The Ensign. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1911. LABOR AND POLITICS.

Mataura Ensign, 16 December 1911, Page 4

The Ensign. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1911. LABOR AND POLITICS.

The election which lias just taken place has imparted a number of lessons to the public men of the Dominion and also to the electors. It has shown very clearly tiiat the electors are able to weigh the arguments of their representative men and to form their own conclusions upon the value'to be placed upon them. They are not inclined to take the statements of any candidate as the absolute truth, but look into the great questions of the hour for themselves, form their own conclusions, and express their opinions at the ballot box. It bars been clearly shown that the democracy of New Zealand is not enamored of titles, for it lias rejected one knight and reduced the majority of a baronet. The public men of the Dominion may well study these and other facts which stand out boldly in the results of the recent election. Labor has taken a stand wliich it was advised to do 20 years ago by the, more far-seeing of those who fought the great hght of reform in 1390. It was then advised to run its own platform and. its own candidates. But it was thought at that time to lie impossible, and the Labor leaders allied themselves with the Balhuiee party, with the result that all the more independent and politically honest Labor members who were then elected very soon rebelled against the policy which the Continuous Government developed. The 'Voice of Labor,' an Auckland journal devoted to the interests of the Labor party, had an article in a recent issue on the subject of the recent elections, which is worth discussing in this connection. It says, "Never in the history of our little country have the people shown so much restlessness, never before have they shown so great a desire to take a hand in governing themselves, or shown such a keen activity in ascertaining the qualifications of candidates for Parliamentary honors. This extraordinary development is- due wholly to to the great activity and steady agitation of the Labor Party, which, in two short years, has succeeded in effectually killing the old Lib. Lab. superstition and in turning the people's thoughts towards their ywn interests as working citizens. The Liberals and Conservative tendencies fondlv considered the feat impossible,

and didn't hesitate to say so, but Labor has accomplished the impossible and set the people thinking of their own material interests, which is the first step towards getting them to vote for Labor Party candidates and return a Labor Government." There is a certain amount' of truth in these statements, but tho people have also been brought to think for themselves by another very effective means. The Opposition has never been so active as it has been during the late campaign. Never have the Government's methods been more trenchantly criticised 1 as they have been during the past few weeks. This has been done by men who have a thorough knowledge of the inner working of the recent administration of the affairs of the country. This criticism has had its effect and spurious Liberalism has been laid bare by them. This is one of the lessons the people iiave learned and as a result they have set their Parliamentary representatives a counter lesson to mark, learn and inwardly digest. It will be -a- difficult one to master but it will do bur representatives good if they set themselves l to the task with a will. The 'Voice of Labor' looks to the policy of its party to carry the country forward in the future. But if that be a correct forecast the programme of Labor will require a good deal of amendment. The paper says further that "at the election, with its tangled side issues and cross-arguments, the Liberals were making their last fight as a party. By next election the Liberal and Conservative parties will have fused, and the election issue will be the people versus the few wealthy Tories and their supporters. Tiie Ward Government has reached its zenith, and this election, when tho Liberal majority will be reduced, marks the beginning of the end —and the downWard road usually lends itself to fast travelling. Tho Liberals may have served a very necessary purpose in the development of New Zealand, and few men with an insight into the actual situation, and a grasp of the probloms that lie before us, but realise I that the day of Liberalism is past, that its downfall has comemnced. A new political party representative of the whole people, being alive to their requirements and always under that people's control, is arising. That party will lead the workers of New Zealand to the Promised Land, as Moses of old led his people. That party is tho Labor party." We quite agree with the 'Voice' that the eo-called Liberals are making their last stand, but that there will l)e a fusion of he Government and Opposition we do not believe. The latter stands for progress, the former relies upon history, as was clearly evidenced in the speeches of its leaders during the contest. There can be no resting in the politics of the country, no relying upon past achievements. It must either bo progress or retrogression. New Zealand must progress. Therefore either the Opposition's forward policy or one resembling it in that particular, must be adopted by the people. Wo shall see what the future has in store. It may be that the electors will favor i*ne Socialistic policy of the out-and-out Laborites,. but we do not think so. It certainly cannot go back to that of the I so-called., Liberals. This is another lesI son of the elections which the GovernI ment has. learned, and may now con-template-at its leisure.