The Sun SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1914. THE ELECTIONS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 187, 12 September 1914, Page 8

The Sun SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1914. THE ELECTIONS.

The favourable turn of events in Europe leaves leas excuse than ever for postponing the New Zealand Elections, .and the Government will make a great mistake if they do not brush aside the doubts and fears of some of their more timorous friends and proceed with the business of the country in the ordinary way. Postponement for a short period, say, till the autumn, would be absurd, because the war is not likely to be over by then, and an election at harvest time, when the countryside is up to its eyes in work and thousands of electors absent from their homes, would not be a fair test of public opinion.. Postponement for a year is equally un-, desirable, because it would involve the waste of another session. The present session has been rather barren of useful legislation, as Ministers have been absorbed in the dispatch of the Expeditionary Force, and members have had no-minds for serious work. A year's delay will merely result in another unsatisfactory session, during which members would be more concerned about their fate at the impending election than the business of the country. Besides, it should not be forgotten that both parties spent the last recess in campaigning. A good deal of the electioneering preparatory to the vote being .taken is already done, and it is hardly fair to the country to spend another recess doing it all over again. It would be, better for all parties to get the election behind them, so that whatever party is in power after the will of the people is ascertained, it will be in a position to face serious questions arising out of the war, undisturbed by any anxiety as to its immediate political future.