OPPOSITION ORGANISATION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 14 April 1908, Page 4

OPPOSITION ORGANISATION.

"Divide and conquer" is an old device, and a very effective one too. It was played by the Government in a number of electorates most successfully at last election, and naturally any attempt to secure something like unity in the Opposition camp arouses alarm and inspires articles designed to stir up dissension and to make • difficult the work of consolidating the Opposition forces. . This is, of course, in a sense perfectly legitimate party fighting, but let it be understood and treated as such. The Eltham Argus is greatly perturbed by an effort being made by the Opposition organiser to prevent a multiplicity of Opposition candidates for Egmont, and has much to say on the subject, so much that it may be reasonably suspected of being afraid that some arrangement may be arrived at which would permit of, the Opposition vote being solidified. Candidates are being counselled and encouraged to take up an attitude which can only bring defeat- to the party they belong to. We have better opinions of the men of Opposition leanings than to suppose they will be deflected from a common-sense course of action by such transparent schemes to create dissension. In the past we have seen Ministerial electoral organisation run and ruled by the methods of autocracy. Men have been put "up" and "down" as mere puppets, and party funds and Government appointments and public works expenditure have been used freely in the work of organising. The Opposition have no J.Pships, Legislative Council appointments, Civil Service billets to aid them 'in their efforts at organisation; they have no special trains, no telegraph privileges, no public works votes at their disposal. They have no man going round at the public expense with the power to crush political iwdependence and the power to reward party loyalty. All they can attempt is an organisation of forces at their own expense, a consultation with sympathisers in every district, an effort to secure unity of action in order that if possible Opposition sentiment may speak in each electorate with one voice. The whole thing is voluntary and independent. ' Candidates cannot be forced down. They can only be reasoned with, and if they prove obdurate must take the responsibility of subordinating the public go,od to selfish action. Inconsistoncy indeed when such efforts are condemned and satirised by a paper which has seen nothing objectionable in the machine politics of the past fifteen years.

Date. Bigh Water Waitar*. frun San «» Rise. I Set. ,8< ! J§_ a.m. p.m. a.m. p.m. 14 ... 7.52 8.12 6.29 5.31 13 15 ... 8.32 8.52 6.30 5.30 14 16 ... 9.11 9.29 * 6.32 5.28 15 17 ... 9.47 10. 5 6.33 5.27 16 18 ... 10.20 10.36 6.34 5.26 17 19 ... 10.54 11.12 6.36 5.24 18 20 ... 11.30 11.48 6.37 5.23 19 21 ... , • 0.12 6.39 5.21 20 22 ... 0.35 0.58 6.40 5.20 21 23 ... 1.24 1.50 6.41 5.19 22 24 ... 2.27 3.^5 6.42 5.18 23 H ... 3.49 4.32 6.43 5.17 24 ?f - 111 6 - 2 ' 645 5 -15 25 27 ... 6.38 7.15 6.46 5.14 26 28 ... 7.41 8/7 6.47 5.13 27 29 ... 828 8.49 6.49 5.11 28 30 9.12 9.34 6.50 5.10 29 High water at Opunake the same time as at Waitara. For high water at fatea add twenty-five minutes to time at Waitara. . __s_