Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1908. AN ANOMALOUS POSITION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 48, 26 February 1908, Page 6

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1908. AN ANOMALOUS POSITION.

Seeing that tho Harbour Board will be shortly having a new secretary, and by the chances of election has been given an exceptionally large proportion of new members for the current term, it is to be regretted that at its special meeting yesterday it was also compelled to look out for a new chairman. But . by an unwritten law to which reference [ was made at the meeting, no man holds the chairmanship for two years in succession, and though this rule has not been rigidly observed, the Hon. T. K. Macdonald was firm in his determination not to seek to add to the exceptions. Had he seen his way to do so, the board would have been relieved from a position of considerable embarrassment, and he might even have secured reelection without a contest. As a general rule, it is not difficult to find on any public body a good second to the man who, if available, would have proved the best candidate, but the special circumstances of tho gresent caso created quite exceptional ditlculties. Partly through resignations, and partly through mischances at the polls, tho board has lost the services of a number of its most ex- i perienced and trusted members, and, as ; the Chamber^ of Commerce was lamenting at its annual meeting, the mercantile element, which ought to be, and commonly is, predominant on such a body, has almost entirely disappeared. The Cham- ' ber of Commerce,, which still has tho privilege of direct representation on tho board, but will havo to bestir itself and secure the acfivo co-operation of similar bodies and of the business world if the privilege is to be retained, is represented on the board by its chairman, Mr. J. G. Harkness, who is by general admission well qualified for the position. In the absence from the board of any commercial representative of equal standing, Mr. Harkness naturally seemed to possess a strong claim to the chairmanship, but against his general business capacity and experience was to bo sot the very grave objection that ho had seen no previous service on the board. In these circumstances it is not to bo wondered at that Mr. Harkness was not elected, and he may bo congratu- ] latcd on having only lost by a single , vote. The choice has fallen upon Mr. i , Wilford, who, though a young man, is i j now the senior member of tho board, and wo trust that he may rise to tho great responsibility which devolves upon | him at on exceptionally critical period I in the board's affairs. Mr. Wilford com- ! plained quite unnecessarily yesterday nf the "attacks" which had been made upon him by the Wellington press. It is absurd to speak in this way of perfectly temperate criticism, which argues fairly from plain facts without malice or innuendo. The objections which wo have taken to Mr. Wilford's candidature are two, and though we believe them to bo still valid, we are glad to think that it is in his power to remove them . both. In tho first place, his profesj sional and " political engagements, combined with other interests of a less onorous character, havo hitherto provented his giving that .amount of attention to tho affairs of the board which , their complexity arid importance do- , mand. It is .for him to make up- to; 1 lost time now. and attend more regularly in the future. The . second objection is that as solicitor to the Union Steamship Company, whose interests will clash with those of tho board in the i matter of the Patent Slip purchase, and other important transactions, Mr. Wil- I ford should not have the charge of tho board's affairs also. This is no personal objection, and implies no uncom1 plimentary insinuation beyond what would apply to any other human being in the s:ime position. No man can serve two masters; no, advocate can do jusi tic© at tho same time to two clients > who are at loggerheads. The dual position is one which no man should occupy, for, even though he may do the right thing, and tho ideally right thing, it is likely co appear the wrong thing to the disappointed narty. The case -is thus one where the appearance of evil is in itselft an evil, and public men should set their i'nees as firmly against it as the judges themselves. It is for i Mr. Wilford to do this by severing I his professional connection with the Union Company until the period of his trusteeship for the Harbour Board is at an end.