GREAT N.Z. STATESMEN

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 65, 17 March 1928, Page 11

GREAT N.Z. STATESMEN

W. F. MASSEY.

THE MAN AND HIS WORK.

SAVIOUR OF REFORM

(By S.S.)

When William Ferguson Massey entered the House of Representatives in 1894 Mr. Ballance had been dead but a year; Mr. Seddon had stepped into the shoes of his former chief, and the Liberal Government had just returned from the constituencies with a majority of 30 in a House of 70 members. It was not a particularly cheerful outlook for j a man of middle age with most of his political knowledge to acquire and with all his party strategy to learn. But Mr. Massey came of sturdy stock, and he had faced difficulties before. Twentyfour years earlier, leaving school in Ulster with a robust frame and a sound primary education, he had followed his parents to New Zealand and had plunged forthwith into the labours of early settlement. At 17 he was his own master; at 21 he was a small landholder; at 26 he was a happy husband, and at 30 he was a prominent figure in local affairs, confident and enterprising, and yet withal diffident and prudent. At 38 he took his place in the House with the sangfroid of a veteran, and if he was moved at all 'by the display of empty seats on his side of the chamber he had the substantial" consolation of association with such doughty representatives of the old orde* as Sir William Russell, the chivalrous leader of the party, Sir Francis Bell, Sir Walter Buchanan, Sir William Fraser, Sir Edwin Mitchelson, and Sir James Wilson, whose titles in those days, of course, were only in the making. He acquitted himself so creditably during his first session that before its end he was appointed Opposition Whip, and throughout the succeeding eight years he continued to do admirable work for his party both in the House and in the country.

Turn of the Tide. The stars in tjieir courses, however, continued to fight for Mr. Seddon and his party, the South African war and the abounding prosperity of the country in particular contributing largely to the popularity of the Government. It was as a desperate expedient that Sir William Russell in 1903 handed over the reins of leadership to Mr. Massey, and desperate indeed it seemed at the succeeding general election when Mr. Seddon, in a House now increased to eighty members, returned with the record majority of fifty. But the great Liberal leader did not" live to reap the fruits of his overwhelming victory at the polls, and with his passing the ascension of the Opposition definitely began, finally culminating in the Liberal debacle of 1911 and the coming of Mr. Massey into his own. There would be no space here, even if it were desired, to even touch upon the herculean labours of Mr. Massey during those eighteen years he spent in the wilderness of Opposition, striving towards a goal which many of his personal friends and political allies declared to be beyond the reach of human effort and ingenuity; but the biographer of the Saviour of Reform, whoever he may be, will do well to read carefully the half-dozen speeches this remarkable man made during his first session in Parliament. Only one of them, that dealing with the Land Settlement Bill of the year, runs into more than a page of "Hansard" print, and they all foreshadow, in greater or smaller degree, the progressive doctrines the speaker propounded and applied himself during the later years of his career. As a matter of fact Mr. Massey's politi- ( cal faith passed through three we-11 marked phases. First there was the phase of Opposition, which insisted that the other side Vj-as wrong; then there was the phase of 'broadened Conservatism in office, and ffnally there was the phase of RefoHmed Liberalism freed from restraint. 1 In the last of these he disarmed much of the early criticism of his opponents. Two Big Men. It would be difficult to draw a comparison between the labours and achievements of Mr. Seddon and those of Mr.Massey entirely free from political and party bias; bit it wiil be an interesting exercise for tbe historian of another generi tion should he attempt such a task. Physically the two men were not unlike, though the phrenologist and the physiognomist probably would hold that in many features and qualities they s'oo.l far apart. That they were both strong, virile men, staunch friends and generous opponents, good masters and fa-thfui servants, everyone who knew them as they led their daily lives will readily admit. But there were points of difference between the two men in abundant, due more frequently to environment than to temperament. Mr. Seddon saw with the eyes'of the miner; Mr. Massey with the eyes of the farmer, and their vision, though comprehensive enough in the long run, sometimes brought them to conflicting conclusions. Mr. Massey had the advantage in speech, having read the deeper, but; he did not sway an audience so readily as did his rival. Mr. Seddon had a dozen more years than had Mr. Massey, and, one might almost say, half a century more experience, at any rate at the beginning of the younger man's political career. Whether or not Mr. Massey would have won through had Mr. Seddon stood in his way for another decade is an open question. Maybe they would have come together. Stranger coalitions have occurred in the New Zealand Parliament. But they both have gone and they both remain in the memories of their contemporaries as no other Prime Minister does. This is the highest possible tribute to their worth, personally and politically, and the political opponents of either, or of both, will not grudge them their rich reward. The Last Phase. Among the delightful memories of Mr. Massey which newspaper men who were in close touch with him retain through their working days is the constant courtesy he extended to them all. Personally it was my lot during the first and second phases of his political development to be in opposition to him. My critics flattered me by saying my opposition was "unreasoning," "unfair," "well-nigh scurrilous" and "altogether incompatable with the traditions of decent journalism." On his first visit to the south after his acceptance of the leadership of the Nationalists, who afterwards, at his instigation became Reformers, he called at my office and chatted most cordially for half an hour on every topic under the sun save party politics. I took tea with him on the following afternoon, having Mr. John Duthie as a fellow guest, and we agreed that we were seeking the same good ends by different roads. On my first visit to the House of Representatives after this introduction, Mr.. Massey sent to 'me by a messenger a note inviting me

to his table at the sapper adjournment. At this meeting he placed at my disposal all the 'literature" of his'party organisation, and urged me to make use of his services whenever they could be useful. All this while my "unreasoning," "unfair," ''scurrilous" and "incompatible" criticism was being distributed, perhaps with just a little additional emphasis in order that my warm personal regard for Mr. Massey would not be misconstrued. And so the relations between this strong man and myself continued, right up to those last sad days when I was privileged to take a speechless farewell of a man who had risen immeasurably above party politics and personal differences of opinion. This intimate confession is permissible only because it marks the qualities of a man ■ who served his country unselfishly to the end.