NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY Registered for transmission through the post as a newspaper. SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1925. POLITICAL LIFE

Northern Advocate, 20 June 1925, Page 4

NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY Registered for transmission through the post as a newspaper. SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1925. POLITICAL LIFE

i This is a general election year in New Zealand, and before very long some hundreds of candidates will be invoking the suffrages of the electors in the eighty constituencies into which the Dominion is divided. Pro- J i • | claiming their various political creeds, I and carrying the banners of various parties, or of none, each and every . one of them will endeavour to con- | vince the electors that his, or her, presence in the Legislature is essential | to the wellbemg of the country. ; Probably there will not be a single candidate who will not be fully persuaded in his own mind that the Parliament would be the richer and the more efficient for the . assistance he could give it. Each and all believe in their heart of hearts that they have peculiar claims to be the chosen of the people, qualities which fit them to adorn. public life. It is, of course, quite proper that this should be the opinion of the candidate, for if he does not think that J he could do useful work in Parliament he has no business to be a candidate. Whether those upon whom, fortune smiles at the polls will realise the high destiny for which they consider j themselves fit is another question. What is it that makes a man shine in public life? What makes for success in politics? What ingredients . go to fashion the hero who towers | above his fellows in popular regard? These are hard questions to answer, ] for one cannot label certain admirj able qualities and say that they alone ! will suffice to place a man on a pinnacle. The secret of success is not j necessarily to be found in wisdom; J indeed, a reputation for cleverness j may militate against a man's success. Nor is it always principle that counts. Many men of the utmost integrity never rise from the ranks, while others who pay little reverence to the virtue of consistency reach, lofty heights. Rectitude, an admirable virtue, is not the only passport to place and power, nor is eloquence essential. Julius Caesar carried more weight in Rome than did Cicero, yet Cicero was lavishly endowed with graces of rhetoric. Charm of manner, useful though it be,- js not the all in all, for Lord Salisbury, whose eminence was I undisputed, had none of this attribute. In combination all these virtues that we have mentioned would, no doubt, produce the ideal statesman; but perfection is hard to eompass. There is scope in political life for individuality and personality, and personality is a hard thing to define. We know, however, that there are certain qualities which always appeal, chief among them sincerity, simplicity, and steadfastness. ; "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, "Or walk with kings, nor lose the j common touch," you have a sure passport to the goodwill' of the people. • In.this country •'we; all!have..the-freshest memories of a statesman . who was sincere, simple, and steadfast.., In -Mr Macsey we had < a leader who was not regarded as particularly clever and brilliant, not an orator, not a man of exceptionally charming manner, but a man of proven principle, a genuine man, a man to be trusted. Those who believe that they have a mission to perform, in public life may well remember that there is an example for them to follow. I