MR.L.M ISITT.

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 December 1911, Page 8

MR.L.M ISITT.

A CHARACTER SKETCH

WELLINGTON, December 4. To-night's Post has the following reference to Mr. Isitt:—"Mr. L. M. Isitt as a politician must have proved himself a sore disappointment, even to his friends. They had hoped that he might take Mi 1 . T. E. Taylor's place as a tribune to the people, but all such r6sy hopes have now to be put aside. Mr. Taylor was a keen critic who took the trouble to work up a case. "When he fired he used ball cartridge; Mr. Isitt has been a noisy superficial critic of the Opposition, and his ammuniI tion is the squib, the cracker made of [ cheap powder and red and yellow paper.. The Government has made much use of Mr. Isitt's diatribes ed in the Budget debate. We fiave him credit at that time for a ' picturesque vocabulary ' after .a run of 'dull utterance, colourless and listless,' Hit our main imprev/ion of the speech was this: 'Both sides of the House got some amusement from Mr. L. M. Isitt's contribution to the Budget dobate.' There was not much Budget in the speech, but for that omission Mr. Isitt had two good excuses. He had his lack of knowledge of general New Zealand politic;}, and he had the example of older politicians. However, Mr. Isitt has apparently allowed himself to be flattered into a belief that he did make a great speech, a speech great by its matter instead of one merely interesting by its manner. Hence he lias gone from bad to worse; In the sphere of empty rhetoric and lurid extravagance of diction he seeoi.s to be an ultra impressionist, keeoer to get off a phrase than to study a phase of politics. One of his. latest indiscretions is in dragging the late Mr. (T. E. Taylor into a hurly burly of party politics. Following Mr. C. H. Poole's deplorable example, Mr. fsivfc has insinuated that Mr. Massey cherished something which should nave been withdrawn. Thoso who saw Mr Massey's reference to Mr. Taylor or saw the report of his words must know that Mr. Isitt's insinuation is nonsense in the worst taste. The differences with Mr Taylor were settled in all decency long ago. Mr. Isitt las grievously blundered. Ho has jut himself in an unenviable position."