The New Zealand Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1911. THE DUTY OF ELECTORS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7980, 11 December 1911, Page 4

The New Zealand Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1911. THE DUTY OF ELECTORS

The second ballots,bring to all men of Liberal ideas opportunity for reflection. Twenty years ago Labour was in the dust, overwhelmed by the defeat of the great maritime strike. In despair it faced the polls at the general election of 1890, and it found a friend in the Liberal party. The friend proved strong, faithful, and true —had ideas progressive, practical, and enterprising. The friendship between Labour and Liberalism therefore grow into an alliance which produced results that have made the world admire and in many places imitate. The alliance gave a load to the party of mankind all the world over. To recapitulate the advantages gained by humanity in general and Labour in particular would be at this stage a work of supererogation. They are grudgingly admitted by the arch enemy of Liberalism and Labour —the Conservative party. That party has declared its intention of upholding the fruits of the Liberal-Labour alliance against which they have maintained a bitter struggle for twenty-one years. As time went on Labour saw in practical form* the results of its alliance. Later on a section of enterprising spirits wanted to go faster on the road of progress, thinking that the pace sot by Liberal loaders was insufficient. It was a perfectly reasonable ambition. For its practical realisation one thing only was wanted—measurement of the now party’s strength. Without that measurement it was clear that the now party would, it it persevered in its desire to go faster in independence, run the risk of disaster to the alliance which had proved at least substantially beneficial and had shown signs of the initiative and power required for further progress. The groat question was how the strength of the now party could 'be measured. The second ballot gave guidance three years ago, and the danger of disunion was averted for the Parliamentary period that ensued. Now we have the second measurement of the strength of the new party, arid it has been shown insufficient to enable it to make pro. gross alone —just yet. Its power is not equal to securing in independence any of the advantages it has set before itself. What is its plain duty? The now Labour party is offered the help of two parties—the old Liberal party, which still remains in alliance with the bulk of Labour; the Conservative party, - which sees an opportunityMor many things. Now neither of these two parties is an unknown quantity. The' Liberal-Labour alliance speaks with the. certainty of a great career which contains all the elements of further substantial progress. The Conservative party has a record of tremendous resistance to the great measure of progress obtained. To diminish that handicap it has nothing but its declaration that the administration of the Liberal Government is bad, together with its professed readiness to accept all that it has hitherto declared anathema. The first ia mere words that have been over and over again during the last few weeks proved to be not oven plausible. The second is a glaring pretence. The Conservative party cannot possibly escape from the sound rule that men must be judged not by their aspirations, but by their works. Liberalism is a tree that brought forth good fruits. Conservatism has borne crops of words that are worthless, and harvests of opposition which are a formidable indictment of its honesty. Labour can hope for nothing from that party. From the other it is certain of progress along the line of its desire. The rate may not bo what it pictures in its honest dreams, but it is a rate of progress better than none at all. Conservatism offering to add to tho fruits of Liberalism further fruits such as have been wildly condemned as “Socialism,” is a sight for gods and men to mock.

What have the new Labour leaders to urge against the continuance of an alliance of proved capacity? What in favour of an alliance with the natural enemy who has proved his hostility for twenty years of consistent effort and is ready to add to that proof? Nothing but the fact that their strength has been measured and found for the present insufficient for attaining their objects. There is soreness at electioneering defeat of course. But looked into as it ought to be, in the light of fact, the result of the first ballots is not an electioneering defeat at'all. It is simply a measurement of the strength of independent Labour; a measurement provided by the constitution of the Dominion ; a thing to bo regarded from the scientific, not the personal point of view. The meaning is plain; namely, that having discovered by actual measurement its inability to strike out new lines independent Labour should wait for further opportunities, sticking meanwhile by the party that has moved with it a longer distance forward than any other part- in Australasia, or any part of the whole world. The Conservative leader is ordering his men in all those second ballots to throw their votes on the side of independent La-

hour. He is ordering leopards to chango their spots—a thing impossible. On tho other side there is tho certainty that every Labour vote cast for Ministerialist candidates will .be productive of Labour and Liberal legislation. To accept the Conservative offer would be for independent Labour an act of suicide. Tho safe lino is with tho men who have done for twenty long years not with tho men who have tried to prevent them from doing, and for the tho whole of tho twenty years. There is also upon Liberal electors, in constituencies whoro the issue rests between a follower of tho Opposition and a Labour candidate, a strong moral obligation to support tho Labour man. Vi 7 0 hope and believe that this obligation will be most faithfully observed, first in the spirit of co-operation against a common foo, and secondly in recognition of tho loyal support given by Labour voters to Liberal candidates in this and previous elections. For a Liberal to vote for an Oppositionist and against Labour, would be folly, of the worst possible kind—so obvious, indeed, that it can hardly bo counted among tho possibilities.