PERSONAL NOTE BY PREMIER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1039, 31 January 1911, Page 5

PERSONAL NOTE BY PREMIER.

CRITICISM INEVITABLE. !By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Auckland, January 30. , A personal noto was struck onco /or twice by Sir Joseph Ward during his speech at Devonport on Saturday evening. Hq confessed that he had been drawn into public life against his will, and, in privata life, he would havo been just as contented, happy, and, very probably, ho would not have had so much work to do. Some people believed that men were in public life to promote their own selfish ends, but that was not his experience. One of tho inevitable circumstances of public life was,criticism. He had known men who were striving to do the greatest good to the greatest number, but they conld not escape strong and forcible criticism. 1 At another portion, of his speech, Sir Joseph Ward stated ' that he made no apology for putting his views before the public, but he had never done anything to :wound the personal susceptibilities of any person, no matter wliat< his politics might be.' . ... At another stage of his speech the Prime Minister indicated ' that anyone who aspired to be a public speaker in New Zealand would do well to make himself fully acquainted with his subject, or he might perchance find himself made foolish by one of the audience. He went on to say that New Zealand audiences had a better idea of the general affairs of. the country than tho people of any other State which ho. had yisifed. Also, there wero always people in the audience who knew as much on individual subjects as the speaker himself, whoever he might be. For knowledge of what was going on, our'people ranked higher than the people or the Old Land, or . any other country he had visited. (Applause.)