CAMPAIGN OF MISREPRESENTATION.

Colonist, Volume LXII, Issue 15255, 17 December 1919, Page 5

CAMPAIGN OF MISREPRESENTATION.

LIBERAL LEADER'S DIGNIFIED

PROTEST

SIR JOSEPH WARD CONFIDENT

(Special to "The Colonist.")

Palmerston North, Dec. 16

The campaign of misrepresentation of the Liberal Party and its leader that has been conducted by the Tory press in connection with the general election has called forth from Sir Joseph Ward a dignified protest for which the majority of the electors of the' Dominion have 'been looking for no little time. This was uttered while the Liberal leader was addressing a crowded audience at the Town Hall. Sir Joseph Ward prefaced his remarks by saying that when the election was over, the members of the party would be able to say they had fought cleanly and had not insulted anyone. Nevertheless he felt constrained to draw attention to the fact that desperate attempts were being made to create a false atmosphere around his party. I The Conservative Press had indulged in misrepresentation of the most violent J possible kind. Some of the newspapers _' controlled by Conservative' interests ' had set out to distort the utterances of; responsible menibers -of the Liberal j Party in the most low-down, contempti- j ble, blackguardly way. News Bad j been suppressed in their efforts at vilification, and he did not stop them, j but he was satisfied that the people !. were not going to be misled, and was cotifident that on December 17th the Liberal Party would 'be returned to power with a substantial majority. From the information in his possession ho felt justified in expressing the opinion that at least two of the present Reform Ministers would be defeated in their own electorates. Rei ferring to Moderate Labour, Sir Joseph again stressed the fact that it "was j entitled to representation, and they would get it from the Liberal Party best. Workers should see that their interests were conserved at the polls. This could only be done by casting a vote for those men whose chances of success appeared to be bright, and in every instance they would be found to be Liberals. By voting for men whose chance of success was hopeless the electors would be acting against their own interests in that, by splitting the vote badly, Reformers would be allowed to 'slip in. The Reform Party was at present conducting the offices of the country on a minority vote, and voters should make sure that they did not cast their rights aside. To assure that a party that would do the most good for the greatest number of people was returned to power, they would have, to vote for the Liberal Party. He had no doubt that the electors were seized of the importance of this, and the result would be the placing of the Liberal Party at the top of the poll.