WHY MR LEWIS RESIGNED.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12911, 3 September 1902, Page 8

WHY MR LEWIS RESIGNED.

HIS REASONS FOR HIS ACTION. Air C. Lewis, in his address to tie electors'at Prebbleton last evening, explained why be resigned his position as one of the members for Christchurch in the House of Representatives. The explanation was given in reply to a question by an elector, and Mr Lewis asked those present, most of whom were farmers, to put themselves in his place. He was a farmer by profession, occupation and instinct, he said. He lived in the country, away from city pursuits, avocations, and anything of that kind. Suddenly, through no fault of bis own, he found himself landed as a representative of Christchurch in Parliament. In his work in that position he did not take the slightest interest. It was connected with factories, warehouses, half-holidays, employers and employees, commission agents, and everything he had kept away- from all his life. ' It was all new and distasteful. The work was also uphill. Yet. he did it. Public men were subjected to a good deal of hostile criticism, much of it being unfair and exaggerated, but be challenged nuvbodv to find any statement, in the House 'or out of it, or in any leading article, or even in an anonymous letter, that he. did not do his work, distasteful though it was. In the last session he attended. his party numbered twenty, and there were about fifty against it. ' e work was very hard. Yet he stuck to it until he could go on no longer, spending the last week in bed. Farmers knew what it was to be tired through attendin'’' to their farms, digging potatoes ana so'on, bub they did not know what it was to feel tired through living in the hothouse in Wellington, When the session was over he came back to Christchurch. He inserted an advertisement calling a meeting, saying, practically, “Well, boys, having stood between yon and your opponents for the past four months, and having knocked myself up, I ask you to come for two hours and stand between, me and my opponents.” His constituents laughed, and said that that would be ridiculous. Perhaps he had no right to expect courtesy, so he practically asked them to do as he requested, on the grounds that they would be attending to their own business. They- said in effect that they did not care twopence about their own business. Then He thought that he need not care about their business-either. To show what an absorbing interest the people of Christchurch took in their own public affairs, be would mention that though there were 21,000 electors on the roll there were not 10,000 who voted at the by-election j last year. In spite of the howl from St Albans in regard to the rating on unimproved values, not a third of the people voted when the matter was before them. Not half the people of Christchurch recorded their votes on the same question, although they- saw what was happening in St Albans. People wbo did not take an interest in their own business had uo right to expect other people to do so. He had an attendance of sixty at his last meeting in Christchurch, and there were 21.000 electors in the constituency. In the Courtenay electorate there were about 5000 voters, or say, a quarter of the number in Christchurch. By dividing 60 by 4, he ascertained the attendance, he ought to expect in the whole of Courtenay, if it was in proportion to that at his last meeting in Christchurch. The quotient was 15. But he had to speak in Courtenay in at least a dozen different places. Therefore, if be received no better support than in Clmstcburcli, be would have to address in each hall, on an average, one elector and a quarter. (Laughter.) It was true that there were eighty-six persons present at his meeting that evening, but eighty-six at Prebbletou were equivalent to 4128 at Christchurch, and there were only sixty at his last meeting. The only recompense lie ever got out of politics was the knowledge that he was representing a number of earnest, zealous people, who had opinions, which they wished to see expressed, and which they were prepared to support. When, however, he realised that the people of Christchurch did not care twopence about, their own affairs, he lost no time in getting out of the position. He had heard that it was stated that his action was unmanly and cowardly.’ But he asked them if it would be any more unmanly and cowardly to hold such a seat as Courtenay when only fifteen persons attended his meetings? That was the view he took, and that was why he had acted.