MR. PAUL'S LITTLE LABOUR LAMB.

Free Lance, Volume XVIII, Issue 972, 13 March 1919, Page 6

MR. PAUL'S LITTLE LABOUR LAMB.

Not so Innocent as It Looks. THE Hon. J. Paul is cute enough, to have seen how certain. violent speeches by, Mr Robert Semple, M.P., must necessarily frighten the public, and he has therefore come' forward with a highly virtuous protest against the " Labour" Party being defamed by wicked journals which have pointed out the dangers - of Bolshevism. Mr Paul is a mild, douce man, who in normal times might be regarded as one of the most moderate and fair-minded of the Labour leaders. But since be has associated himself with the Red Fed. element in the party it is of no use Mr Paul coming forward with a nice, mild (on paper), Labour policy and telling the people, that what the. Bolsheviks may have done has nothing to do with the New Zealand Labour Party. Even the amended, tone-downed explanatory Semple speech laid ddwn the principle that what might be wrong or inexpedient here was quite" all right in Russia., Certain of the Red Fed. leaders with whom Mr Paul is associated have openly declared that they were Bolsheviks— leaders of the very party which',' according to Mr Paul, has really quite a niild and reasonable policy, nothing to frighten even the most timid pro-perty-owning " boor joice," as Comrade Semple Would say. : ' ■ Vulgarly ; speaking; it won't wash. So long as t]he Nfcw Ziealand Labour Party retains in its membership, ap-

plauds the speeches, and follows the direction of men such as Messrs Holland and Semple, it can have no support from patriotic and loyal New Zealanders. The intelligent public will surely see through ttfis picturing of a hungry, snarling wolf as a dear little innocent lamb. Lambs do not set out to "capture" anything, which the Bolshevik " Labour" wolves openly boast they intend to do.