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Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5577, 7 January 1879, Page 4

The speech of Mr Sheehan to the Workjpg Man’s Club at Auckland, is credit" able to himself, and was probably quite satisfactory to his hearers, Mr Sheehan knows the Colony too well to adopt a patronising tone to the class of men he addressed on Friday last Nobody, except here and there an ignorant snob who happens to find himself unexpectedly astray on a country addresses a Colonist as “ my man,” and the experiment generally gives him some valuable matter for reflection. On the other hand, there are many people who patronise the working man, for whom they have a kind of lukewarm, sentimental, and bewilderingly unpractical kind of friendship, in a manner only a degree less objectionable. “My man” is not in their mouths, but it may be seen between the lines a dozen times in the published reports of their speeches, and my man” is made to feel that being totally unable to take care of himself, he must have his whole plan of life cut out for him. In short, “my man ” is a creature, half Caliban, half over-grown infant, wholly incapable, who can only be regenerated by joining a club where he must eschew beer altogether, and tobacco partly, where he must live by rule of thumb, where his mind must absorb a certain amount of goody literature, and where he must feel thankful in his heart for the successful attempt to mould him into the uninteresting, because unoriginal and dependent, mass of clay, which is the pattern set up by wellmeaning sentimentalists for the whole of work-a-day mankind. Mr Sheehan’s speech is not of this class. He spoke as an independent man ought to speak to other independent men. He might have left out that stupid story about the man who,. because he knew his father and mother, made him a series of begging requests, from a Government billet to the loan of sixpence “ for a drink.” The story is a used-up extravagance, and its employment as a means to interest his audience was therefore a very poor compliment to their intelligence. With this single exception there was a manly ling about Mr Sheehan’s speech; he did not polish his language entirely out of the comprehension of Ms hearers, who will never say that he “ talked like a book,” and he dealt with a wide range of subjects plainly, sensibly, and to the purpose.

The speech was, of course, much devoted to advice on various matters. Mr Sheehan is entitled, like everybody else, to his own opinions, and when he speaks of politics what he has to say ought to carry the weight which always belongs to the utterances of a man whom experience has made familiar with the subject of which he treats. At the same time it is not easy to see why Mr Sheehan should recommend any working man’s club to refrain from political controversy. Most people will agree with his objection to religious controversy, which, notwithstanding the vast importance of the subjects which it embraces, has been proved by the experience of mankind in all ages to be unprofitable. But public political discussion is advantageous for many reasons. It keeps alive on interest in politics, the lack of which is fatal to the welfare of a country; it increases the general stock of information, and opens the ideas by interchange of thought, two most important advantages to those who exercise the high privilege of the franchise; and it should, if properly conducted, lead to habits of fair judgment, respect for the well grounded opinions of others, and to that spirit of enquiry which is the beginning of knowledge. It is not easy to see why politics, with their unmixed human elements, should be struck out of the deliberations of those who have so large a share of political power as the members of a Working Man's Olub. It is different with Mr Sheehan’s advice in the matter of the Chinese question, which is specially opportune just now. Like ©very fair man in the country, Mr Sheehan is disgusted with the Wellington outrage, and like all sensible men he sees in the continuation of such conduct tho ultimate advantage and even triumph of the Chinese element, which ho dislikes ns nmch as anybody. We will not say that it was courageous of Mr Sheehan to take such a lino with such an audience, for wo think working men are sufficiently capable of just reflection to face any subject in which they are interested. At the samo time we hope Mr Sheehan’s words will bo remembered throughout tho country. But the best advice which Mr Sheehan gave to the Auckland working men was with reference to their children. “ Teach them,” he said, “ first the lesson of independence and give them a trade.” These words should have a wider application than they wore at tho moment intended to boar. There are many people not members of working men’s dubs, or over likely to bo so, who dream for theij: sons of Government appointments, mercantile clerkships, and a thousand forms of poorly'paid gentility, that not working—in the real sense of the word—with either brain or band can never ihope to rise in the world; and these are the men who once themselves under-

toot, and gloried in, the heroic wort of colonisation. . J The wholesome truth which Sheehan spoke to the Aucklanders generally will perhaps have surprised them. Ho told them that the North country is just as rich as the South, but that the superior enterprise and energy of the South have given it a leading position. This the North will find unpalatable but true. At the same time it must be borne in mind that the North was demoralised at one time by Government expenditure. The presence Of a large army, in fact made Auckland some years ago the premier city of New Zealand. War, followed by the cessation of Government expenditure, weakened it, and the gold fever almost ruined what | resources were left. Since then Aucklanders have been rather bemoaning their fate than bestirring themselves to recover their lost ground. It is high time for a better spirit to be infused into them. Mr Sheehan’s remarks show them that they have never been engaged in the real work of colonisation at all. Government expenditure and mining speculations are , like the bladders which leave the swimmer in inid stream to depend on his own exertions. When these delusive makers of prosperity are gone, happy the country that has agricultural, mineral and timber resources to fall back upon. Happily for Auckland she has such resources. Mr Sheehan says they are as good as they are to be seen elsewhere, and calls upon the Aucklanders to set to work and develop them. Sir George Grey, seemed to prefer to; recommend the constituencies to depend on the gentlemen who represent them in. Parliament. Mr Sheehan tells them to depend on themselves. Of the two, independent colonists will prefer Mr Sheehan’s way of looking at the matter.