THE ELECTIONS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 262, 9 December 1914, Page 2

THE ELECTIONS.

THE LIBERAL POLICY. SEASONS FOR A CHANGE. OPPOSITION'S PLAJtfS. Press Association.

INVERCARGILL, December 8.

The following-manifesto to the electors lias been issued by Sir Joseph Ward, Leader of "the Opposition Party: — The duty devolves upon me as Leader of the x 1 Liberal'' Party, to state the reasons why it is desirable in the general interests of the country that a change of Government should take place. In the first place, the Government does not represent a majority of the electors. They admittedly; attained office on a minority vote. ' They proclaimed themselves formers,-"anxious only for, the welfare of the Dominion and its people, but the mask they adopted, by making pledges and promises on a number of great issues

was too transparent to deceive the mass of the'electors. Thie : majority of those pledge? have not been carried out. At the polls the Reform Party-secured scarce-, ly* three-eighths of the rvotes ;cast. The ' will of a large majority of the electors was shown to be emphatically against the Reformers/and yet for two and a-half yearsin this, democratic country a party that was.decisively rejected by the people has held the reins of office. It is needless to recall the political intrigue by' which this amazing injustice to the expressed .will of the democracy was Mr Masse}' promised that the living: was to be. redufeeclby the lias during the. piast three years

niore than ever before/ Taxation was to . '•!»-. substantially- reduced.; it has not been /■ reduced by a single penny except in the ■ case of a small section of. people who are Wfill enough off to pay income. tax.: .. Mr -Massey promised a' scheme of insurance . against sickness and unemployment, but sinee he took office he does not appear to have given , the scheme a second thought. He promised a reform of' the economic system, in the direction of promoting industrial peace, but instead of observing thi§ promise he has imposed upon the wdrkers copditions that have provoked only industrial unrest. He promised, Va square deal all round," especially to labour. "What labour legislation worthy of the name has he placed on the Statute Book during the last three years'? The only progressive measure seeking to benefit the workers was introduced by a private; member, not by the Government, and

was ruthlessly killed by MrMassey's nominees, in the Legislative Council. His professions 'of solicitude for Labour can 110 longer deceive, anyone. The Reform Government promised the promotion of closer settlement by providing land for willingj capable, men without jaeans in respect ,to both Crown and Native lands, but the, legislation and administration have unjnstly favoured the wealthier, to . the -disadvantage of the poorer, settler. " Reform'' promised the extirpation of the political patronage it charged, against my colleagues and myself, but never before have political patronage and nepotism been so flagrant and persistent as they are~at the present time. -These are mat- - ters/of common knowledge, and need no recital here. The '' square deal'' has been a wretched pretence for the strong, selfreliant administration the country was promised. There have been substituted vacillation and inaction on great issues vitally affecting the masses. This young country can afford to be progressive. It has inexhaustible • natural resources, and a virile, intelligent, industrious people, eager for the promotion of the welfare of all. The Spirit of the people calls for progress, courage, initiative, and scrupulous fairness, without which no real social progress is possible. I aslt you to review the pro*gress of the Liberal Party in legislation and administration during its twentyone years of office, and to compare it with the record of the last two and a-half years; then recall who in the past have been the obstinate opponents of

progress in this country. The Conser- ' vative Party opposed and voted against important measures . /yvhieh were designed to help the age<J, the landless, * the farmers, and. the workers. Amongst the measures they ' opposed were the Old Age Pensions scheme, Land for Settlements Act, Advances to Settlers Act, Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and the compulsory acquisition of landed estates and State fire insurance; indeed, practically all the advanced measures they are now administering were strongly opposed and condemned by them, while in many instances failure was predicted for them. Their attitude on the naval question advocating a local- navy, as against an Empire navy, is one to which I feel sure the bulle of the people of the Dominion are opppsed. The Dreadnought was a, free apd. uncondiuonal gift to thd.British Government, yet the Reform Party, "deliberately state that it- was a condition that the gift battleship was ' to Remain in the Pacific. This is absolutely contrary to fact. They profess to give us a reason for their advocacy of 'a local navy the fact that H.M.S. New Zealand wag sent to the North Sea, where she has already done magnificent »er,vice for the Empire. The First-Lord of the Admiralty publicly declared in the House of Commons for one Empire Navy and against a locaJ navy, yet the Beform. .Govegjment, with fatuous in- . diffarcrfiee, .persist |n supporting a local navy with the enormous burden of extra taxation it must necessarily impose on the taxpayers of this young country. It is surely akm f,o inadness, remembering the public works running into many millions, .which are; still necessary for the reasonable requirements of the Dominion.

The financial position as disclosed by the Government is alarming. The ordinary expenditure in two years has increased by nearly two millions per annum. In the same period the surplus has fallen from £BOO,OOO to £326,000. There is an inflated public buildings vote of £1,400,000 in two years, and to provide for this unparalleled and unnecessary sum the financial requirements both for railway construction and roads and bridges have been woefully restricted. Advances to settlers, workers, and local bodies haye also .been curtailed, and great inconvenience lias been eaused all over the country by the erratic and reduced payments made by this Department. Land settlement has been reduced, and so also has native lands settlement, while land syndicates who have purchased considerable areas of Native lands for speculative purposes are in active and aggressive evidence. Two systems have been applied to the Public Service, one large section; remaining under Government control, -and another large section entirely under the dominance of Public,-JfSeryiee Commissioners and beyond tife control of either the people or Parliament. Both systems cannot be right. ' I affirm my strong belief in State control of all the great public services. :

. There- are many important adminis-trative-acts on the part of the Government, that one could, on strong grounds, adversely comment upon. I 'must, however, avoid details. I make no remark upon anything connected with the war administration of the Government; the time for this will come after the-war is over. In the meantime, - the Liberals have sunk all party differences' on this great question upon which- all parties should be united in action and assistance until the Empire has, with her Allies, won and ia on top. The Liberals, who established universal military training, gave a Dreadnought, appointed General Godley, established preferential, trade with Great Britain, and brought Lord Kitchener to New Zealand to give tlje 'Government and the people the benefit of his ripe experience 'and knowledge, may be relied upoii to maintain that marked ans unswerving loyalty, patriotism, and Assistance to the proud old flag that fortunately all sections of the jaVe united in doing. As showing the/weakness of his -position,.Mr ttssey's. last cry is ')®ed Fed./' yet unquestionably he publicly supported them in the last election. His purpose is to create a feeling of insecurity. Oil the one hand we have the extremie Conservatives, the element that dominates the Reform Party, seeking to set the rest of the community against Labour on the plea that giving Labour a voice in' means anarchy. On the other hand, we have, militant Labour seeking to create the impression that the'employer and the capitalist are the enemies of Liberalism, on the contrary, seeks the common good of all classes of the community. It realises that the first essential to progress is the maintenance of law and order, that the more advanced our state of civilisation is, the more desirable it becomes that -we; should maintain the lawg. which enable that civilisation {to?.: beiupheld. On .the one hand, it is not to be bought by the gold of the Conservative reactionary; and, on the other 'hand, it is not going to be dictated to by any lawless section of the community. The extreme sections seek to embitter class against class. The Liberals seek to reconcile all classes, realising that it is by all pulling together, if the rules are fair, that th£ best return can be secured for each individual.

In brief, the Liberals stand for justice, law, order, and progress. Remember that the opponents of the Liberal Party are now in office with hearts unchanged, whatever their professions may be. It i& for the electors to decide whether the 1 ' Reformers'' shall remain in power to retard and strangle the progress of this young country, or whether the Liberals shall again have charge of .the Dominion's affairs to promote the econoiftic, social, and humanitarian measures they have laid before you during this election campaign. I have little doubt, of your decision, and this last word is. merely to remind you all of the great issues at stake. Three years; agjo: the Liberal Party fought a fair fight- with elean hands. It ...has nothing. ; to hide and nothing to disguise. Arrayed against it are all the weapons and every influence wealth .and social position can command. It is bn your sense of fair play, no less than on your sense of right and justice, that I rely for a verdict on Thursday next that will make for sane and progressive legislatibn, prudent and vigorous administration, and for the permanent welfare of New Zealand and the happiness and prosperity of every section of its people.