STUDIES IN REAL LIFE.

Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 192, 15 February 1907, Page 3

STUDIES IN REAL LIFE.

PRESENTING PROMINENT POLITICIANS. IX— MR W. F. MASBEY. There are leaders of forlorn hopes in politics as well as in warfare. — Axiom from Political Tactics. To those persons who are in anyway interested in the political life of the colony the Leader of the Op- 1 position (Mr Massey) is just as well known as any member of the Cabinet, in fact, better known than some members of the Ward Cabinet, and certainly as well known as the present Premier. This, despite the fact that Mr Massey has not had the facilities for passing to and fro over the land which are enjoyed by Cabinet Ministers. . Whilst this thought is still in mind, one might drop in the suggestion that there is something of an unfairness in the treatment of the Leader of the Opposition by the unwritten law of politics. Owing to his position as leader of the party out of power he has quite a responsible position to occupy, a position that is probably of more importance to the colony even than his own party. For it is his management of the Opposition Party that applies the brake to the State coach when it is being | driven rashly and furiously by the person who happens for the time to be in the box seat. It is no new suggestion that the leadership of the Opposition should be recognised by the State, and that an allowance at least equal to that of a Cabinet Minister should be made to the holder of the position, who should also be provided with a parliamentary private secretary, and have facilities equal to those enjoyed by Cabinet Ministers in getting up and down the country. This line of thought is by no means out of the picture when Mr Massey is under consideration. For it is impossible to consider Mr Massey apart from the leadership of the Opposition Party. For years he acted as first lieutenant under Captain (now Sir William Russell), and has had quite as hard a row to hoe as the latter veteran, who led the forlorn hope from 1891 until he surrendered the reins to Mr Massey. The latter has been a much more aggressive leader of his forces than was the member for Hawke's Bay. Mr Massey is chock-full of fight and ready, even without provocation, to trail a coat-tail on the floor of the House and to throw down the gauntlet before the Ministerial benches. He is a most faithful representative, as well as leader,for it is very rarely that he is out of his seat in the House during session. Indeed, there have been times without number when he has deemed it his duty to sit tight and watch the other side with fully opened eyes : faithful action which, in itself, kept the late Premier in the straight and narrow path from which he might have been tempted to stray had it not been for the vigilance of the Leader of the Opposition. It is a frequent charge made againßt Mr Massey that he is not a constructive politician, that he does not show the work of a statesman, that he does not present schemes for the betterment of the Colony. His obvious retort is that he is not a n ember of the Cabinet, he is not leader of the Opposition for the purpose of acting as incubator for the party in power, and it is no part of his duty to make proposals which might help to keep the "ins" still longer in. The Leader of the Opposition is essentially an iconoclast — he is there to pull down the idols of the people for the purpose of showing that they have feet of clay ! When there is no idol-breaking to be done, then the Leader of the Opposition is the watchdog of Parliament, and Mr Massey is of the most tenacious and persistent breed. He is an opponent of bulldog pertinacity, familiar with the forms of the House, keen after the other fellow, and armed, with a whole arsenal of weapons for Che political fifht. The disheartening thing that has begn his experience all his term of leadership lias been the small fighting force behind him. But hope tells as flattering a tale to Mr Massey as it doec even to Premier Ward, and so he goes forward ever believing that as sure as "every dog has his day," so sure will there be promotion for him and his followers in the future.