OUR LEGISLATORS.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume VIII, Issue 688, 6 February 1879, Page 3

OUR LEGISLATORS.

MINISTER.. Ma*. ?S^BBHAN;rse.ems *to-;be rolliekinj blade! of the!; Ministry. Wherevefei he-goes champagne flbws-iike water^Tand^very.'j>olitical stepj;hat ho takes is celebrated ;by a jbUfiv t If '\he : loJitßyes to bring about t meeting with a haughty chieftain^ instead oi r makmg>long- speec^ss jn figur^tivgMguagej past, they first have. » : good pout.-of-cham-'pagne/*^\-oystew^^aj^.^ti^'go^ paJtrflrfillfheial.^B^ makes a comical speech., and, cracks every •joke he qan thinfeofj *M[^beii'iWsv stock o| -these is 4 fexh*Misted,-he^alls back agrtiii ptttlw champagne.-: HHs^aljvfiiypa,^droppm^ Xifk<)fo\ ' ' banquets, "as largeV uncomfortable dmhers in hotels are called, and then is king of the company by the right divine of being th^ wittiest man at the table. He certiai-aj-g^a glorious fellow on these ■ occasions, .^^ning with'good nature', bubbling oveKPTfch humour, noking fun at everybqd|Tbufc ne^; putting anybody to the hlm^md^ofms the bftll rolling merrily, : M^Ki| in»EKnstible spirits* long after J^^alhoMf has arrived for unutterabl^-d^%^tgs!^t in. But hi* ylanguage . Where oSea^M^^^P su^ 1 expressions as he habftup^T^'%ii^i.s political addresses, we carihol '^oM^if'S'MWiwy a Minister of the Cre>wri%Ml^^aß#P üblieu blie banquet, aboui rthe oa-Bit^Mifil#vendeMourmg to monopo,bse;l^raha^eolfie%at€lt^ ;will .e^hn£lhem^^K^^ a faVburite worii of Mr. "Sfieehan's. and we could instance at least a dozen speeches dur- • f ing%thb!ast year in which he haapused it. Li .that, remarkable oratipniin which he undef 1 Xppi. to.,dempjish"s»lr iSutton last session, he informed' the House that - that member'*highest idteiofia native) n^icy w^f. ", $&£«s .cut-thrqat euchre,. with Maori^ in a publichdu f ie';" ! EWchre^'we ;b J elie^ey is ' a feame pj change, in s .g*(:eat^avbuy'afiiong the diggers'! bus,!wha¥the\ r iSek*^ is when ajiplied 't& 'a ' Verb| f W- ; 'confess we . do t nbl know. ;We venture to say, moreover,,, thai there" are thousands who take an -interesi in "Mr' Sh'eehM's' '^spefech;^ - who, !.n r oVer. theiessy-'are^dften; unable to understand 'thfenv o^m^'^'^'theirvbeihg larded with siting ' ■ br'^bhirases. foreign' i< a commonly-refined vocabulary, If he only -knew how -grievously these; yulgarisms— foi they are nothing else— grate" upon the ears of his hearers, — at all evente^'Pf^thpsf^whc aiie favorably disposed to lum,^h^*wotild, ,we are; sure, ?cuitiy^te,%'bettey,. i gtyl^{^ Ish enemies, ; we t needThardly , say,, yapprq-jpje.oi | them' exceedingly, r.f <Jr , they ; tend, -^.fc^r out 'the -view ffat'jM>>;rt-^}.4m : $^\m\ pressed of .^vKaii^-MJNsle^.j^t^J^ " nothing but a lamkin lawyer from Auckland." Impartial judges know that ho is sqmething very different from that. He is an extremely able man* tho-foughkgenerqus and well disposed, and ettdowed-With^i pacity f6r pohtios that is probably unequalled vi the colony. What , he lacks is ballast .firmness of purpose, and above all, tastes, habits, manners, and mode of thought which ought to accompany his redlly amikble and docile disposition. It is a serious misfortune for him that he has lived so much in his youth among natives and amongst Europeans inferior to himself. No one appreciates cultivation and good breeding more than he does, and few men have more of it in them naturally j yet he is always breaking away beyond the widest limits of conventionality, as if he were a born Bohemian, and could not conform to any civilised standard whatever. Mr. Sheehan plumes himself upon being a yoiing Hew Zealander, and there may be something to; be proud of in it, as implying ?th&, .without the advantage**?* jpfS MOW '-WMd eduction, he ,KM- y t et>ais^d hJU>se|f, at an earlyage, to averyprbininentpositioh7 It is impossible, to deny, however, that i a young New Zeaiander, who has never been out of the colony, must necessarily '• be ignorant of many things which it is desirable that he should know. We always feel sorry for the Native; Minister when wo hear him repeating on a)l ' occasions the botot that^ he is a born colonist. " The Mught that always suggests itself to our mind is, " Woll, if you are what;you,s&jre,*af tor such asoWning a^ y9U have<lMi.;wlia| imgljt ; ypuj4ot|b%e hebri ii *you had been educated atapuldio school ana ftri university, and had had your manners softened by learning the *'liberalj arts .ijhoroiighly." For one so apt to i as'smulate the attainments of those around him, however, it is not even yet too late. If. Mr Sheehan * were to go to England in an official capacity for two or three years, and were to associate constantly with people superior to himself in those* attributes •» < f which he' & deficientph'e \vpuld*.'cbine;!backlwith>'hia ; MdM 4^^Fgfd, and his pewj^fe of pu\>^o t usefubiess immeasurably increased;,; He '.would jeam' tolgauge men and'things^niucH Wore justly; than he can at present, and would no longer prejudice his position or to some extent his character, as we fear he now does, by overlooking the importance Qf.the.. lesser proprieties,, (J We h-^ve schiifh an 1 6piMbll'Q^his'talfents , and his /genuine d^ctib'hltd'the pblic' interests that wb should sincerelyvU^r^^eeJiim^aqimproved ..that;, his .cqim^ryroe^ would really k^oyfihim^t^is.besi, '.3^ier.e iaythat.hihim which, 'under ' fiiich circumstanced, "v^ould mhdethe'! colbbyL reaU*y//pm^ of «i*^s.*o^tive , Minister : but we, are satisfied that the manhe^'ih wiaW 'hia^h'ow 1 acquits ; him6elf of his public functions'is not calculated to bring a^oiit that result.-r TWWH &fffl¥> i