THE New Zealand Herald AND DALY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1922. MR. MASSEY'S MANIFESTO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18235, 31 October 1922, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DALY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1922. MR. MASSEY'S MANIFESTO.

In issuing a manifesto dealing with problems of the past and tasks for the future, Mr. Massey is fully justified in referring, as he has done, to the ever-recurring difficulties which the country has had to face during his tenure of office. He lays emphasis upon the embarrassments of the three years supervening since last election. He might have gone further, to remind the country that for virtually the whole of his term as Prime Minister extraneous circumstances have rendered impossible the tranquil prosperity and steady progress which had characterised the history of this country for several preceding decades. Since 1919, when» political parties last sought the verdict OiE popular opinion, the reaction of world conditions has continued to exercise its influence upon the affairs of New Zealand. The Government has had to struggle with effects, the causes of which were far beyond its control. In the circumstances it can be said without qualification that the manifesto just issued has been drafted with an appreciation of present realities, with a desire to grapple with facts as they exist rather than to. dangle before the eyes of the electors ready-made schemes to realise the Millennium in a day. The common-sense recognition that there are tasks at hand which must be essayed, the exhibition of a will to attempt them, is what distinguishes ! the Government. from other parties !at present above the political horizon. A factor which gives it a dominating appeal in the minds of responsible and thinking citizens is the manner in which its opponents suffer by contrast. There is the remnant of the once great Liberal Party, now destitute of leadership, barren of ideas and wanting in inspiration or statesmanship. The Labour Party makes up in aggressiveness what it lacks in balance. Ridden by fine-drawn theories, derived from books and learned by rote, its supporters pursue them tenaciously regardless alike of their adaptation to the special needs of the Dominion or their inconsistency with the chosen destiny of New Zealand as a unit in the Commonwealth of British nations.

From; such a situation,, then, the present Government stands out by reason of its insistence upon the value of sound administration of the affairs of the country. The manifesto very properly lays emphasis upon this feature of the situation, upon which hinge the very necessary economy in overhead charges, which is gradually being effected, and the even more imperative reduction in taxation of which an instalment has been given. It shows an appreciation of the needs of the country by . placing these two objectives in the forefront, and more particularly by announcing a determination to work toward a further lightening of that burden of taxation which is hampering industrial recovery. The broad lines upon which progress toward revived and enhanced prosperity is to be sought are also sound in themselves. The encouragement of industry, particularly the primary industry of agriculture, must come high on the list in a country such as this, so rich in natural resources which await development. To encompass that end the settlement of unrvcupied land and the full utilisati m >i that which has already been -rought into production must be steadily pursued. Coupled with that must go the provision of services to ameliorate the lot of the men and women who essay the hard tasks of pioneering. After production comes export, the distribution of produce to the beat markets available. Due recognition of these principles will be found in the manifesto. The Government which can do these things will do the best for this country. The greatest need is for a Government which will work toward these objectives and at the same time prove strong enough really to govern. The detailed means by which the Government proposes to work for its ideal have, in the bulk, been long associated with the party and particularly with its present leader. The desire for economy is not to lead to the false economy of restriction in necessary works of develop-

ment. A vigorous public works policy is promised, with the speedy completion of the railways at present in hand. The prosecution of the scheme for good roads throughout the Dominion necessarily finds an honoured place in the programme. The Government has led the country to hope for a wider outlook and better methods in roading than the past can show. Its promise in this particular can be safely accepted as an affirmation that good. work already 'launched will be prosecuted to the end. The development of water-power has reached such a stage that it is hardly necessary to declare that it will be carried on and extended. In view, however, of the tendency still lingering in some quarters, to advocate a piece-meal policy of small schemes, it is well to find the Government renewing its vows. Swamp drainage and the bringing into cultivation of those areas among which the pumice lands are classified between them promise a further accession of prosperity to this essentially farming country, so that no sound declaration of policy could omit mention of them. These are but a few items from a programme which is founded on a recognition that it is by the energy and industry of *he people, working on sound lines, that the progress and prosperity of this Dominion nr." to be enhanced. Political panaceas have but one function, to attract the unthinking and snare the votes of the unwary. To the responsible citizen there is more appeal in the sober and com-mon-sense declaration of policy such as that just issued.