SEDDON OR STOUT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5486, 11 February 1896, Page 2

SEDDON OR STOUT.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— On the eve of last election I maintained that the underlying idea of the Prohibition Party was to oust the Seddon Government from office ; that though this was carefully hid by loud and vehement protestations of Liberalism, it was the active principle of their policy. I maintained that the defeat of Sandford and the return of Smith would mean the loss of a Government supporter. Time has proved I was correct in my statement. The real object— the plot — of the prohibition leaders is to. break up the present Liberal Party. Let no working man be deceived. Let no fulsome declaration of Liberalism blind his political vision. For him the defeat of the present Liberal Party means the death of labour legislation. Let him be true to the party that has been true to him. By returning T. E. Taylor he does a greater wrong to the workers than by voting for Lewis. Loud as T. E. Taylor protests his independence, analyse his speeches and it will be found that on the various occasions when 'he has declared how he would have voted had he been in the House, tho names he has placed his own among have' been closely clustered round that of Stout. Let the novice in election matters carefully weigh this. Let him dig deeper than the mere surface. He will find lying there a Prohibition plot . to break up the Liberal Party. Let us look to ourselves. Let \is not show the base ingratitude of deserting the present Liberal Party that has done so much for us.— l am, &c, W. CTJLLEN.