TO THE EDITOR.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 12580, 29 September 1908, Page 7

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — Comrade Grey need not distress himself over the chances of a Conservative candidate capturing the Wanganui scat through the splitting of the Progreosive vote between two Liberals. Sir Joseph Ward has unintentionally conferred a boon upon the advocates of Independent Labour representation 'by enabling- us Socialist*, to vote for the most progressive candidate in the field without running the risk of handing the constituency over to the forces of reaction, because if the Conservative candidate gets in on a minority vote at the first ballot we can still prevent him from misrepresenting us by recording our votes against him at the second. I am not sufficiently acquainted with the opinions of Mr Hogan and Mr Mackay to know which is the more progressive, but other things being equal I would prefer the candidate who is not under any obligation to support the present Ministry, as it has shown iteclf to be entirely out of sympathy with democratic 'thought and sentiment on more than one' occasion since Sir Joseph Ward's accession" to the Premiership. In his first budget he removed the .duty from motor-cays and increased it on boots and shoes, shortly afterwards Mr McCullough was dismissed from the Addington workshops for continuously taking part in politics, and Dr. Findlay : (who, by the way, received his appointment without having been chosen by any constituency to represent the people in Parliament) about the same time hurled veiled threats at the slaughtermen strikers as to what might happen if they did not return to work and pay their fines - immediately. Later on Sir Joseph > • arid received a deputation of the unemployed in Wellington, who asked him to utilise some of the unoccupied lands of the Dominion for the purpose of establishing State farms. This he refused to discuss, remarking that it was no use tor us to try to solve problems that older countries had been unable to Bolve. He gave the unemployed his sympathy and said he would see what he could do for them, but he has not done anything yet. Again, with reference to the Second Ballot Bill, the only really democratic measure he is responsible for, he tried to spoil it by introducing a clause enabling a candidate who tops the poll with a minority vote to be declared, elected if he secures a majority of 500 votes over the second man. This clause the Legislative Council wisely threw out* and thus saved the principle of the Bill from destruction. The gag clauses relating to the second ballot, needless to say, are the very autithesis of democratic, and require the strenuous opposition of everyone who has any respect for freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. Under these circumstances- it is difficult to understand any really progressive man coming forward as a Government candidate. — Yours faithfully,

NYM. Saturday, September 26th, 1908.