THE WINTON SPEECH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 15, 23 February 1914, Page 9

THE WINTON SPEECH.

14,000 WORDS ABOUT NOTHING. The Wellington "Evening Post" (Independent) makes some interesting remarks about Sir Joseph Ward's Winton speech:— "Sir Joseph Ward, Leader of His Majesly's indescribable Opposition, is a political diplomat who can say very little in much speech. More than any other politician in this country Sir Joseph is adept in the art of losing an audience, if not himself, in a wilderness of verbiage. He does express himself in the literal sense —that is, he spreads himself out, very thinly. It is fair to say that the compound Opposition's complicated Leader (in whom' several personalities seem to be confused) does occasionally give evidence to support the allegation of a French cynic that the purpose of speech is to conceal thought. This morning, throughout New Zealand, Sir Joseph was expected to fill the role of a political .professor at the breakfast table; he was to be the professor of the Opposition s long-promised policy which, up to the present, has been one in line with the old saying: '' So many men, so many opinions," Sir Joseph spoke at Winton; he spoke; it was a voice—and otherwise very little. The" various groups of Liberals (outside the Ministerial fold) must be bitterly disap- \ pointed, whatever pretences their journals may put up. As Milton wrote: — '' The hungry sheep look up, and are. not fed. But swollen with wind . . . . " One looks through the column report of the Press and looks again, with a growing sense of the Missing and the Lost. The first impulse is to blame the Press Association, b\H the accused is soon discharged without a stain on its character —indeed with credit, for brevity can be the spirit of charity as well as the soul of wit. The quick "release of the Press Association from all suspicion of unjust or eruel condensation is due to a rapid perusal of a'special report of nearly twelve columns in the New Zealand Times. In the short report Sir Joseph says very little in a column; In the long chronicle he says the same in about twelve columns. Sir Joseph has fired 14,000 words at the Government —and still the Government lives, while it wonders when the captain of the motley army will begin to use ball cartridge in place of the blank false-alarms."