The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1909. THE PUBLIC AND POLITICS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 415, 26 January 1909, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1909. THE PUBLIC AND POLITICS.

■The laudatpry Tmlutivnin wbi.cli the S.cjiopl - ppnipjittees' AB.sPciatioii Jias isn-> dered homage to the Hon. G. Potvlds affords a curious little illustration of the exjtent-to which "the political sense" of the, public has! 'deteriorated under the conditions that have obtained during the past dozen years-in this country. "The resolution congratulated Me. "on his re-election to Parliajnent and re'r appointment.qb Minuter for Education," and expressed appreciation' of his services in connection with the passing of the. Education- Act of last, year. TJie Association is a body appointed to forward : that policy and those ' interests - whiph . are Agreed upon 'by the School Cornmittees as the best-policy for local education authorities ;and the true interests of local government in education. Outside these' limits the Asspciar tion should have no ppinions, If the Education Act is, one which the. School Committees are glad to have—we believe that it is,—the Association is .quite right in applauding everybody who. assisted in getting tho Act passed. ' There is a world of difference, 'however, betwegn appjau'ding.the Minister for Education as having rendered good' service to the cause of the Association and congratulating Mr. Fpwws op having defeated Mr. Nicholson, in the party struggle at Grey Lynn," since that, is what congratulations upon Mr. Fowlds's re-election amount to. Of eourso the Association has a perfect right to congratulate: anybody it pleases. But it must bq prepared to submit to whatever implication arises out of its action in such a case. 1 The natural inference to be drawn -from the pleasure which tho Association has experienced at the election of the Government's candidate for Greyjjynn is that the School Committees' Association is on the Government's side in politics. Now, we have, little doubt that the Association will repudiate any Euch suggestion as that it in-a partisan bodyj it is a quito cprtain fact that the'

School Committees of the Dominion are composed of men of all shades of opinion. The Association was no doubt quite un? conscious of what it was doing when it included Mn. Fowlds's return for' Grey Lynn amongst the subjects of its felicitations.

_ It is this very fact which supplies the illustration of the political phenomenon we have referred to. In Great Britain, the Prime Minister has been formally applauded by Freetrade organisations for his services to the cause of Freetrade. No Freetrade Association of a general chaiv actor, however, would dream of passing a resolution of rejoicing at the return of Mr. Asqtjith to Parliament. Half the Freetraders—the Conservative and Unionist ' Freetraders—would be very glad to see the last of Mr. Asquith's Government. In short, the intelligent people of Great Britain have never* lost their sense of what is correct in political affairs. The reverse is, thocasq in New Zealand, Many intelligent people, and many in» telligent organisations, have lost their grip of things where politics are : concerned quite as unmistakably as' tho School Committees' Association. Everybody who has a clear idea of the distinction between the. Government and. the State must have often been struck by cvi? dences of a confusion of the two in tho minds of a great many people. Tho reason for this curious phenomenon is' not at all mysterious. Clear ideas upon.political parties and political issues tond to become the possession of the few when one political party retains office for very long. The many, who, in tho normal ditions of political change, would be ablo to keep their minds clear, drift intq apathy, fol'getfulness and error whon a party, firmly enthroned oh popular igT norance and the popular readiness to be taken in by the plausible, remains for long ■in charge of tho' country's affairs. Such a state of things is obviously bad,' whatever party it may. ho wJi,ose .long lease of. power has: made' the public forget the facts of politics and. of. mont. It is accordingly a good thing for the .country that.the end of the. long ."Liberal" regime is coming into sight.