THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY DECEMBER 8, 1882.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6571, 8 December 1882, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY DECEMBER 8, 1882.

.Mr.. M. \V. G r.KEX, tlie member for Duuedin East, is not a man with whose sayings or doings it can be expected that the majority of our readers can feel very much concern. He is not a party leader, he is not a distinguished orator, or a clever intriguer, he lias not done anything very remarkably silly. l.iut he is one of the new members who last session assumed a somewhat prominent position, and managed to keep himself pretty steadily before the House and the country. He addressed his constituents a few davs ago. and received a unanimous vote of confidence, and therefore it is appropriate to devote a brief space to him and the ideas he assumes to represent, ill". Green is, we believe, a clergyman of some particular sect of whose notions we can say nothing. He had a congregation in Dunedin. but considering that he hail a "call" to political life, lie resigned his position, and became a candidate for Dunedin East. He was successful, and with no little confidence in himself he took his seat amongst the legislators of the land. We nerer like to siy that any man's profession is a disqualification for political life, because politics tinus room for men of every kind of experi J once, but we should almost be in- 1 clined to place clergymen in the J iml-w {.vpuryiilorii!.i for various reasons. | They have been used to speak, as it ] were, ex cuilwdra ; to lay down the 1 law authoritatively to a number of ; people, who contentedly assume an in- j ferior position : to utter their opinions, thinking that they are tlxerebv convev- ' ing the intiruatious of the Divine will; to speak with no idea of ever being contradicted or questioned. They are, therefore, in spite of all the efforts they j can make, dictatorial and doetorial, :; and adopt a tone which of all others is resented in the House. There, one man | ■ is as good as another; all are represen- '!

tatives of the people; each considei a that to allow himself to be simply lectured is to allow an insult to kis constituents as -well as to himself. There is also another very heinous sin, of which ex-preachers who become legislators never can cure themselves. They beat their thought out till it is altogether too thin. A clergyman speaking to the average congregation addresses people uaosl of whom are uninstructed, who cannot follow a train of reasoning, who never can grasp an idea on its first presentation, but require to have it repeated over and over again with every variety of enforcement and illustration. This style is resented in the House, and he who uses it, and has not tho art to conceal his art, is set down as a mere word-monger, and is called a "wind bag," a "spouter," a "gas pipe," and other vulgar names. Mr. Green had not the good sense to make a fair start. For a short time after he rose to make his roaiden speech, members listened, and were pleased at his easy flow of language, and careful style of delivery. But he had not the good sense to sit down in time. His utterance became monotonous and dreary. The members soon felt that the thought was not by any means commensurate with the words used to express it, and they resented being talked down to. Mr. Green was soon made aware of the feeling by the usual method adopted by such assemblies. He inured, in his discourse to his constituents a few days ago, referred thus to his mistake :—

His first speech had been a long one, and while he did not wish to Matter himself, or to speak egotistically, he might say, since he had been severely criticised on account of it, that he had received congratulations upon that speech from all sides of the House, though he now saw and admitted that for a new beginner it was too lontj.

If Mr. Green is so utterly destitute of humour as to mistake chaff for applause there is really no hope for him. But he was unfortunate enough to go from bad to worse, not so much because of the length of his speeches, as from another disagreeable element which he would persist in introducing. That was his conscience. He seemed as incapable of keeping his conscience out of his speeches as was Mr. Dick, in David Copperfield, of keeping the head of Charles the Second out of his memorial. His conscience would not permit him to do this, his conscience impelled him to say that: in short, he spoke as if he, and he alone, iu that House, recognised conscience as a regulating force. It may be true that conscience has very little to do with men's political actions, but members do not like to have it so set down, even by implication. Just when Mr. Green's mistake was patent to all men, Mr. Bryce hit the nail oil the head. He is the antithesis of Mr. Green ia respect to talking, but one day he got irritated, and said that he objected to having Mr. Green's conscience " trotted out " on all occasions in such an offensive manner. The House laughed consumedly, and ever afterwards Mr. TV. Green was known as " Conscience Green," " Green with a conscience/' and so on. This happened to be handy, for there was another Green in the House, Mr. J. Green, member for Waikouaiti. He, for distinct en's sake, was called " Green with ut a conscience." The subject of the present article never recovered these two mistakes. He weakened his action all through the session thereby, and will difficulty in recovering himself. The class of measures to which Mr. Green felt called upon by his conscience to promote in the House were all those having for their object of patronage " the working man," including the working woman. This is apt, in some minds, to raise a prejudice against a member, as so many who have loudly professed themselves in this line have turned out to be arrant humbugs. It is a libel upon the working men of this colony, -who comprise 'oy far the largest proportion of the whole population, to say that they want to be taken in hand by any patriot, or even by an ambitious clergyman who has acquired the "gift of the gab." If our legislators would devote themselves to seeing that our Government was purely administered, and that there was no undue influence obtained by wealthy men or wealthy rings, they might leave li the workiug man" without any special oversight. Mr. Green brought forward quite a number of measures for the benefit of the working man. The first was an Eight Hours Bill, which amounted to a vague declaration, and would really have no legal etxect at all. Then there was an Emplovment of Females and Others Bill, providing stringently that women should not work more than eight hours a day. There was also a "Workmen's Lien Bill, and an Employers' Lip.bility Bill. This was a pretty handful of legislation to be undertaken by one member, and lie a total stranger to the House and the forms of Parliament.

As io jr-neral politics, Mr. Green is somewhat uncertain. Here is his declaration :— After the Loan Bill, came the want-of-cou-tideuce motion, and from that time he ehaujed his position somewhat, alieuatiEL' his feelings from the Opposition, and taking a more imlepemleut standpoint. He was not satisfied with the position of the Opposition, aud at the same time lie was not in favour of the Government, so he determined to vote for measures which were, in his opinion; gcod for the country.

Mr. Green saw nothing in the action of the leaders of the Opposition when the want-of-conndence motion was in debate to attract, so he "alienated his tVrlings" and '• determined to vote for measures which were, in his opinion, good for the country." 7 Surelv Mr. Green, with his all-powerful and allcompelling conscience, which is not in him a "still sma'.l voice'" which can ever be stilled, had been doing so all ; along. It would a-most appear, from ; tile wording: of the above sentence. ! that it was not so. His suggestions for a new party are, however, the most confusing cf his utterances. He says : — The manner in which the business had bctn conducted during the last few days of the session made him wish more than ever for a change of Government. and he hoped for a Middle party, to which he would be inclined to pive Ins support. There were in the ranks oi the Opposition men of very Conservative principles, and in the Opposition there were several Liberals. He believed that a Middle party from both would form averv strong Government, that would put on the brake of retrenchment, and cot go headlon" iuto a rash expenditure that would be certain to bring about another crisis similar to that 31 a tew years ago. The new party is to be formed of the Conservative men in the Opposition md the Liberal men of the Opposition. Are there some members o£ that body tvlio are neither the one nor the other '! I Perhaps he should hare been reported as 11

saying that "in the Government were aerial Liberal.,." We rejoice thlt we can agree with Mr. Green in hLspdi tical conclusions. We shall be £ to see the rise of the Middle party of w Inch he speaks, which is to " pu t 0n the brake of retrenchment," and. if w we may find ourselves compelled by on l the^^^