Evening Post. MONDAY, JULY 1, 1912. "OUR COMMON ASPIRATIONS "

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 1, 1 July 1912, Page 6

Evening Post. MONDAY, JULY 1, 1912. " OUR COMMON ASPIRATIONS "

By the obligations of his high, office Mr. James Bryce has, of course, been debarred, during his tour of the Empire, from any political, question of general or local controversy except in the broadest fashion, and it is quite unnecessary to say that Mr. Bryce's instinct* as a gentleman and training as a' diplomat have combined to restrain him from any temptation to transgress the rule. But a man who, before he had passed the middle of the twenties, had composed one of the most brilliant philosophical studies of history ever written, and who for nearly half a century has been almost continuously engaged as university professor or statesman in so assiduous a study or practice of the art of government as to have acquired such a knowledge of the ways of men and cities and empires as is hardly equalled by any living man, could not possibly touch any of the subjects within the prescribed limits without at once adorning them and shedding some useful light upon the regions beyond. Anyone who previously entertained any doubts upon the subject must surely have had them shaken bj the hearing or perusal of a single one of the many addresses delivered by Mr. Bryce in New Zealand. A faithful study of the whole series could not fail to carry conviction. On Saturday we discussed the Ambassador's earnest plea for a closer relation between the universities and political life. We propose in the present article to touch shortly upon hia brief but moving reference to the future of this country and of its relations to the- Empire. In each case the weight of the argument was derived not from any novelty in the subject-matter, but from the personality c* the speaker, his ail* of unobtrusive but unmistakable authority, and the light of a wide-eyed and mellow wisdom and, the strenuous but patient faith that shone through all he said. The rapt attention to Mr. Bryce by what is usually one of the noisiest audiences in the world is an unimpeachable testimony to the personality of a man who from an elocutionary standpoint would not be classed high as a speaker. We cannot recall tho making of so profound an impression by similar means upon a Wellington audience sinoe the visit of Sir Charles Lucas to New Zealand upon his mission on behalf of the Colonial Office. Like Mr. Bryce, Lord Lucas, as he now is, represents the culture, the refinement, the balance, the knowledge of affairs, and the quiet dignity of the English public servant of the very best type.> The type is unapproached in any other part of the world, and it is 'no discredit to' New Zealand to say that though she stai*ted on her career, as Mr. Bryce implied, with a valuable seasoning of men of this calibare, the rough pushing ways of her democracy have long, sinoe elbowed such qualities out of public life. Most of Sir Charles Lucas's hearers would find it difficult to explain exactly why they were so thrilled by his simple, and even halting, eloquence: The answer is that even in oratory the essence of the man counts far more than any mere outward accomplishments, and that all the great qualities to which we have referred and some of the noblest traditions of a great Imperial service were at the back of Lord Lucas's words. A much more practised, fluent, and literary speaker than Lord Lucas, the distinguished visitor who has just left us certainly produced a greater part of his impression upon colonial audiences by the same rare combination of great qualities. When Mr. Bryce- prophesied a marvellous future for New Zealand, everybody knew that it was not the language of cheap and hollow flattery. When he referred to the predominance of British 6tock in these islands to a degree unknown in any country outside- his native land, lie stated what is to all New Zealand«rs a very famfiiar fact. The thrill came in when he went on to express his deep pride in tho community of blood and of interest which ties the New Land and tlw Okl Land together, and his determination to do what lies in liis power to strengthen the bond. It was not safe for him to pursue the subject further into ways and methods, but his ideal was expressed with touching simplicity in his faawvdl to the New 2&M fiL&l "tafefifeJUK-'ta-tittfifr

sion to the yotmg men I see before me, that what is oars s» youre and what is yours is ours." Coald tlie most fullblooded Imperialist state the Imperial ideal in a more thorough-going and convincing fashion? We believe thai his natural and tmbomba&tic expression of our common aspirations has sunk deep into many hearts in this country. Many a young New Zealander will surely be fired by the Ambassador's words with a deeper sense of his obligations to the Old Land and a stronger determination. to seoure for this beautiful country a permanent home for men of British stock than the present generation, with all its wordy patriotism, has been ablo to accomplish in any effective fashion.