WHO'S WHO?

Lyttelton Times, Volume CX, Issue 13194, 1 August 1903, Page 9

WHO'S WHO?

THE FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENT. Soma men were born for great things, Some men were born for Email; Some—it is not recorded : ■ ■ Why they were bom at all'. ' ■ V‘ ' , THE HON JAMES- CARROLL. (Waiixpu.) The Native Minister looks aa if ho had ■lost about twenty pounds during the past . few -months—in weight, of course, not on the (racecourse. He has not been very regular ' in attendance in the House this session, and ’ when he has appeared he has been rather ■unwell; Indeed, he practically got up from a sick-bed during the big debate, in order to reply to the criticisms of Mr A. L. D. Fraser and others, and in spite of his sore throat he made one of the best speeches of the three weeks. Fit and well, Mr Carroll has ho equal in Parliament as a. graceful, fluent and polished speaker. He has not Mr Fishers vigour, Mr Taylor’s power of scathing criticism, Sir Joseph Ward’s pace or Mr Seddon’s thunder; but he has forcefulness and clarity, his English .is perfect, his accent beyond reproach, and his speeches are full of colour. At times, too, ho speaks with fine feeling, and strikes one as being cultured -without being scholarly. His chief weakness of indolence' is noticeable sometimes in his use of the ellipsis, -which however pardonable in speech, is Wgly ih print. It is indolence, almost certainly, that hasLept him from taking rank in the Ministry with Mr Seddora and Sir Joseph Ward, for no one doubts his ability. ' Helis a big man, and a session or two ago lie'threatened to. become what the babycalls “.ugly fat,’’ and even now, when illness has pulled him down, he looks as if a judicious. course of Sandqw would do him good. Biographically, he is one of the most interesting men in the House. He •was born at Wairos, in Hawke’s Bay, in. 1857, his'lather, an old settler, having mar- • ried a Maori lady of influence and beauty. The youngster, for he must have been that, seems to have inherited excellent qualities* front both sides. His great, broad head is full of intellectuality; his face beams with good nature; his mouth, even closed, speaks courage; his broad nostrils indicate feeling and quick appreciation; his eyes sparkle with humour; hia high, broad forehead is backed by mental power. Only Sn his face there is a love of ease and comfort, with, perhaps, a trace of indifference. He must have been “ a broth of a boy.” He had no special advantages in the way of education,. some training in a Native : school and subsequently, at Napier, being nil. But at twelve or thirteen he was "basing To Kooti, figuring in the lists as •‘Trooper James Carroll,” and winning a war medal. After the war he came under the notice of Sir Donald M’Lean, and made such good progress that after a term of service as a Native Land Court interpreter, he j was prepared to enter Parliament. He was beaten by Wi Pcre by a few votes in his firot hasty attack upon the Eastern Maori seat. Three years later ho was more successful, and he is thus an “old hand” in , politics. In 1892 he went oven to the European electorate of Waiapu, and in the sains year was appointed to the Ministry to represent the Native race, without portfolio. , Friends and; opponents .alike talk of him sis’ “Jimmy” Carroll, with a familiarity that indicates his popularity, and-, indeed, • no man. with so beaming a smile could possibly make enemies. J. COLVIN.. (Bullet.) The member for .Bullet is a little difficult to place. By all the rules of all the ologies he ought to be a butcher, but he talks sheepfarming and mining like an expert. Not that it matters a great deal what he is, for Mr Colvin makes no great stir in the House. He defeated Mr P. J. O'Regan for the constituency in 1899, and his “ Hansard ” record for the last three years includes about half a dozen brief speeches, say, five on behalf of the miners and the Westport Harbour, and one in defence of his friend, Mr R. M'Kcnzie, and some twenty or thirty ...local .questions. , So'.far he has figured in the House only as a parochialist, but he has * wcll-rcuuded head, with a polished dome, and ho one could write him down as either • mean or ignorant. Nothing can be deduced from the lower part of the face, unless it be a little harmless vanity, for Mr Colvin wears a long ,beard, the best in the House. He is heavily built, and .will ■ be heavier. Out of Parliament Mr Colvin is known as ■ « good sport, an excellent companion, and a local politician of some standing. Ho has been chairman of the Westport Harbour Board, for instance. Like' ; nll West Coasters, he regards the West Coast as the most important strip of territory in the Empire. • ■ T. H. DAVEY. , (Christchurch City.) When Mr T. H. Davey walks through the lobby the messengers all have their hats off (they always dp, but there is no need to emphasise the fact), and strangers ask who the lord is. The prevailing impression here is that the junior member for Christchurch was elected as an out-and-out-Government supporter, .and because he has so far sat bc(ck and looked dn, the quidnuncs refer to him as a “dumb dog.” He startled them a little, however, by a brief, forcible and telling speech on the tramway material peti- . tion last week, and if the Government had risked a division he would certainly have been against the Premier. Inside the House the wise men have reserved judgment. There is a rumour that .the Whips, with the paternal solicitude that characterises them, devoted some time in the first days of the session to the task of instructing the junior member for Christchurch in *the way he should go. Mr Davey sat meekly, and took it all in. He learnt that young members should never venture to.critici.se the Govern- ■ ment or its administration, that while the old hands might go away to bed the juniors ought to obey orders and “keep a House,” •that a Whip s wink was as good as a nod to a- blind horse, and that there was some jam in the cupboard if he would be a good boy. The junior member’s reply is not recorded, but it was probably’ to the effect that be was already weaned. MrDavevwill probably not break out until lie has" the “ hang ”of the House and its forms. He is naturally a quiet man. not given to talking unless he has something to say, and then ■ he says it earnestly and clearly. He had ro platform practice before the last election, , and is therefore, an “ improver ” as an orator, but it .'will not be long before he qualh fies as a journeyman, and it is safe to prophesy that he will yet be among the best. He has persistence and determination, with plenty of ability, and to a man of those characteristics all tilings are possible. When ho was “bush-whacking” his axe bit true and- his tree fellwhere it was intended to fall. At the case he set his type rapidly •nd cleanly. “Reliable” is the adjective most commonly used of him. Ho graduated in the school of local bodies, and has therefore an intimate knowledge of municipal government. There is no occasion to tell Christchurch citizens of bis share in the tramway movement. St Albans knew him as the best Mayor it ever had. He did not have.the support of the official Unionists in the . flectipit. but he was among the earliest arid strongest organisers of unionism in Christchurch, and is likely to bo as useful to the workers es a straight-out Labour representative. In figure Mr Davey is tall and straight, solidly fcuilt and with no tendency to corpulence. His forehead has extended upwards, until Bow its superior limit has disappeared. THE HON T. Y. DUNCAN, f ■ (Oamaru.) It was in 1882 that Mr Thomas Duncan first appeared in Parliament, and then as the member for Waitaki. When the House had been sitting for a. couple of weeks Mr Pike introduced a Bill to give grants to Catholic schools. The young member from Waitaki supported it, and in a brief five minutes’ speech went as close .to biography cs he ever went. He arose with some’diffidence, he said, and although he has been In Parliament for twenty years, it is still with diffidence that he gets up to speak. In. ,1887.,w0 find him supporting a motion his friend John M’Kenzio to reduce thej