Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1919. SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1705, 19 December 1919, Page 4

Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1919. SIR JOSEPH WARD.

Tiik most regrettable feature of, Wednesday's elections was the defeat of the Leader of "the Opposition; in a constituency he-has represented,!-with singular •fidelity, for the? last 32 years, with a break of seven months 'only.: The event was' so, unexpected, and Sir Joseph i Ward .has been so long identified with the public dife of.'the. that it is even now difficult to realise that, for the- time being at least, the right hbn.. gentleman has ceased to count as an active factor in our political affairs. - Nor is it possible) to believe Sir Joseph can for long remain outside of political life. His services to the country have been such as to entitle him to the gratitude and respect of all who have the best interests of the country at heart, and even those who do not hold with him politically, lvill agree with us in thinking that ins absence from tho House oi Kepresematiyes at a time when tho country is confronted with the most difficult problems it has yet had to face, is a distinct loss to Parliament and the country. Sitting, as he has done, in eleven Parliaments, Sir Joseph was appealing for re-election to tho twelfth, and most people concluded that ho held ouo of tlie safest seats in the Dominion. Indeed, it was argued that it would bo just as impossible to defeat him in Awariia as it would be to defeat Mr Massey in, Franklin. ; But in public nlo tuero'is very little gratitude, and the best of constituencies are apt to forget the services rendered to them and the public generally, by those who have loyally stood by them.and conserved their interests. , Statesmen . all through the political history of the Motherland have had occasion to reflect upon the political ingratitude of constituents, who have repudiated their services arid-'forced them to seek the kindlier atmosphere of other constitu-. encies willing to honour them with their confidence. That greatest of Englishmen, the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, whoso distinguished career made him one of the great land marks in British history, had' that experience more than once, and the Rt. Hon. Mr Asquith, now in temporary eclipse, had to submit to the unkindly rebuff of his East Fife constituents last year. But while he is out of Parliament, he has not ceased to be an active factor m political life, and his advice and assistance have been freely given to Sir Donald McLean, who is leading the remnant of the old Liberal Party m tho House of Commons to-day. There are somo men whom it is impossible to keep out of public life, and we-believe Sir Joseph Ward is a man of that stamp. He has many loyal supporters throughout the country, and tho greater number of those who have found their way back into Parliament under the Liberal banner, will probably continue to acknowledge him as their real leader, while they may have to elect one of-their number to take his place in tho House itself. Sir Joseph oertainlv deserves well of them, and it sliouid not be a difficult matter to find him a seat in the House later on. Hie country can ill sustain the loss ot his services, and it has to be remembered that, apart from his public career as a loading member of the Liberal Party in association with Mr Ballance.and Mr Sfiddon, and as its leader since the death of the latter, lie helped ,as one of the leaders of the National Government, to pilot tho country through the desperate crisis of the war. Me thus added, to tho many services he had previously, .rendered even more dism&M mm m $f 1 H M formerly led, he consented to be led by

a political opponent, jso that lie might help to still all political strife and party wrangling during- the long days of peril and difficulty. There will be very few people in Now Zealand who, when the position is rightly understood, will not be prepared to" welcome Sir Joseph 1 Ward's return to the Parliament from which, wo believe, he is merely temporarily excluded.