of education is | to educate,, to develop the mind and to I make men and women self-reliant, enterprising and honourable in all their relationships there is our electrical scheme, the one matter in which alt parts of the district are very keenly interested. The people are losing patience with the Government over this question and ar« determined to get some ;■ measure of satisfaction. Volumes might be written on the subject named in the ; heading of this article but, in the main, I the elector will not go far astray if he votes for the candidate whom he would be least averse to allowing the control of his or her own business and the ruling of his or her owm social life. After all, Parliament is merely a big board of directors, managing the affairs of the State, and the same qualities of wisdom, sagacity, enterprise, sympathy, integrity and moral courage are required as make the best personal assets in tke personnel of any other association of human beings.