The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1911.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3390, 4 December 1911, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1911.

A groat deal of excitement is being shown in connection with the election of a member to represent the Bay of Plenty in the next Parliament. This is only what might be expected, for this important district will form the scene of a. h.nid straiVht-out fieht between a

Mr. de Laufour or Mr. MacDonald.

candidate representing the Government and a candidate representing the Reform Party. Leaving aside the question of politics altogether, it may. indeed, Ire truly said that in Mr. de Lautour and Mr. MacDonald the electors have two candidates of whom any part of the Dominion might well be proud. Not only are both very highly esteemed and widely known, but both have a full knowledge of the requirements of the district. iSo much for the personal aspect of the election. As far as we can gather, Mr. MacDonald bases his claim to re-election upon two grounds—(l) that he has worked hard on behalf of the district, and (2) that he is an ardent supporter of the Government of the day. Now we propose, first of all, to deal with these two matters. It will be agreed, we think, that Mr. MacDonald has done a lot to further the interests of the district during his term of office. We are, of course, referring to : the question of advocating for grants ! for works. But after all is said and done, the fact remains that the Govern- j ment of to-day does not even now pay ; as much attention to the need for the, development of the East Coast as its \ great extent of valuable lands merits. I That Mr. MacDonald himself realises the position may be gauged from the circumstance that at the close of last' session he told an interviewer only that j he was fairly satisfied with the votes j that had been given in respect of his ! electorate. For our own part we have come to the conclusion that as a mat- j ter of fact Mr. MacDonald did not be- j come a more valuable member so far as ! the district is concerned after he ac-, i cepted the junior Whipship in the party ' 'of power. To some people it might ap- j | pear that the acceptance of such an of- \ ! lice should have materially enhanced | j Mr. MacDonald's influence, but is it j not the tendency of a Government first ! to try and please its strongest oppon- i cuts? No one, for instance, has ever heard Mr. Herries, who represents the adjoining electorate of Tauranga, complain of bad treatment of Ins district by the Government. On the contrary, j the manner in which it is treated is the ! envy of most Government members. ! Though, a supporter in the main of the I present Ad m ini stra t i on, Mr. Mac Don-1 aid, it will thus be seen, might have!, done even much bettor in this regard j by retaining a greater measure of independence. Coming to what appears to j he the other chief claim which Mr. j MacDonald sets forth as a ground for , his re-election—approval of the '•policy' 5 < of the party in power—it is difficult to see how this will help him. Should! 1 Mr. MacDonald have the good fortune i ' to be returned we feel confident that he ! * will not have to thank his political! a views. There can be not the slightest j : doubt, in view of what has transpired | during the campaign that has now been! ' raging for some weeks, that the Ward j Administration has weakened very eon- j j; siderably of late from end to end of the h Dominion. Its lack of a bold t policy to meet the legislative wants of the country and its J system of general administration have been widely condemned. And what does tMr. MacDonald say? “I was not pled- if god, but 1 trusted the Government and 11 they trusted me!” What, we might p ask, has Mi. MacDonald done of a mo- £ mentous character in the way of improv- til ing upon legislation which the House ty was asked to pass? How many times T has he seen fit to vote against a Gov- Jj

eminent proposal? Mr. MacDonald may object to the term “servile follower,” but we are afraid lie will find it difficult to convince others in the matter. As regards the East Coast in particular, it must be generally agreed that what is of the most importance is the more speedy opening up of the native lands. And what has Mr. MacDonald said on this subject—that be is quite satisfied with the progress that is beinoma do in the Bay of Plenty, and the people of the electorate are also satisfied! Though some headway has been made in this matter during the past few years, the wheels of progress are

still greatly clogged by the “taihoa” policy of the Government. Much land, it is known, awaits settlement beyond Motu and to the north of Waiapu river. As far as Cook County and County are concerned, the position, it must be admitted, is to-day greatly improved. But what about Waiapu, Opotiki, and Whakatane counties? Is it not’a fact thdt no land in the Opotiki and Whakatane counties has been opened for settlement since the land ballot of 1907? Regarding the native land question espec. Hy, the attitude taken up by Mr. Mi Donald has been very disappointing. During the last Parliament Mr. MacDonald consistently supported Sir James Carroll and Mr Ngata. But how much better it would have been bad the representative of the Bay of Plenty been a member who saw fit to back up the views of, say, Mr Herries, which are undoubtedly in accord with the true feeling of the country on the subject, ft is also certain that Mr. MacDonald will lose a lot of votes in connection with his attitude on the question of land tenure. Though a freeholder he declined to record his vote in that direction on the ground that a Bill was not on the occasion to which we allude before the Hou.se! As we have said, should Mr. MacDonald be returned, it is difficult to see how it would be on other than personal grounds. If the electors are alive to their own interests arid the interests of the whole Dominion, they cannot support the candidature of one who places his whole trust in the Ward Administration, as Mr. MacDonald feels inclined to do. They have in

this matter, we hold, a plain duty to assist to'throw out the present effete and wasteful Government. In Mr. rle Lautour they would bare a member who would be as energetic as any electorate could wish to have as their representative, and, what is more, they would have a representative who has shown himself to have an intelligent grasp not only cf local affairs, but of problems of Die nation. There need he

no surprise if it should be found that the supporters of Mr. de Lautour outnumber those of Mr- MacDonald.