Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1935

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18858, 8 November 1935, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1935

THE DEMOCRAT POLICY Apart altogether from any question of political fooling, the visit to this district of the loader of the newly formed Democrat Party is a mattci for congratulation, and Mr. Hislor. will bo assured of a cordial welcome oven in an electorate where there has been no indication of any populai enthusiasm for the party lie repre sents. Whatever disagreements there may bo with the Democrat policy, in sofar as the public has been able to understand it, it certainly cannot be charged against the leader that he is husking i'i energy and enterprise. Al though ho is a novice in national politics, he has thrown himself into the campaign with a vigor that would do credit to a seasoned veteran, and has travelled practically from one end Of the Dominion to the other in an attempt to consolidate the forces sup porting his banner and to explain the many misunderstandings that have arisen from the varying interpretations that have been placed upon the policy of the party by different candidates. Too frequently, this part of the Dominion is ignored by political leaders —and, incidentally, in most matters of State interest —and it is a tribute to both Mr. HLslop and the district that he has accorded it the recognition that is its,due. The one general regret, perhaps, will be that his ability and activity have not been devoted to the support, of a more worthy cause. . The initial handicap of the Democrats, and, indeed, of any strictly party organisation, is that experience throughout the world in recent years has demonstrated con vincingly that no party government can adequately cope with the existing complex economic problems; on the contrary, the only countries that have successfully counteracted the efforts of- the depression are those which have made a united effort through a national administration. Whether the Democrats really intend to stand or fall by themselves, or whether they are prepared to co-operate with other sections, and if so which, is the most obscure point in their platform, and it is on this, in particular, that the electors of this district will look for enlightenment to-morrow evening. Mr. Hislop is reported to have stated that he would not vote with the Laboi Party to displace the Government, but that he would expect the Labor Party to support him for the same purpose. The candidate for the Bay of Plenty has given an emphatic denial to reports that the Democrats would support Labor on the Treasury benches, but docs not seem to have made clear his attitude towards a noconfidence motion by the Opposition. It Ls significant, however, that Democrats in other parts of the country — not only in an isolated instance, but in every reported case where a candidate has expressed himself—have plainly and definitely stated that the party will vote with Labor. This question Ls far too important to be dismissed with any vague utterances, and it is not too much to expect that the leader should take the opportunity of his visit to make an unequivocal declaration as to exactly where his party stands. A second point that requires to be cleared up for the particular benefit of this district is the attitude of the Democrats towards the completion of the railway.to Gisborne. Mr. Harker, on behalf if his leader, has pledged the party's support for the carrying out of this work. In his opening policy speech, however, Mr. Hislop, gave an assurance that no public works would be undertaken until they had been investigated and approved by a national development council, which might or might not be favorable towards the Gisborne railway. In his other speeches Mr. Hislop has not referred to the position of uncompleted railways, and it hardly seems to be fair, either to him or the public, that candidates supporting him should be at liberty to use his name more or less indiscriminately to pledge the party to heavy capital expenditure on works which the Democrats have not had an opportunity to investigate. That this district is anxious for the railway goes without saying, but the important point is that if Mr. Harker ■is at liberty to make independent promises in one electorate, there can be no limit to similar pledges which might be made by other candidates elsewhere. If the completion of the Gisborne railway is, in fact, a major plank in the Democrat programme, then it should not be preserved for local consumption, but the rest of the Dominion should be told about it by the leader himself. There is one other question that has been raised by Mr. Harker which also demands reference to Mr. Hislop. At each of his meetings, the candidate for the Bay of Plenty has asserted that every Government board and commission throughout New Zealand would bo done away with as soon as possible after his party took office. In a country that has been led to believe that there has been an excessive delegation of the powers of Parliament such an attitude might be expected to evoke popular approval, but it has such serious and far-reaching implications that it requires to be amplified. Mr. Harker aspires to represent an essentially rural constituency where there must be general appreciation of the exceptionally valuable work that has been -carried out by the various produce boards, which, although Government bodies, are largely representative of the producers themselves. If

the Democrats are going to sweep ihese boards out of existence, the public is surely entitled to know what is to replace them. Most of the boards in the Dominion are either

representative of particular interests or else composed of men selected because of their expert knowledge, and even though there might be a tendency to dispense with some of them their reckless extermination without any substitute being provided would not meet with general approval. Electors in the Bay of Plenty will be interested, in particular, to hear from .Mr. Hislop himself what sort of organisations he intends to create in place of the Meat Board and the Dairy Board, or whether it is intended that bodies of this description should cease to exist altogether.