A Mistaken Tactic?

Maoriland Worker, Volume 12, Issue 293, 11 October 1922, Page 4

A Mistaken Tactic?

The London "Daily Telegraph" has praised the patriotism and sanity of New Zealand Labour, jana thereby confounded the local jingo scribes who have be&n peddling quite a different story. Now, for ourselves, we feel uncomfortable when eulogised by jingo papers, and we confess we cannot understand it, unless we have been misrepresented. We advance the following explanation: When Mr. Massey moved to send a contingent to fight, the Turks the Labour Party tabled an amendment—a good one too! Regarding its amendment as a sufficient indication of its attitude, the Labour Party, following ft practice in the House ALLOWED THE MOTION TO PASS WITHOUT A VOTE, after its amendment had been defeated Next morning the "Dominion" contents bill screamed- that Parliament had "unanimously consented" t 0 the despatch of troops. On reading this v/e suspected a. misrepresentation wh-ch turned out to-be ihe case, THIS MISREPRESENTATION WAS CABLED TO BRITAIN DELIBERATELY TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT THE NEW ZEALAND LABOUR PARTY SUPPORTED THE WAR POLICY and doubtless the "Telegraph" used it as the text for its remarks. In Britain this cynical distortion of the fact will be exploited to prejudice British . Labour, and thousands of intelligent British workers will be given the impression that the New Zealand movement consists of a crowd o£ spineless dupes. The cable liar is übiquitous, and whatever we do he will lie and falsify afl ilnfinitum, but on the question of filthy capitalist wars Labour can never be too careful to mjake its position clear..