A PAMPHLET WAR.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume L, Issue 9002, 26 January 1906, Page 3

A PAMPHLET WAR.

When the last mail left London', both political parties had, so to speak, cleared for action, and were waiting for a definite announcement of tho date of the election to begin a terrific pamphlet bombardment. In .England an enormous amount of electioneering is done by printed matter, and The strenuous issues of this campaign may produce a record output. By this time, of. course, the figuo will be in full swing. When, the Education Act was the main topic,' its opponents issued 12,000,000 leaflets and publications in one year, the Conservatives replying ■with 7,000,000, and a writer in th© Daily Mail estimates that at the lowest, this election will see 100,000,000 pamphlets scattered round the country. Of course the editing of these is a matter of great importance, especially as what pleases one place will not do for anotneT. "What would suit a Bradford operative would be thrown away By a Dorsetshire laborer, or would perhaps open his eyes and * quicken his perception in qmte a different way to that intended. Consequently a political pamphleteer at headquarters must be a man of nice discrimination, ready and able to cater for- an endless variety of tastes." The organisation of the-two great parties is very complete. So soon as the' date is fixed for tlie election the thousands' of little clubs and' associations- all over the country receive bundles of electioneering matter, and every -man' witn a vote, and every" woman who influences, or may be assumed to influence, a vote, is a taTget. Cartoons and pictorial posters also' play a great part in an election; in fact, it is said that the tendency is for shorter leaflets and more pictures. One of tnese shows the "Sheffield Retaliator" (Mr Balfour) and "Dumping 'Arry" (Sir H. Camp,bellBannennan) in a boxing contest. "C-B.", evidently fatigued, is sitting in bis corner while a long-haired German pumps air into him with a bellows. Mt Balfour, looking perfectly fit, stands confidently in the middle of the ring waiting for his opponent, with John Bull behind him, looking extremely pleased at the way has champion is shaping. Another depicts Lord Rosebery, ssLt Winston Churchill, and Mr Asqulth making wry faces at tEe smell of "C.-B.'s" cigar. "Can't help it," says tEe leader, "Redmond says I must smoke it." These are types of the Unionist cartoons . which are being scat l tered over England now, and the Liberals are not likely to lose any opportunity oif making pictorial attacks on their opponents. The Liberal publication department is under the very able guidance of Mr Augustine Baxell. — Christchurch Press.