WELLINGTON NORTH

New Zealand Times, Volume XLV, Issue 10464, 17 December 1919, Page 4

WELLINGTON NORTH

There is very little doubt that this contest, which will be a most interest- • ing one, will be fought out between the "Reform" candidato Mr J. P. Luke and the liberal candidate Mr H. Oakley Browne. There is also an official Labour candidate in tho person of Mr J. Read, but the interest and excitement) are concentrated more on the campaign between the protagonists of the two great parties, while Mr Browne is attracting to his cause a. considerable amount of support from the workers. It cannot bo 6aid that tho candidature of Mr Luke, has aroused a great deal of enthusiasm amongst the supporter* of his .own party. There is a feeling amongst them that they have not been considerately treated by their leader. They were given to understand at the by-election, when Mr Herdman retired, that if they accepted Mr Luko it would be only for t'he unexpired term of \ the current Parliament, and that when tho time of the general election arrived they would be given the opportunity of selecting a candidate more acceptable -to fhem. This understanding has not been carried out,'with the natural consequence that some resentiment is being cherished, but whether this' resentment will influence the result of the election remains to be seen. However, bq far as Mr Luke is concerned, it must be acknowledged that he'has given very loyal support to the party 'with which he is now associated and in t'he interests of which he, is standing. It must also be conceded to him thai he has given close attention to his political duties. The shortcoming to which weL attach the greatest importance, apart from his lapse from loyalty to the Liberal cause, apequally to 'Mr Wright and Dr Newman. It is the apathy or neglect they have displayed in ,■ relation to Wellington's local requirements,, and especially its right to a fair share of publio works, expenditure. It may be in Mr Luke's case that this is not due to' any indolence or indifference, becauso he devotes a great deal of time to public affairs, but may be attributable to the fact that he is overweighted by the claims made upon his time and attention by the strenuous duties of the Mayoral office. And yet Mr Luke appears to be fully alive to the needs of other parts of New Zealand. When the Public Works Statement was submitted last session, with not one penny of railway expenditure provided for Wellington, while hundreds of thousands of pounds were being, shared amongst the other provincial districts, Mr Luke delightedly declared that it was the best Public Works Statement ever put before the. people of New Zealand. The best for whom? Certainly not for the people of Wellington, whom Mr Luke is sup-" posed to represent. Mr Luke, in his delight, was even moved to urge the speedy completion of the North Auckland lines, the South Island railway, arid the East Coast extension to Auckland, even though the reasonable-- and legitimate public works claims of Wellington were being calmly ignored. It/is in contrast witli this apathy or neglect of Wellington's interests that we welcome the candidature of Mr Oakley Browne for the Wellington North seat. ' Born in the. electorate and conscious of the injustice that this city and provincial district have suffered at the hands of the Massey Government, Mr Browne is determined as a hustling young Wellingtonian to insist on justice being done to local requirements in the fullest measure. He has pointed tho way to local improvement and progressive effort in the excellent platfprm speeches with, which he is pushing his campaign. But it is more particularly on higher and broader grounds that we chiefly welcome the candidature of Mr Oakley Browne. Since he entered the political arena,,-he 'has infused new life and spirit L into the Liberal cause, by his pburage, sincerity and enthusiasm. He is a Liberal out and out, with a comprehensive knowledge of the history and achievement of the party, and a thorough determination that the work of progressive legislation initiated by Ballanco and Seddon shall be. continued to its ultimate and successful conclusion. There is no "go slow" in the methods of Mr Browne. An excellent and convincing platform speaker, he has carried the war into the opposing camp of reaction and monopoly, and has won sympathy and support on every'hand. It is to the younger and more, progressive generation that Liberalism chiefly appeals, in contradistinction to the conservatism that cornea with old age arid the possession of wealth, and Mr Browne has a message for the younger men and women of. New Zealand who are proud of their country and eager for its progress and development on sound and modern lines. It is not necessary to offer any review of Mr Browne's speeches, with which our readers have become familiar. These have set forth the opinions and convictions of the candidato forcibly and logically, and furnish, sound justification for Lis appeal to the Liberal section of the people as well as the whole of the ■fragerearning classes for their support. Wo believo there is a desire in Welllington North for new blood in its Parliamentary' representation, and recognising the splendid impression that Mr Browne has already made, we I shall be surprised if Bo is not returned by a considerable majority to-day.