Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1925. A PRINCIPLE VINDICATED.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 168, 19 June 1925, Page 4

Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1925. A PRINCIPLE VINDICATED.

Franklin lias not only honoured itself by standing to Reform principles and returning as its member in succession to the right lion, gentleman who so worthily and faithfully represented it for nearly 30 years, a man of whom Mr Massey would himself have approved, but it has vindicated a great principle. Mr McLennan’s triumphant return by a majority of more than 3700 (nearly 1000 votes in excess of Mr Massey’s majority in 1922) votes over his opponent, Mr Montgomerie, comes as a conclusive answer to the absurd pretensions of the New Zealand Labour Party that it has, in its land nationalisation proposals and p 'icy, a better tenure to offer the farming community than the freehold, tho attainment of which is tho legitimate and laudable aspiration of almost every man who goes on the land. Apt at coining phrases and camouflaging policies intended to trap the unwary, tlio Labour leaders invented a new term to cover the form of tenure which they are urging upon the country and prescribing lor every farmer on the countryside—a tenure which they will doubtless endeavour to bring into operation if ever the people of this country are foolish enough to afford them the opportunity of so doing. Franklin, by its verdict on Wednesday, has declared Labour’s ‘‘usehold” tenure useless for its purposes. It will have none of it and tho country generally applauds its decision. The Labour leaders have never worked harder at any election than they worked during tho last few weeks to convert the freeholders of the Franklin electorate to their way of thinking, and they have been ignominously defeated all along the line, majorities being recorded against their candidate at each of the 42 polling places. They could hardly have had a better candidate, from the farming point of view, for Mr Montgomerie is a man of good standing in the community and amongst his fellow-settlers. He is the happy possessor of two farms, which he has acquired by diligent application to the business of a primary producer. Ho has, too, taken a fairly active part in local affairs, is highly respected, and well spoken of. But it is scarcely possible to think that "he has ever properly grasped the nature of the “usehold” tenure he has been advocating or the use Mr Peter Fraser, M.P., and his friend and colleague, Mr \V. 1). Parry, M.P., would make of it were they to find themselves in authority and ablo to force the policy they advocate upon the country. The Parliamentary Labour Leader is a pastmaster in the art of covering up the confiscatory and repudiatory policy which is at the root of the Labour policy. Ho is an effective platform speaker, though a little ponderous at times, but lie knows liow to interest and hold a crowd, and lie has a way of marshalling facts and interweaving them with a certain amount of plausible fiction which puts a very different complexion upon them and serves its end for the time being. But the outstanding fact of his enterprise amongst the Franklin farmers is that he has failed to convince them of the disinterested nature of Labour s policy to take ovor their lands at Government valuation, pay for them in Government, bonds, which (as his colleague, Mr Fraser, has said) might be “either interest or non-interest bearing, ’ but pro fora bly tho latter, and complete its kindly consideration for “tho poor farmer” by charging him rent, for his “usehold” land and fixing the prices beyond which he would not be allowed to sell his butter, cheese, bacon, mutton, lamb, wool or other produce, I ho hooks designed to catch the “working farmer” were skilfully baited, hut they failed to achieve the desired result,

and, idler shouting themselves hoarse, day after day, in declaring “We are winning; Franlclin for Labour,” and so on, lilco the boy whistling in the dark to keep his courage up, the Labour members have retired discomfited, and the Wellington Labour journal, wiicli was keeping its courage up on polling day by repeating its assurances that Labour was bound to win, has now to sing very 6mall. The vote its candh date polled on Wednesday is consider' ably below—some 300 or 400—that polled by the Liberal candidate, Mr J. Ilea, at the 1922 election, and the Reform candidate’s vote and majority are both greater than those obtained by Mr Massey in 1922. The total vote polled, taking in absent voters’ permits and informal votes, is some 400 in excess of the 1922 p 011—8324 against 7910, of which 108 were informal. Mr McLennan’s vote actually places him in the position of having the record number of votes behind him of any member in the House —the 5865 votes recorded being 38 votes more than Mr Fraser, who was elected by the highest number of votes of any member returned in 1922, secured on that occasion. The most significant feature of the voting was noticeable perhaps at Pukekohe, where Mr McLennan’s majority was greater than that Mr Massey obtained in 1922, and the fact that at Otahuhu, also, Mr McLennan obtained a majority over Mr Montgomerie in a centre where, by reason of large numbers of factory operatives—freezing and abattoir and chemical works employees, etc. —record their votes, is also likely to disillusionise Labour, which was envisaging a great flood tide of Labour votes in’ the near future carrying them on to the Treasury benches. The country is i*o be congratulated upon the victory won by the Reform candidate on nesday. The Prime Minister, the Hon. Mr Coates, is also to be- congratulated upon the result. It must bo veiy gratifying to that hon. gentleman to have had the assurance, on the eve of the fusion conference and of tho reassembly of Parliament, that the heart of the country is sound towards Reform and that, in tho first trial of strength between the friends and the opponents of the Government, the former have secured such a notable victory on his behalf. Other causes were undoubtedly at work contributing to Mr McLennan’s triumph. The. good sense of the electors, their fidelity to the cause espoused by their late revered member, and the feeling that they would be casting a slur upon his memory by returning as his successor a man who advocated and was in alliance witli Red-fedism, weighed w ith them, but the outstanding feature ot the election was the emphatic repudiation, even in his home district, oi the Labour candidate, who only secured 18 votes in Taniaki against Ins opponent s 225 while at the three polling booths in Karaka, where Mr Montgomerie has another farm, only another 38 electors voted for him, bringing his total at the four booths up to 56 against all McLennan’s 448.