The Press Saturday, December 5, 1931. Political Origins.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20412, 5 December 1931, Page 14

The Press Saturday, December 5, 1931. Political Origins.

Though New Zealanders do not continually remind the world that their country is a democracy, and that the meanest citizen carries within himself the potentiality of becoming the elected leader of his people—there is no tradition of a progress "from back- " blocks shanty to Tinakori road it is nevertheless true that, given the inclination, and the good fortune to gain the support of the electors, any man may find a place in Parliament, and may even, should he prove capable of leadership, become a successor to Massey and Seddon. The Dominion has no caste of hereditary legislators, election as the people's representative is not a privilege confined to, or even predominantly in, the hands of any one class, and the diverse nature of the occupations of the people themselves, in a country where every man has to work, is reflected by just as great diversity among those selected as the country's legislators. A glance at the biographies of the members of the new Parliament, published in The Press yesterday, shows how diverse these occupations are. Besides farmers, who &ro expected to be amply represented in a country so dependent on its primary producers, there are land agents, an auctioneer and a signwriter, merchants and lawyers, journalists, printers, and a teacher, miners and railwaymen, a motor proprietor, a coach-painter, a baker, one who was cnce a grocer's assistant, a restaurateur, a dentist, a stock agent and a veterinary surgeon, a clerk and a secretary, and three who were trained as ministers of religion. The list is not complete, but it is wide enough in its reference to show that the representation is not limited, and that, should the members by some chance be transported to a desert island, they could readily set up a complete society for themselves. Though people overseas are sometimes inclined to speak of New Zealanders as " a nation " of farmers," and discussion of politics sometimes brings out an allegation that it is ruled by farmers, the surprising thing is that in a House of eighty only twenty should be active farmers—a number that roughly agrees with the proportion of the people whose interests are closely concerned with the land. Merchants and directors of freezing and woolleh companies number eight, and ten of the members have been trained for the law. While it cannot be claimed that anything like an eighth of the people are lawyers, law seems to incline men to politics, and the practice of eloquence in the courts is a frequent point of departure for eloquence on the hustings. In England the law has long been a recognised j training ground for legislators, and the ' present House has a hundred and thirty-six lawyers, thirty-two of whom are K.C.'s* Doctors in England also seem to be more inclined to political life, for there are eighteen of them, while the Army and the Navy provide seven generals, twenty colonels, and three admirals. Of other occupations miners provide the most members in the New Zealand Parliament, while .the position of trades union secretary 13 a normal step in a Labour member's path to the House. New Zealanders themselves have a majority in Parliament, for of the eighty only twenty-five are not native-bom (seven are Scotsmen), but none are new arrivals in the country, and only one was born outside the Empire. One striking fact arises from this review—that fifty-four of the members had to start work on leaving the primary schools, and that of the remaining twenty-six fourteen went on from the secondary schools to the University, all but four of these being lawyers. In a country in which there is practically no leisured class, and in which every man is taken on his merits, it is natural that the majority of the people's representatives should have graduated from the school of experience rather than from any academic institution. At the same time, considering the Dominion's claim to eminence because of its educational facilities, and the large numbers that have been passing through its secondary schools and colleges in the last forty years, it is surprising that this tendency of the Dominion's life should not he reflected in its Parliament. Taken in, sum, the democratic variety of training" and experience of the members should prove encouraging to any who hope to rise to political honours, for it seems that no New Zealander, whether he be tinker, tailor, or anything else, need give up hope that his later growth may prove'him to be "the tadpole of an " archangek"