The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1931. WHAT—IF LABOR WERE GIVEN THE REINS?

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11493, 21 November 1931, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1931. WHAT—IF LABOR WERE GIVEN THE REINS?

Whilst .Mr. Coleman, the Labor candidate for the Gisborne peat, is entitled to bo complimented on tho fine reception that he had at the City ITall on Thursday evening, it von Id he quite wrong to suggest that the subject matter of his address was in the slightest degree convincing. In short, lie wished it to be believed that this Dominion is to-day suffering on account of tho fact that it has departed from the Liberal creed that was propounded by Grey, Ballnnee, Seddon, and even by "Ward. Incidentally, the only peg on which he attempted to hang this extraordinary claim was a random boast made in Australia by Arc. Sodden, shortly beforo his death, that, on his return to this country he would set about to nationalise dhe food supplies of the people. What Air. Seddon’s colleagues and successors hold on this question may, of course, he judged from tho fact that, although it is n- quarter of a century since Air. Seddon passed away, no subsequent Liberal Administration ever dreamt of inviting tho electors to approve such an unwanted and undesirable scheme In this regard, it might be well to remind Air. Coleman that much as Air. Seddon espoused the workers’ cause ho never fostered the idea that Labor required direct political representation 1 As to his complaint about back-sliding on the part of tlio Liberals, that point, we would suggest, should- He left to Air Lysnar to deal with, seeing that he is being backed by the local executive of the United Party. But that is by the way. Afr. Coleman also had flint to say about alleged bungling on tho part of more recent Administrations. They had, ho said, in effect, betrayed the people. In view of this suggestion, it is necessary, it seems, to remind the Labor candidate , that no political party in this . .Dominion has, in that respect, a- more’ unenviable record than Labor." It tnav be recalled that, in 1928, Labor fought the Ward Uniteds as <well as Reform, tooth and nail. But what happened after tho polls when- it was found 'that Reform no longer had a majority ? The historian of the future will be. forced to record that Labor made with tho Uniteds one of the most shame-faced bargains that was over entered into in any country. Air. Coleman’s amusing version of tho matter is that Labor linked up with Uniteds simply to assist in ejecting Reform from (office, seeing that that was part of its political plan. The plain facts are, however, that Labor agreed it-o jettison the programme on which it had gone to the country for a' pledge by tho then United .leader that lie would restore the original rates of pay granted to relief 1 ' workers." 'And tho Uniteds made Labor keep to its side of the bargain with a vengeance. Let us recall, for instance, that one plank of tho 1923 Labor platform read thusly: “Tho reduction of indirect taxation (i.e. Customs) for the purpose of removing the present burden on family incomes.?’. Yet Labor allowed the Uniteds both in 1929 and in 1930 to impose additional Customs duties to the disadvantage of tho workers, and it also supported tho doubling of the primago duty. Wins that playing tho game by tho workers who 'had returned Air. Hol r land .and his colleagues to Parliament? And now for a few words on Mr. Coleman’s references to .this journal. "What he wished his hearers to believe was that it was '‘"colosr sal cheek” on our part to suggest that if Labor got ’into power in., this Dominion it would make a terrible mess of things. Why that, was the opinion of (Viscount (then Air.) Snowden in respect of the British Labor Party which so dismally failed when if went to the electors at Home last month with a programme built on lines similar to .that which Air. Hollitnd '.arid his colleagues ", have now adopted, , '

“This/’ said Viscount Snowden (who by the way had devoted his whole life to the Labor, cause), “is the. gravest. occasion. on which you ■have ever been, asked to vote. I 'would hot ask you to vote against the Labor Party, which 1 have don? much to. build np, unless I, .were profoundly Convinced • that jits veilratii would be irreparable disaster. % jin. convinced that if .tie. Labour

Party is returned, trade and employment and th© people’s savings will be in the gravest, jeopardy.”

Viscount) Sinoiwden was Ipnest enough to admit that Labor rule .had been disastrous to Britain/ He knew that it had promised to cure unemployment and he knew tliat ? as a result of its futile efforts, unemployment had grown from 1,100,000 in Juno 1929 to close on 3,000,000 when the Labor government this year threw up the sponge 1 In Australia, the Labor governments also made an unholy mess of things and we leave it to the electors to decide what would be tho effect if Labor were given a chaneo .to rule in tins Dominion. • * " /