LANCINGS THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1918. THE GREY SEAT.

Free Lance, Volume XVII, Issue 929, 2 May 1918, Page 6

LANCINGS

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1918. THE GREY SEAT.

Sate ahal the Frees the People'eright maintain Gaawed by prinoijple and unbribed by gain, Hera p&triot Truth her glorious precepts diaw Pledged to Religion, Liberty.and Law

The Duty of Loyalists. T&JFR. Paddy Webb s ex-M.P., and, according to his "Red Fed." friends, present-day martyr in tlie sacred cause of democracy—with the biggest oft big Jy s-—being ineligible, through circumstances over which he lias no control, to be nominated for the Grey 1 'Comride" Holland has consented to tear himself away from the joys of organising and lecturing to the Alexandra Hall faithful and - to place his services at the disposal of ,the electors., Which is very good of Mr. Holland who, of course, has a soul abovd any such considerations as those of a safe £300 a year, plus a free railr way pass which would enable him to ■ run up and down the country (at the expense of the taxpayers) spreading the splendid gospel of New 'Zealand Bolshevikism. • Mr. Holland has, we ■understand, recently quitted the editorial chair of the "Wucker," and a ' seat'in Parliament would suit him very well. '«• - « a : . : -We trust, however, that the electors of the Grey will not be so foolish as to return a man of the Holland type as their representative, and should only one candidate finally contest the seat as a supporter of the National Government, we believe this one would win. Despite the noisy boastings of Mr. Webb, Mr. Scrapie, and similar worthies, not all the Coast workers are revolutionary Socialists. There is a strong party of sensible, loyal men : among' the miners and other workers ■ juid were it combined with the business peoplo's and' farmers' vote in the constituency a victory for an extremist like Mr.' Holland would be by no means -a foregone conclusion. , At present, so lit is understood, there are two Government candidates in the field, one having retired. If these two persist in splitting the National vote by both going to the poll, the "Red Fed." candidate must win. It is now the duty of the-Loyalist and ■ Win-the-War Party in the electorate to look the matter fairly and squarely in r the face, to select the man most likely . to win the seat, and this, it would appear, is Mr. T. E. Coates, a highly respected lawyer, who has also a personal inteerst in the farming industry in the electorate, and induce the other gentleman to retire. It may be a tough, contract to wrest the seat- from the anti-conscriptibnists, revolutionary Socialists, and makers of political smd industrial mischief generally, but with a single candidate and that gentleman a really capable, locally-respect-ed, and thoroughly loyal man, we believe from what we hear from wellinformed correspondents on the Coast that Mr. Holland is by no means going to have the "soft thing" he thinks he lias struck through the silly conduct of his dear friend, Paddy Webb.