The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1908. MORALITY IN POLITICS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 216, 5 June 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1908. MORALITY IN POLITICS.

.. Conceenihg tho class ■ of literature favoured by the members of the Ward Government, we confess to the possession of very little information. But the Minister l'or-Lands should perhaps be excepted, sincc we arc aware that he has tastes that lie in the direction of matters antiquarian and historical. There is a general impression abroad, however, that, considered as a whole, ours is, not a studious or a rellcctivc Cabinet. The plain and the practical—often the impracticable—are dominant. At tho conclusion of tho last general elections in Great Britain the editor of a London magazine obtained from the majority of the Labour members who had been returned letters naming the books they had found helpful in fitting, them to occupy seats in the House of Commons. And surprising, selfrevealing, and illuminating documents nearly the whole of. those letters'proved to be. Vfcre each member' of the New Zealand Government called upon to teil the authors who had assisted him to attain the position ho occupies, the result, we are afraid, would in some cases be rather startling. Considerations such as these obtrude themselves in perusing the addresses and public speeches of some of our voluble and amazingly versatile Ministers. In this connection it would be worth while learning whether any members of the Government have troubled to read the Letters of Lord Acton to Mary Gladstone. The book was published about four years ago, but there is much in it that seems not iriapplicablo to.tho political situation as presented in the Dominion to-day. We could desire that the Prime Minister and his colleagues would be induced to study the book and discover its invaluable character for themselves. Nor would they be any the worse were they to adopt a course so novel to them as that of spending a week at home and devoting a fair proportion of each day to reflection upon what a great man has to say, for example, upon morality in politics. Lord Acton, it should be premised, had a reputation for infinite learning. An acutc biographer savs of him that though his mind was a veritable storehouse of historic knowledge, he revealed himself as a shrewd man of the world and a keen observer of current affairs. , The opinions of an authority such as this cannot but command a large measuro of attention and of respect. Wftat has ho to say that we esteem as pre-eminently

worthy of consideration by the members of the Ward Ministry? First, Lord Acton wrote that "politics arc not made up of artifices only, but of truths and truths that have to be told." To many people, ho complained, the belief that there is a moral question at the bottom of politics is repugnant. Again,' he described politics as " the art of doing, on the largest scale, what is right." Touching on thp proper treatment of the " outs " by the " ins," he says that whereto wo would particularly direct the attention of Sir Joseph Ward. liis words have to do with party government, and are as follow:—"It is the law of party government that we contend on equal terms and claim no privileges." Wo should really like to ascertain if such an idea as this has ever occurred to the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Is it his belief that ho is contending with the Opposition on equal terms, and can lie say that he and his colleagues claim no privileges? Wo are- afraid that many people within the Dominion have been inculcated with, or have become indifferent to, the degrading doctrine of " the spoils to the victors." Everybody knows where that doctrine terminates when carricd to extreme lengths. Without now going too deeply into the subject, it is quite plain that the Government would have difficulty in demonstrating its absolute disinterestedness were Lord Acton's standard applied to many of their recent political and electioneering performances.

'There is the question of artifice, • for example. Surely the Prime Minister dons not expect the Dominion to accept his past, present, and future motorings throughout the country as but due to an inordinate desire on his part to display himself to the electors and to learn all about their wishes and their wants at first hand. We, should imagine that by this time Sir Joseph Ward has made the acquaintance ofj almost every other man, woman, and child within the confines of New Zealand. If not, he has not been to blame. And all in his official capacity as Prime Minister. No Opposition leader could possibly, compete with Sir J osepii Ward when, as now;' on 1 the eve of a general election, he is officially touring everywhere from the North Gape to the Bluff. And'the other members of our peripatetic Cabinet are industriously following the example of their chief, livery constituency that happens to be represented by an influential member of the Opposition, during rcccnfc months, has been invaded by Minister after Minister—all on Government business. Take, by way of illustration, the Lay of Plenty, whose representative is Mr. W. ■ 11. Herries, a conspicuously- able and popu-, lar' member of the Opposition. There is a proposal that a railway should pass through the district, and upon this slender basis Mr. Heeries's electorate has' of late been officially visited by every member of the Cabinet, with the exception- of the Native Minister and the AttornftyGeneral. Their turn has yet to come. Unless there is a change, Ministers are in. danger of parting altogether with, the dignity which, naturally, belongs to office and''to Cabinet rank, and "of becoming mere glorified agents for the Public Works Department. Sir Joseph Ward seoms much more, exorcised on how to win the Coming elections than in dealing effectively with the many important questions now before .the country. Ho- .should, therefore,' not: forget the aphorisms' of Lord Acton.