The Hastings Standard. MONDAY, NOV. 16, 1908 PARLIAMENTARY CANDITURE.

Hastings Standard, Volume XII, Issue 6006, 16 November 1908, Page 4

The Hastings Standard. MONDAY, NOV. 16, 1908 PARLIAMENTARY CANDITURE.

One of the matters the electors should consider before recording their vote at the ballot to-morrow is the ability possessed by the candidate whom they intend to give their support. They should seek out the man who will at all times and in the face of keen opposition speak his mind on the subject at issue and who has the strength and personality to achieve his object. As a young community we have the advantage of being able to avoid the errors of older countries and to emulate the legislation which has proved itself of the greatest benefit to those who have gone before us. Arthur Lovell, in "Imagination and its Wonders," writing on the constitution of a Platonic Republic, puts the position in a nutshell. He says : "To understand the real meaning of the Platonic Republic, on must get rid, once for all. of this idea of external rank as a badge of honour. An example will make this clear. Let us suppose that Jones has made a fortune, say, out of pickles, or beef tea, or whisky, etc., or has had a fortune left him by somebody else. He is ambitious, and has a desire to still further distinguish himself by ! becoming a member of Parliament. ! He is elected, and his friends and hangers-on congratulate him on the j great "honour" he has received. Now Plato throws the coldest of cold water on his blushing honour, and says to him : My dear Sir, the only point to be considered is whether you know what is best for the State, and can put down in a clear and succinct manner, which we will agree to call a law or act of Parliament, what your superior wisdom dictates for your less enlightened fellow-mar. If you do you are nothing more or less than a good artist; if you do mot, you are nothing more or less than a bad artist. If I were in the habit of using strong language, I might even go as far as to say that you are exceedingly foolish and stupid not to see that it is very wrong indeed, and very injurious to your fellows to scheme for a position for which you are not qualified by the Gods. If, on thinking the matter calmly over, you come to the conclusion that you are master of the craft of giving the best counsel to your fellow-countrymen, you are the right man in the right place ; but, if you come to the conclusion that you really don't know anything aboul the art, the next time you have an opportunity of addressing your constituents, tell them plainly and honestly that you are not proficient in the art of framing the best laws, and therefor you consider it your duty to resign, for you now know that it is very dishonorable in .a man to scheme for a position for which he is not naturally entitled." This is rather too much to expect of any candidate but the intelligence of the electors will doubtless sort out the man possessing the ability and courage necessary to achieve success in the foregoing direction and we hope—in fact we feel sure —that they will use their be=t endeavours to secure the return of best man.

It is much to be regretted that our NO-LICENSE !f gißla ;° rS h ,f V ! ° r ; dained that the Local

question, option poll has to be taken on the same day as the Parliamentary poll. The ill effects of so doing is being demonstrated in all parts of the country, and more especially in Christchurch where, according to a telegram published to-day, it is shown public attention is directed exclusively towards the "No-license" question, and general politics are entirely ignored. The question is surely of sufficient importance to warrant it being separated from the other issues which are to be decided to-morrow, and these other issues, relating to the general government of the Dominion, are momentous enough in themselves to provide the electors with a big enough problems to work out. But things are as they are, and the electors to-morrow have two duties to perform. We have already given an indication regarding which candidate we think is possessed of the best platform to serve the interests of Hawke's Bay, and it only remains for us to give our views regarding the other issue at stake. In to-day's issue we publish a letter signed by "Observer" relating a sight he had witnessed in the streets of Hastings, and as the letter comes to hand on the ;

eve of the election, it is safe to as- ! sume that it was written in the inter- » est of the " No-license" party to ! show the electors how necessary it , is to close the hotels. We have ■ made enquiries at several hotels, and we find from them and other sources that the women who were seen drunk in the streets did not themselves obtain the liquor from any of the licensed houses. To our mind the . incident referred to by "Observer" provides the strongest argument that could bs found in favour of licenses being continued in this district. If the question at issue was " Liquor " or " no liquor " we would not hesitate a moment in favouring the latter even on a bare majority, but as the question is whether w e shall have liquor under police control, or liquor under no control, w e j strongly urge the voters to-morrow j to leave the position as it is Better by far is it that we should have the five well-conducted licensed houses we have than have sixty slygrog shops selling filthy and poisonous concoctions, demoralising ignorant youth* and formingldens of refuge for the habitual drunkard. Before voting to-morrow, those who exercise their privilege should satisfy themselves as to what is the objective of the " No-license" party. We take it that they wish to place liquor out of the reach of those who are addicted to drink. If the closing of hotels would achieve this we would be with the " No-license" party every time. But it has been found in districts where " No-license " has been carried that the closing of hotels has resulted in drink being I placed out of reach of temperate ; people while the very class that the j party intended to benefit are placed I nearer to the temptation, for " No- | license - has made it necessary for j them t© bring drink into their homes or else visit the dens which are a thousand times worse than licensed houses. Another matter to be considered is the ill-effect that "Nolicense " would have upon Hastings. We have endeavoured briefly to show that it could not improve the moral tone of the town, and we would ask of what use it is risking the loss of business that would inevitably follow if it were carried here and no change were made in Napier. As we said before, make the question a Dominion one of " Liquor " or " No Liquor," and all the temperate people will support the latter, but as it is, it is unreasonable to ask people to make sacrifices and disorganise trade for a purpose from which no earthly good can result,