MR LOUDON AT DUNEDIN NORTH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15273, 13 October 1911, Page 4

MR LOUDON AT DUNEDIN NORTH.

Hy misn'piYsentiitMn and by innuendo Mr lumdon, wlio was coldly received last niplu. at lis liist inectiuji as a candidate for tho Dunix'tin North teal, endeavoured to create the impression that if the Op|iosit.iott should Iw ivturned tn power at the approaching electron a period of legislative read ion would be inaugurated. In nearly every instance, ho said, the Djipwiti,)]! had resisted lite progressive legislation of tho past twejity years, and he dwkly hinted that from tliie the ek-ctorn mi.ylit j\nl«« what would hnpiwn ii Ur? present government were turned out nf olliro. " We pretty well );ninv," he snid, " what the Opposition would do if it caino ink) power: it would oppns<> anything in the nature of reform or pro"Vcfisivo legislation," (he Opjuwition lias submitted to tho electors a a.inpre.hejinivc> policy of reform, pome of the teal.ure.-s of which have been regarded po favourably by the Ooverliment that it has already appropriated them for its own pnrpefos, Mr Loudon's attempt to p-.irlray it im a brake up.m the wheels cf progress is not likely Id dereive the elee.toi'ri. The fact is that tJw Opposition has placed liefore the country a programme of mofe progressive proposals than the Oovornment has ljeen able to formuliU', It may not suit candidates who wi-uld apparently, if they should lie fortunate enough to «;eure election lie jirepared to effer blind nik-eiance to the ])re:int Ministry to staU> the Opposition policy fairly in their specchcs, but they )>uf a low estimate on the intelligence of the electors if they imagine that jury siu-h in i'si-epi'cscnta t ioru-: as M r f/mdon tinployed last will paph tilidokcteil. The Oppo?ilien land policy, Mr I/iudnu wrioritily afserteil, consisteil of t-wo articlc:?, of which one was tho offer to the Chum tfJiants of the freehold, enciMirauitii: them to break their bargains, ami the i;(her was tJie deprivation of the Natives of their lauds. This statement is KPfidy mifilwwlms as to tlio fnvt prt ami a flagrant distortion of fact as t.o the

second part. The suggestion that thrro would be any breach of ;i bargain in the case wheio both parties to a triinsaetion agreed to a variation of ils conditions is manifestly ridiculous. And the deliberate statement ilwt the Opposition would take the Native lands away from the owners is simply ail audacious iitveutioit. Tho prqiesab of the Opposition with to the Native Laud question are well defined, and arc, we should think, bo well known that the candidate who attempts to make out that that party cherishes any " almost criminal" desire to conlisoato the Maori estate must regard the public as extremely credulous. The other planks of the Opposition platform are equally deal' and definite. And. of course, they include no proposals for tho repeal of the legislation of the past two dorados. That legislation expresses the settled will of the country, and is accepted as swell. The Opposition has itself taken its sliaro in moulding mid perfecting tho measures for the enactment of which the Government claims the entire credit. It l>eeamc necessary for the Opposition to criticios many of these measures when they were first introduced, but the original enactments have in most eases undergone, amendment after Amendment. And it may fairly be asserted on behalf of tho Opposition that the, irodilicatiors of tho original statutes that liavc been ctrocUvl by the amending legislation hava in a grt-.l mimh?r of instances gone in the direction of meeting the criticism to whiih the proposals of the tlovernment when liist introduced were exposed. We sh:ill take another opportunity of considoring Mr Loudon's references to the public litiamxs. and in the meantime would simply remark that they followed the lines that are now generally adopted by Mmateria.! speakers and contained. no novel contribution to the <liscufsion if an important issue