The Star. WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 1904. A WORN-OUT CRY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8002, 4 May 1904, Page 2

The Star. WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 1904. A WORN-OUT CRY.

j._, ll VJ vJ. a uu_ v* .«.» Jt • Mr. Massey has nofc profited by the advice of his journalistic friends to abstain from his silly cry W "spoils tb the victors." At Temuka' last night he reiterated the charge that the Government srva-s guilty of (stuffing tn© Civil Sen/ice with tiheir relations and supporters, and his bad example was followed by Mt Charles Lewis, who also addressed the meeting. Ifc might have been supposed that by this time Mr Massey would have seen the fallacy of repeating, parrot-like, accusations which long sipce hay© been shown to have no foundation in fact. Ithas been shown over- and over again that neither the Premier nor any of his colleagues, in making appointments to the Civil Service, have shown undue patronage to their friends and poEtical supporters. They have, of course, given positions to both, but they have also made many appointments from among their opponents. Indeed, some Ministers have earned no little ill-Trill on the ground that they^ (have repeatedly denied to their supporters positions which they have given to their* opponents. Judging from the tone of tbe remarks let. fall by certain Opposition speakers, it -might be -supposed that they regarded relationship or friendship with members of th© Government party as a complete and entire disqualification for Stat© appointments. The two -illustrations employed by Mr Lewis last evening, were particularly unhappy. He admitted that, during three years of the time during whioh he sat in Parliament" as member for Christchuroh,^ he secured eight appointments to the Civil Service, "although his sitting colleagues were making no recommendations." During the, period mentioned his colleagues w©t© Mr W. W- Collins, Mr G. J, Smith and Mr T. E. Taylor, two of them pronounced Goveraaiient supporters, and the third certainly* not a participator in Mr Lewis's political views. That is to s^y, by his own admission, the Conservative candidate, the immaculate opponent of the principle of "spoils to the victors," secured eight appoints to the ' Civil Service while his Go- * vernment colleagues did not even seek any. Mr Lewis seems to hay© been exceedingly unfortunate in his efforts to provide Courtenay with Justices of the Peace, but his insinuation that Justices are appointed only from the ranks, "of the Government's supporters falls to the ground in face of j the fact that a recent oatch of appoint- : ments included a wealthy Canterbury landowner, a notoriously bitter opponent of Mr Seddon. The fact is that the Opposition has got so accustomed to charging its opponents with nepotism that it reiterates the accusation without troubling itself to consider whether it is justified.