The Press. TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1893. THE REIGN OF THE DEMAGOGUE.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8478, 9 May 1893, Page 4

The Press. TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1893. THE REIGN OF THE DEMAGOGUE.

A writer in The Times discusses with great vigour and force an aspect of colonial affairs which is too frequently lost sight of in the midst of our party conflicts. It is pointed out that an Australian colony is not so much a State "charged with serious political functions ; it is rather a huge imperfectly developed estate with the evolution of its own resources as its single business." This is perhaps a somewhat restricted view of our functions as a community, and is not likely to be generally accepted as expressing all that should be aimed at by a young nation straggling into political existence. At the same time the spectacle of a mere handful of people playing at politics, and busying themselves with schemes of the most ambitious character when the material interests of the people are either largely neglected or actually injured, must be not a little ridiculous when viewed from an outside and independent standpoint. We have from time to time endeavoured to show that party Government in these colonies is little more than a farce, that it entirely fails to secure to the inhabitants of the colony the blessings and advantages of good and a rational and stable administration of public affairs. The population of Australasia amounts to only* 4,000,000; yet out of these have to be found some 900 legislators, seven adminis-

(rations and seven other Governments readj to take their place. Is it possible, the writer iv The Times asks that in a population so small " there can be fourteen decent Cabinets, actual or potential, at the same moment of time"? Kecent experience undoubtedly leads to the conclusion that taking Australasia as a whole the Governments which come into existence are not of a very high quality. Yet out of the 900 legislators who compose the Colonial Parliaments there are probably about 900 i men who consider themselves perfectly 'qualified to undertake the task of Government, aud v would do bo to-morrow with a light heart if they got the opportunity. But the root of the evil is to be found not entirely in the character of our public [ men, but in the system of Government which has been generally followed. Party Government has been adopted, with all its atteudant evils, in these colonies as a matter of course, although the slightest consideration must convince any thinking , man that it is quite unauited to our circumstances and requirements. The result has 1 been that our public men have had to det about the task of framing policies and raising party cries as the only means of securing the control of affairs. When a candidate presents himself to a constituency, he is at ouce -expected to declare himself for or against a particular class of proposals. If he has the courage to say that he has no special nostrums to cure the supposed evils of the body politic, the chances are that he will scarcely obtain a hearing and will most likely be rejected at the polls. Iα times of difficulty and danger, it is true, in 18S7, the electors will take a practical view of the position. Feeling the pinch of bad times and being themselves compelled to deal with their private affairs on business principles, they will insist on business principles being applied to public affairs also. But it takes an effort on the part of the electors apparently to realise that in the case of the colony's business, it is the constant duty of our representatives to give their chief attention to matters which would occupy their minds were they elected to serve on the Board of Directors of an important commercial concern. At the annual meeting of a large manufacturing or trading company the can* didates for seats on the Board do not attempt to prove their qualifications for office by propounding all sorts of reckless and extravagant schemes of management which in their heart of hearts they know to be dangerous and revolutionary. On the contrary, they rely upon their reputation for business capacity and administrative ability to win the election. Why then should it be different when the time arrives to select those who shall manage the affairs of a colony? Why is it that in a considerable number of cases the candidates who present themselves, and who frequently find a considerable amount of support, are persons who have conspicuously failed in every walk of life, and who would not be trusted to administer the affairs, not merely of a joint stock concern, but even of a modest private business of any kind ? The qualities which are needed to ran successfully a farm or a manufactory, or a business of any sort, are surely still more requisite in the case of a mamber of Parliament who with his colleagues is entrusted with the control of the affairs of a young nation. Yet in some cases such qualifications are entirely ignored by the electors, who apparently see no impropriety in electing as a representative a man whom they individually would not trust with a five pound" note at any time, and whose past career would not bear the most lenient scrutiny* In most of the Australasian Colonies each members are to be found who succeed in winning seats in Parliament simply by their ability to

talk. They promise anything, and pledge themselves to the raoßt absurd ; proposals simply to win seats, and strange to relate they are believed. If the electors could only be roused to a sense of the absurdity-— not to use a stronger term —of the situation they would rise in their might and demand a reform of the system which produces suoh lamentable results. If oar method of Government could only be bo altered as to give to the talkers no advantage to themselves by so doing, the colonies would be on the way to a better state of things. If party Government, as practised in these new communities, could only be let a*ide for a more rational system, many of the evils we complain of would disappear, and the i occupation of the leather - lunged demagogue would be at an end.