ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1914. THE WAIRAU CONTEST.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 286, 9 December 1914, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1914. THE WAIRAU CONTEST.

We have leached the jc-re of t»ho fateful 10th of (December, and th© electors of Wairau (trill to-m©rrow be called upon to signify their choice, as the polling booth, of a Member of Parliament. for the eosuing three years. Wairau is speciaUy fortunate in''having no such multiplicity of candid«Ms as i;s in certain electorates creating the undesiraftU?'possibility of a. jninority representative bei'n? ofected. '. In this electorate tlie ilght is on tlie Btraightforward, clear-ont issue, IjiS^all the district be. repivsented by a. Fi-=-A^W"t^" o.i: tLt1 Oppo;;St'io"n, oi1 y\.:\\\)

the Government ranks be reinforced by a gentleman who, at one time representing the constituency as an In- | dependent, lias on this occasion come ; forward as a straight-out supporter ot the Massey Administration ? Both ; gentlemen are well and honorably , known to the electors. Each has many ! excellent qualifications for the position '■ he now seeks to occupy. Mr McCal- | lum has risen to eminence in his profession, is a forcible speaker, and can j never be truthfully'accused of taking j hi 3 Parliamentary duties too lightly. ! His natural impetuosity leads him, ! however, at times, to express opinions which, upon quiet reflection, we feel sure he himself is sometimes the first to regret. In- fairness, to Mr McCallum he must be credited- with having shown much energy in attending to the requirements of the district. Mr McOallum stands par excellence as a party man. Sir Joseph Ward, whom he has, somewhat extravagantly may be thought;'styled "the greatest statesman New Zealand has ever known/ has in him the most faithful and loyal of his supporters. In fact, this very virtue of excessive party loyalty constitutes, paradoxical 1 though it may seem, the Opposition candidate's greatest fault. With Mr McCallum, as was said by Dryden of a certain English statesman, "every man is either god or devil." He can see no good in anything that the Massey Government has done or attempteel to do. The Prime Minister and his colleagues are' to him black all through, with no single- redeeming white spot to be found in the wliole of their political composition. Acting upon this belief, Mr McCalluan, was chiefly prominent in Parliament, especially last session, in interjections and in endeavors to cast ridicule arid odium upon Ministers and upon the Government party generally. No doubt, according to his party lights, Mr McCallum held it his bounden and honest duty to whack at every Government head which presented itself above the general political melee; but this spirit of ultra-combative-ness may ■ sometimes receive extravagant expression, and it is doubtful whether much, good can result to a constituency from its Member being recognised mainly as a party champion. If Mr McCallum be honored to-morrow by a renewal of the electors' confidence, we trust that he will see fit to moderate his purely party ardor not a little, that he may give credit where credit is due, ■ and not so persistently view each and every legislative oripolitical question through party-tinted spectacles. The Government candidate, Mr John Duncan, is in ,many ways a. curious contrast-to Mr McCallum. An old and much-respected settler, he is in intimate touch and sympathy with tlie country settlers, whose requirements and interests he nas specially studied amd completely understands. Of a modest and retiring personality, Mr Duncan is essentially a quietly thoughtful man, a keen student of political questions, a man of strong personal convictions, and one who is never led away by any temporary wave of public feeling into abandoning opinions he has arrived at after careful consideration. .He has not the stentorian voice of Mr McCallum, and when *in the House .was not so frequently heard in debate as his successor. But it is well-known that when Mr Duncan did speak he was listened to with attention by both sides of the House, whereas it is notorious that, especially ;last session, Mr Mc- ! Callum's unmeasured diatribes j against the Govi|Sj«jeht had not^ ih'f requently the result of rapidly j emptying both House. ..and galleries. 1 Mr" Duncan's quiet manner and courteous tolerance of views with which he does not agree; made him one of the most personally popular Members of his Parliament, iand personal, popularity, it is well-known, is no unimportant quality in a Member when Ministers have to be interviewed with regard to- local requii-emonts or '^lobbying" is to bp done in support of measures of local importance. Mi Duncan's political opinions have never j been those of an extremisjb. His elec•j tion speeches have made no appeal to I class prejudice, or to party rancor, j They have been\ oharactensed by a i genei'al tone of reserve,, moderation, i and quiet common-sense which, whatever be the result of to-morrow's eleej tion, cannot fail to have further esi tablished Mr Duncan in the goodwill and respect of the community. It is for the electors'of Wairau tc make their choice:. ,between Mi* Me- ■ Callum and Mr Duncan. Each, nsw i have saidii possesses special qtualificaj tions for the honorable position whicl !he now seelis. The personal equatior I must and probably will be as import- ; ant a factor in the W-airau contest a.< j it will be in! many, others; but th« 'electors .cannot; and., must not forgei ,- that the.one real issue to be decidec to-morrow is whether <a :Massey or « Wa;rd Administration is to be lr power during the , next three : years Whether or -not at the present juncture a .change of Government is desirable it is for the>electors themselve? to decide. Whatever be the result local and general, it is. to. be hopec that immediately the election is ovei and the result declaimed the riva parties and the rival candidates wil amicably bury the political hatchet and leave the country to go quietlj along with its everyday business Locally, we believe there has been bui very slight bitterness imported intf the contest, and we."trust that which ever side may gain the victory, nc sting will be left behind.