CANADA'S VERDICT

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 134, 3 December 1935, Page 9

CANADA'S VERDICT

PALL OF ME. BENNETT

UNDERLYING REASONS

Another democratic Government has fallen, defeated by the common enemy, General.: Depression, writes Lloyd Roberts in the "Christian Science Monitor." Hitler and Mussolini would say that, is the weakness of a democracy. In reality, of course, mat is its strength. Its Government falls only to be succeeded by another on the same, foundation by the same people, and.there is no harm done that cannot be rectified at the next election. And so, in} the case of Canada, whether the ruling power is Conservative or Liberal, the./people, having made it, are; content .with their choice, leaving it to..the official Opposition to expose its; weaknesses and bring out its virtues.- ■":■■■■ They know that eventually it must come before them for judgment. Such a jury may be short-sighted or swayed by prejudice, but it metes out democratic justice.

Mr..Bennett lost to Mr. King in a lair Sirial where each had ample opportunity to argue his case. The latter had accused the former of dictatorial methods, of unconstitutional procedure; of Injuriously affecting trade and industry by Government interference— particularly through high tariffs and other ."protective" measures—of extravagant expenditures of public money, and last but most indefensible, of. failing to bring back prosperity. Mr. Bennett had defended himself with all the vigour and eloquence for which he is justly famous, marshalling innumerable facts and figures in support of his contention that his Government's policies had saved the State from bankruptcy and anarchy, had provided work for many and food and shelter for all, had kept the factories working and the farmers on their land, had converted an unfavourable balance of trade into a favourable one, had' improved the conditions of labour, and had enablediCanada to come through the depression, in better shape than any other country in the world. MILLION BELIEVERS. There was enough truth in all he said to be convincing, and in fact it did-.cdnvince more than 1,000,000 votes. Unfortunately for him, however, there remained some 2,300,000 who refused to be convinced. It is small consolation that the "plaintiff" won his case with only 500,000 more supporters in the box and nearly 2,000,000 of all the voters against him, or that on the basis of votes cast the defendant should have got at least' 82 seats and the winner about 125. If there is injustice here it can be blamed on the electoral system, and the chief complainer should be Mr. H. H. Stevens (Reconstruction) who polled around 335,000 votes and had only himself returned, whereas Mr. J. S. Woodsworth... (Co-operative Commonwealth) with 'but 300,000 votes was given eight representatives, and Mr. William Aberhart with but 100,000 votes was giyen seventeen. These results were largely due, of course, to the centralisation or decentralisation of party followers in the 245 ridings and constitute another brief for electoral reform. But the important point now to Canada and the world at large is that a Liberal Government headed by Mr. King reigns at , Ottawa. Everybody loves a new "broom, believing that it will sweep more effectively than the old one. "Japan is not the only foreign nation that is rubbing its hands expectantly, its eyes on the Canadian market. At home the unemployed and otherwise embarrassed are watching even more expectantly for something good to happen. Hours before the final returns had been received Mr. King issued a statement wherein he said:—"ln the new era which dawns today the struggle for the rights of the people will, in the realm of economic liberty and security, be carried on as never before. Poverty and adversity, want and misery, are the enemies which Liberalism will seek to banish from our land." STOLEN PROGRAMME. Those words might well have been Mr. Bennett's, if he had won, and, in the light of all the laws he had passed for the specific purpose of banishing poverty, with more telling effect. The situation would be similar if Mr. Hoover were to defeat Mr. Roosevelt and issue such a statement. Mr. Hoover had already fought the depression with the old time-honoured weapons and Mr. Roosevelt • with the New Deal. Their difference was not in purpose but in policy. In Canada, as in the United States, people are pretty evenly divided as between those who prefer in times of national emergency a strong and even audacious paternalism and those who prefer to rely at all costs on Parliamentary procedure and individual initiative.

Surprising as it may sound to the casual onlooker, practically every one of Mr. Bennett's "reform" measures was approved in principle by the official Opposition and even said to have been "lifted" from the Liberal platform. Mr. Bennett can now make the same accusation of theft. Many of the things Mr. King has promised to do, such as balance the Budget, reduce the Public Debt and taxation, made a mora equitable distribution, of wealth, improve international relations, j maintain the integrity of the Canadian National Railways, were also features of Mr. Bennett's programme; In short,' the "new era" will probably.be found] to be very much, the same as'the old and, unless world conditions improve in the meantime, may expect the same verdict at the next General Election.