WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

Evening Star, Issue 13090, 24 October 1908, Page 1

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY.

THE OPPOSITION VIEW. SsillH It is frequently allegedAhat tion -want all borrowing to oa£|uijn|SH stopping the progress of the The progress that is entirely the expenditure of loan moneT As on the,road to ruin, bat .there mate borrowing, required lor ment of the country, and. to this position would oppose no they would stop, if they the borrowing of money to rent expenses, and the methods of expenditure inwfob&i ’ sent Government habitually pountiy at present is in the coach, the" horses of which dowphill. ■ The Government in oMosfcp. stop it, the run the the bank, and but all' that the Opposition do—ail that w6ff?d bo be to apply, the put ful driver..in.,cbarge'O.f the team. coach would continue bh its safely -instead'of' recklessivV^r^luisimn^fH ‘Press.’ . V “ ENEMIES OF THE SETTLffi^)’; One of Mr hlassey’s “ issues ** is the people' are' goittg to allow men “the natural enemies.” of: the remain in office. ...The truthis class of people' have Had ’more tion' from the -Government -than thbse fonn the backbone, of..our. nationid the primaiy producers fronx theeqiL sS;is!aH When JohnM‘Renzie proposed "WparoimaJ Cheviot'and set the doaer-B<»tHe>Mft»t~V»'M3jjß a-rolling the Opposition called it madniatiiiffl — an act pf t economic insanity that would bring ruin in' its train. Yet fifteen later the Prime Minister' is in a to show-that tire whole of-the-original. penditure of £511,789..wi11, be the State. There is a solid element and ■ achievement about a thing Hl-n that is good to contemplate, and malfffijjilß itr Massey and. his party bear riffichl6itt'|9 resemblance to a band of* Mrs Parti ngtoas.2|l —Wellington ‘Times.’ ■ CALLING A HALT. 9 Those people who, like ourselves, havtyjJ unceasingly called public attention to theftM degradation of Parliament and to the scieuccless opportunism of the will find in the promise of a halt in the:l|l wild career of “ Liberalism ” as much BStis-sg faction as in the belated .vindication oLiii their criticisms. We must sympathise withjsl the unhappy Ministerial journals, which||| will have to reconcile their that the Government have a great and a great field of legislation awaitihg their attention with the Prime own announcement that bis armory is All that Sir Joseph Ward can offer-to public is a Government full of pious’ ho‘peS(2| and noble aspirations, and bearing -as>ftf!l motto “ Opportunity for all.” To'uls end has come the reign of Opportunism.'— Tire ‘Dominion.’ • , ■' iS THE PATH OF REFORM. Young New Zealanders are on the war-, path as social reformers, “‘terrible as. -an [ ' army with banners.” -Some day we hope .' to see these same young New Zealanders I fighting to make the country free; but,-<-;S in the first instance, thev appear to have ; :'i set their hearts on making Now Zealand 'd sober. There are in this community _,.mpderate men, .mere lookers-on, who. regard 1 this No-license problem with senous ■',s thought, and ask themselves: “Is the ex- -. periraent wortli trying?’ They see 100 v many drink wrecks about the town, some oid and possibly hopeless cases, but-many, - alas! still young, who are^going at a hot pace to the Devil. Their sympathies are on the side of the social reformers, and in many instances their votes will go with them.—Wairarapa “Tunes. PRIME MINISTER AT FEILDING. The heart of New Zealand supports the granting of a sorry pittance to John Bull to encourage him to fight our battles for us, but it has not the ■ manhood or the sense to take the necessary steps for putting its own defences in order. This loose talk about an “ invidious system of militarism ” and about compulsory training “being driven down the throats of the people of the Dominion” is utterly unworthy of the patriotism and common sense of the Premier. The result of any open daylight agitation can only be as the people themselves desire, and we refuse to believe that they will be content to remain in the state of utter helplessness. The Premier still talks bravely about confronting the Yellow Peril, but he must know that under present conditions we have not the power to make a single one of these brave words * good. He is content, however, to remain in what the Minister of Defence has properly termed a “fool’s paradise” rather than face an unpleasant but imperative duty.—Wellington ‘Post.’ NATIONAL ANNUITIES. There are thousands of workers towhom such a scheme would bring relief from, care and anxiety. There are thousands of men now drawing towards “ late middle age ” who have toiled and earned and spent, and who do not see their future path at all clearly. Many a man finds himself “ too old at sixty,” but the younger generation need not fear old age.' Every worker will be able to secure himself and his wife and children against pf.verty when this scheme becomes law, and wa should like to sec every candidate explaining its provisions at his meeting*/ and pledging himself to work for the early passige of the Bill.—‘ Lyttelton Times.’ INDEPENDENCE. It need hardly be remarked that tho genuinely independent candidate cannot ally himself to any party, save in the e\ ent of a great political change,. when he may be able to do so with a good conscience. We are well aware that at times (but the present is not such a time), it is. distinctly advisable for candidates to bo. paity men; but when they are partv men' pure and simple they should honesdy admit it, and not dishonestly claim that they are independent.—‘ Wairarapa Age.' FREEHOLD v. LEASEHOLD. If the farmers of the Dominion think the freehold—the right of every man to sit down under his own vine and fig treeworth fighting for, then they must come out and support candidates who are pledged freeholders, and not men who are simply the tools of , a Leasehoid-cnm-Socialist Ministry.—Christchurch * Truth.*