SIR FRANCIS BELL

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22231, 23 October 1937, Page 18

SIR FRANCIS BELL

Mr Downie Stewart's Biography Sir Francis Bell: His Life and Times. By William Downie Stewart. Butterworth and Co. 314 pp. [Reviewed by LEICESTER WEBB.]

Sir Francis Bell 1 did nothing to help , his prospective biographers. "My father," he said, "burned all his papers and I intend to do the same with mine," an intention he carried out in spite of the protests of his friends. Nor could he be persuaded to write his memoirs. "I am not able to write of my memories without offensive egotism," he told Mr D o w n i e Stewart. "The art of avoiding T in speech or letter has always been unattainable. I cannot write of others or of events without saying why I know unless I adopt a style of oracular authority which is detest- ! able." A documented biography of Bell must therefore be restricted to his public actions, which reveal little of his personality and are an inadequate indication of his importance. The memory of such a man can be preserved only by a judicious and intimate friend; and it is peculiarly fortunate that such a friend was available for the task. As a lawyer, Mr Downie Stewart is qualified to estimate Bell's services to the legal profession in New Zealand and to the various governments which regarded him as their legal adviser; as a Ministerial colleague over many years, Mr Downie Stewart knows better than anyone else Bell's qualities and achievements, as an administrator and a politician; as a friend Mr Downie Stewart had as much insight as anyone into a personality fa- more complex than it appeared to the casual acquaintance. But Mr Downie Stewart's greatest qualification for the task is the unfailing balance and moderation of his judgments —a far better guarantee of fairness and accuracy than the inost impressive array of footnotes. One puts down Mr Downie Stewart's book wanting to know more of the details of Bell's life and feeling certain that these details would make good reading. But one also feels that, if this curiosity were satisfied, Mr Downie Stewart's estimate of Bell would be unshaken on any essential point. Bell's Influence Let it be added that the task of estimating Bell's political influence is peculiarly difficult. A man who never seeks the limelight, who never speaks v/ithout occasion or at unnecessary length, who maintains an impregnable discretion, and who remains in' the forefront of public life for a quarter of a century without practising the arts of the politician inevitably becomes a legend. The Labour member of Parliament who called Bell "the uncrowned king of New Zealand" expressed an opinion general among those who did not know him intimately. Bell advised and was trusted; his influence was pervasive; but he did not dominate or seek to dominate. This wrong opinion of Bell's place in politics is most persistent where his relations with Massey are concerned. Because Massey was in his early years as Prime Minister an uncouth and awkward figure, because his political experience was limited, and because his intimacy with Bell was so close, it was a natural assumption that his leadership was nominal and that Bell was the real power. Massey's qualities have been consistently underrated both by the public and by the few historians who have dealt with this period, so that Mr Downie Stewart's estimate of the Bell-Massey relationship is worth quoting. Great as Bell's influence was [he writes], it was never the case that he dominated Massey. He recognised that on all questions of political strategy and tactics Massey had a flair tor knowing the trend of public opinion and what measures he could induce Parliament to adopt. The instinctive, practical, empirical knowledge of what the man in the street thought, Massey had gained by long years of arduous fighting and constant direct contact with all classes of electors, both in town and country. So also within the walls of the House Massey was a great Parliamentarian —perhaps the last we shall see. . . . When someone spoke slightingly of Massey in his absence, Bell said indignantly: He doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.

Range of Talents It is important not to misunderstand the nature of Bell's influence. He was useful to governments because of his knowledge and his skill over a wide but nevertheless clearly delimited field. His knowledge of constitutional law was unrivalled in New Zealand; he was a genius at drafting legislation; and he was a born administrator. "All government departments," Mr Downie Stewart writes, "were delighted when they found themselves with Bell as their Minister." Cabinet Ministers must serve, or attempt to serve, three masters: the electorate, the House, and the public service. Bell's distinctive usefulness lay in the Cabinet-public service relationship; he could talk to the professional administrators and experts in their own language. But in the game of party politics this mellow Coriolanus was a liability •as well as an asset. Politics were not his livelihood; his seat in the Legislative Council left him immune from the dust and dissimulation of election campaigns; and he had so little of vanity, so rich a mind, that sudden retirement from public life would not have ruffled his equanimity. The real responsibilities of government seldom fell on Bell';? shoulders. He could therefore speak his mind, refuse to suffer fools, and gratify a simple pleasure in flouting public opinion. To a reporter* asking him to comment on a leading article attacking .the Government's financial policy he said: "Does your editor think I am going to sit here all day to add up figures for him? Tell him to go to the devil." Such independence is a luxury which leaders of political parties must deny themselves. Bell's influence was commensurate with the extent of his knowledge and his responsibilities. In spite of his forthrightness and his cold blue eye, he did not dominate Cabinet meetings; on the contrary, those of his colleagues who came to know him well came also to know that his bark was worse than his bite. Threatening to resign was almost a habit with him. Bell's Period Bell's impressiveness as a political figure is heightened by the contrast with his environment. The externals of New Zealand political life in the period of the ascendancy of the small farmer—l9l2 to 1935—are not prepossessing. Nor does the period offer much to the historian who aspires to be read. The proceedings of Parliament take on the dusty practicality of a rural road board; in political speeches there is, as Mr Sidney Webb tactfully observed, "a certain want of elevation"; political controversies are too often ugly squabbles, unredeemed by wit or profundity. In such sur-' roundings, Bell, with his droll humour, his logical precise utterances, his occasional excursions into real eloquence, his learning that sat so lightly upon him, inevitably stood out in bold relief. Mr Downie Stewart's book shows, however, that the externals of the period are misleading, and that behind them there is a life richer in interests and friendships than has hitherto been suspected. New Zealanders, because they at I heart dislike party politics, too I often belittle their political leaders and regard political life as someI thing faintly disreputable. What 'Mr Downie Stewart has written is . valuable not only

as a memoir of a great personality and a distinguished servant of the State. It is valuable also because it invests a superficially dreary period in New Zealand politics with a new dignity and interest. Mr Downie Stewart could write much more about the period, both from his own experience and from the materials at his disposal; he would render a notable service by doi n g so. As a nation, New Zealanders have no worse fault than their disinclination for sustained and serious thought about the problems of politics; and for this fault the almost entire absence of a literature of politics is partly re- j sponsible.