AFTER THE FIGHT.

Northern Advocate, 9 January 1920, Page 4

AFTER THE FIGHT.

MUSINGS AND MEMORIES

, INTERESTING RECOLLECTIONS

OF PARLIAMENTARY EPISODES

In the "EUham Argus," the proprietor of which is the Hon. W. C. F. Carncross, Speaker of the Legislative Council, appears the following interesting article: —

"Amongst those who were rejected at the ballot box wa s Mr G. W. Russell. He was at one time member for Riccarton, and was "dubbed 'Riccartort' Kussel, to distinguish him from ■Captain ' (afterwards Sir William) Russell. One of the wags of the House, probably it was Charle s Lewis, altered •Riccarton' to 'Ricketty,' and

'Ricketty Russell' was frequently on

the tongues of the M.'s.P. But the cognomen was not a fitting one, for

ivir G. W. Russeil was one of the ab-

lest and strongest politicians the Do minion has known during the past quarter of a century. It is a pity that he did not gain Ministerial rank ten years ago. He was passed over, and men incomparably his inferior were given office. His turn did not come until the unfortunate, shortlived Mackenzie Ministry gained the Treasury benches, and he was also in the National Government. In days gone by, before Old Age Pensions were an accomplished fact, Mr Russell was an earnest advocate of them. And thi s recalls a story. One night when Mr Se'ddon was in charge of an Old Age Pensions Bill in committee in the House he was getting such a a toasting and gruelling from the members in Opposition that he somewhat lost his emper. So annoyed was he that he rose from his chair at the committee table and left the' Chamber. Here was a contretemps. Some speak, ers claimed that as Mr Se'ddon had left the Chamber, and the bill, that there was the end of the proceedings. Mr Russell, who is well up in Parlia mentary forms, said that the bill did not belong to Mr Seddon but belonged to the House and he, as a member of the House # would take charge of it and if possible, put it through the committee stage. And he was well able to do it, for he knew the contents of the measure as well as Mr Seddon himself did. Mr Russell's bold action somewhat startled the House, members had never seen anything of the kind before, and wondered what was going to happenHowever, Mr Russell took his seat in the chair and proceeded to 'father' the bill. News went in to Mr Seddon as to what was going on in the House. He came rapidly into the Chamber, very red and very angry, and with a curt word to Mr Russell, resumed the chair. Mr Russell had scored; he had shown that the bill 'belonged to the House not to the member who happened for the time being to be in charge of it. As a ready debater, Mr Russell was not easily excelled, —-and as he had the Dominion's political history at his finger's end he was always ready for a spar. (Possibly he was not what is called "popular." Some at least of his unpopularity was merely the outcome of envy on the part of less able men, for Russell did not "suffer fools gladly," and in debate he gave occasionally some very fierce thrusts. He got into trouble during the life of the National Ministry at the time of the epidemic, but it is doubtful whether his critics would have done as well as he did during that terribly trying time. His critics were mostly "wise after the event" —as so many of us are. He was said to have been "indiscreet" in his remarks to the Mayors of Auckland and Wellington at the time of the influenza. If to tell good wholesome truths in plain understandable English be indiscre tion, then he was indiscreet —but he wa s right. He was the hero of many political fights and at one time de f eated such a notable man as the late Mr Rolleston —and it took something more than a political weakling to do that. He has fine constructive brains and was a prompt besides being a wonderfully quick thinker. Matters in the Government Printer's Department that had been hanging fire for a long time before he took office were soon cleared up

when he took charge, Some years ago """ he acted as chairman of a conference that was convened to consider a Local Government Bill. Delegates were present from many parts of the Dominion, and many of them went with a fixed determination to "give the Minister a bad time," but they were so struck with the wonderful grasp of local body matters that he displayed}, his complete .knowledge of the subject, that they were disarm, ed and ended the conference with high compliments to him. That was a positive triumph for Mr Russell. Well, he has dropped out of politics npw, possibly for good. Had he at, tamed office ten years earlier he would have left hi 3 mark upon New Zealand politics; his turn came some, what late. The- electors of Avon have declared that they no longer require his political service. WpU that sort of event is always in the game of politics, and there is nothing remarkable about it. Electors like changes occasionally. Whether the Avonites have made a change for the better remains to be seen. Parliament has lost a conspicuous figure."