The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1914. WELLINGTON CENTRAL

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8681, 14 March 1914, Page 4

The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1914. WELLINGTON CENTRAL

Last night the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher met his constituents in the place of his own choosing to give them, ns ho himself put it, an account of his stewardship since he joined the Massey Government, and they promptly gave him notice to quit. That is the plain English of what happened. It is the boileddown residuum of all the uproar, the challenges, and the wrangles, which were the chief features of the meeting.The honourable gentleman got notice to quit. It was a. procedure rough, and, happily, rare. On the other hand, his method of respecting Some of the more important of his election pledges may be justly described as unwarrantable, and also, happily, it is rare among us. His preparations for the inevitable trouble were very careful. Ho selected a small room, he did not make the mistake of packing it by ticket, he went down at the appointed ' time with. a few staunch friends to stand by him, numbering about a fifth of those present. It was an open meeting, not too large to control, of the sort apparently which could be relied on to be candid without being obstructive. In short, it was the best arrangement possible to -a member who had not done what he had promised to do, viz., stand by his leasehold faith, and had done what he promised not to do, viz., join the Massey Government, and had even persuaded the electors in the most dramatic manner, could not be brought within the bounds of possibility. The arrangement was a striking contrast to its predecessors. The great hall which used to he secured at all hazards at the earliest moment was discarded, with its broad platform for the display of gladiatorial prowess, its great space for the voice of repartee and sonorous sentiment to resound over, its facilities for the interruptions so welcome to the experienced that knew how to handle them. The chosen battleground was restricted; it was favourable to the efforts of supporters well organised; it reduced all platform dangers to a minimum. But the plan so fairly fashioned and so bravely opened, failed entirely. His own first sentence containing the offer of explanation of the stewardship was the' signal for determined uproar. Questions about the turning of the leasehold coat, about reform, about the western swamps, and the western campaign, about many things, rained angrily from all sides. “Rainbows” of various brilliancy filled the air, but the principal rainbow could not for a long period get in a word at his own meeting. It was an extraordinary scene. But the plain meaning of it was unmistakable. It was, as we have said, a peremptory notice to quit. What else could Mr Fisher have expected? In his bitter'hour Mr Fisher, to do him justice, displayed courage and resource, the credit of which can not be lessened by the wrangling, excusable by reason 1 of provocation, to which he descended towards the close. Seizing upon the presence of the “Red” element, he promptly branded the meeting as entirely “Red,” forcing for himself a hearing for the purpose with a determination worthy of a chief leading a desperate charge for restoring his battle. Having reached that position he challenged the said element to there and then debate “Reform” with him, offered them the lead, and prepared to fall on them with all his power and the last word. But the plan did not take. The enemy named tried to ad-dress the mooting, failed to get a hearing in return, and the meeting becoming altogether uncontrollable, the police took a hand, and the subsequent proceedings interested Mr Fisher no more. The plan he had evolved for retrieving his fortune was the host course open. But it failed, chiefly because the assumption that his enemy was all red was not warranted by the facts.

The consequences, however, will be far-reaching. The “Reform” journals will .all denounce the Red Bear garden, and they, will declare that everj-.

body who docs not protest that their champion waa most gratuitously insulted must be of the Red party. But this need only remind us of tho raving!) of infuriated losers. We shall bo told, in addition, that Air Either has been prevented from delivering a complete and effective —it is the favourite “Reform” word—defence of “Reform.” If so, then Air Fisher has boon prevented from doing what every one of his unhappy colleagues has been vainly attempting for some months part. If so, then Air Fisher has been prevented from doing what ho himself has been failing to do on a dozen platforms in the absence of anything resembling hostile interruption,! Such assertions will only lend colour to the belief now gaining credence that tho Rainbow Alinister is the real maker of the “Reform” Policy, and has been so posing for many mouths. AVhat kind of proof of the value of “Reform” has Air Fisher ever given? The other clay he proved that the much-dreaded State Fire Department had made a handsome profit with a better record of management than all its rivals which ai‘e under the control of private enterprise. But this department was set up by a Liberal Government, and its manager, so successful, was the selection of a Liberal Prime Alinister. Is this the sort of convincing eulogy of “Reform” 'that Air Fisher was prevented from giving at St. Peter’s Schoolroom? AVo need not pursue the subject. Enough that when a man breaks his election pledges he may expect a rough time from his constituents, even when he manages to evade for many months the duty ot addressing them, and then meets them on a restricted platform. It is a wholesome fact.