Evening Post. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1914. DIFFICULT TO FORECAST

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 140, 10 December 1914, Page 6

Evening Post. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1914. DIFFICULT TO FORECAST

i Three months ago the postponement of th© elections was being strongly urged on the ground that the country ! was in no mood for domestic controversy while the Empire was struggling for its life. We opposed the proposal from the outset, urging in the first place that the motto "business as usual" should be applied to the public business in a country where the war administration raised no issue that could nossibly divide parties, and in the second, that the intense excitement aroused during the first few weeks of the war could not be indefinitely prolonged. After some" hesitation, the Government decided to Teject a proposal which had been strenuously pressed by the Leader of the Opposition, and the time-table fixed by law has been allowed to take its course. We do not suppose that at any time during the past fortnight even Sir Joseph Ward himself would have ventured to dispute the soundness of the Government's decision. Candidates certainly found a good deal of difficulty in getting started. The political waiters were cold at first, and it needed some courage to make tho plunge. But latteiiy the temperature has been quite warm enough for health and comfort. Public interest in the contest has been worked up to a point considerably above that to which the election fever usually reaches. The leaders of both the principal parties have displayed a quite exceptional degree of activity, and the enthusiasm with which each of them has been received in all parts of the country has certainly never been surpassed. The war has been kept out of the controversy. That is as it should be, and as was expected, but the failure of the war to distract the de» mocracy from a due attention to its domestic affairs has entirely upset the calculations of those who in August and September were demanding the postponement of the elections. They will surely now be glad to admit that the people have been much better employed in attending to their own business than in gloating or brooding over the war news. The most appreciable effect of the war upon the election has been tha silencing of the tiny minority which* once w"as loud in its clamours against the Defence Act, and the confronting of certain candidates in Chnstchurch with the contrast between the patriotism of their recent speeches and the anti-militarist tone which they had previously adopted under press-ire from constituents. Even the Red Federation candidates have preferred to emphasise their belief in a " citizen army " and to conceal the fact that their citizen army is to be on voluntary lines which presuppose the repeal of the present system. But in other respects neither the candidates nor the supporters of the Federation have been able to disguise its true colours. A year ago, just after the change of name and constitution that was to render it harmless, the Red' Federation attempted to put into practice the doctrines of lawless revolution by brute force which its leading miiids had long been openly advocating. The same spirit has been displayed during the present campaign in the attempts that have repeatedly been made to deny opponents a fair hearing and even in occasional acts of physical violence. Sir Joseph Ward's advocacy of justice, law, and order is very heavily discounted by His co-operation with the forces to which justice and law and order are all anathema because they are tainted with the poison of capitalism. In the city constituencies this co-operation may profit the opponents of the Government, but the lesson will surely not be lost upon the other electorates. If it is, the return of the Liberals to power may mean that both they and the country will have a terrible price to pay. In such circumstances the Government would only be safe in the hands of the Liberals if they were strong enough to hold office without the support of the Red contingent; but this does not appear probable. It must, however, be admitted that seldom has I the result of a General Election been more difficult to forecast. Both parties have fought with enthusiasm, and both have professed confidence as to the result. Although these professions are a necessary part of the game, and must therefore not be taken too seriously, the present campaign is certainly one which has been full of encouragement for both parties. The Government has a good record of work to its credit, and its leading men have been extraordinarily well received wherever they have spoken. Sir Joseph Ward, on the other hand, lias recovered prestige to a remarkable extent, and personally has made a better showing than he did as Premier in tho campaign of 1911. Whatever the result may be, the country will bo spared the disadvantages of an impotent Opposition. The margin on either side is not likely to bo large, and if we anticipate a small majority for the Government we are not prepared to say that tho wish has i not be.qu father to the thought.