POLITICS FOR THE PEOPLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14809, 12 October 1911, Page 4

POLITICS FOR THE PEOPLE.

Sir,Tho medical men of Auckland are hereby cordially invited to meet at the earliest possible moment to operate on the people's decaying backbone. How the poor things live while it is so rotting is a puzzle; but they wriggle on and do not teem to mind it. It' is astounding to find how few persons openly, fearlessly, and persistently take an interest in politics, and how many of our political l rights and privileges are being whittled away in consequence. Talk about "the sovereign people! : Sovereign jackass! Some men go.down on their mar-row-bones to politicians as to a Nebuchadnezzar's image. Witness . toadies when a Minister drives here. Persons having legitimate business with Ministers can sometimes scarcely squeeze through tho '"crowd, because of the many expectant trawlers. -.;; : , Consider for, a moment how many voluntarily or otherwise stand aloof from polities, or merely imitate timid Nicodemus. It is said that tho" 12.000 Civil servants are forbidden by the rules of the Civil Service to take part in political affairs. The police, of course, cannot bo expected, to openly exercise their political rights of citizenship; the same applies to the .military permanent force. Public school teachers unfortunately stand too much aloof; the clergy cannot very well take sides. Insurance and bank officials cannot do so, because of the divided opinions of shareholders. Tradesmen who supply with goods the railways, hospitals, asylums, gaols, lighthouses, telegraph, and other public departments, may, perhaps, give a few pounds or shillings on the sly to fight an election, but otherwise they stand aloof. * Some of tho settlers who have borrowed money from the Government fear to take sides; State tenants and co-operative labourers cannot well do so: many old age pensioners and some of ' their 1 thousands of well-to-do relations who ought' to support them dare not; nor dare hangers-on, moral funkers, • mere ' pleasure-seekers, or " mere money-grubbers. The poor > things might lose something, and that is too awful to contemplate. Hence, too few are left who dare come out into the open and fight to a finish, It is no light thing to brook the opposition of the powerfully organised forces of any political administration of the day, and its numerous touts, some of whom are perhaps specially paid by sops to slate anyone -who dares to say- anything except what flatters the Administration. Certain men throughout the Dominion, it is said, have to clip out of all the newspapers,- and send on to the Government, all that is said about it, and lie vis a marked or condemned man who dares to the Government to account, although m theory the Government is the people's servant Very few Government soup tickets are available for anyone too outspoken, but life is not. worth having at the price of poliiioal effacement. Only the meanest of men believe that one olives by ; bread alone. Liberty should be considered dearer than life, and - the day is dawning when the people will wake up, cease to crawl, and will claim the full rights and execute full duties of citizenship. Socialists are on the warpath, and they are organised, are "in earnest, they know exactly what, they want, and, therefore, they may beat hands down , the nerveless, unorganised, " ideal-less, political rabble and drawingroom politicians who really ,do not know what's o'clock, and are living in a fool's paradise. Tho day.of reckoning is coming, and men must be zealous according to • requisite knowledge if they are to count in the crucial times' at hand. Politics is a science. It is a most difficult and complex science, overlapping, as it docs, economies, sociology,-, history, and international law, and having to do mainlv with human nature, as fickle as it is selfish and passionate. - But how comes it, as Herbert . Spencer asks, that, whereas a chemist's assistant, or a quack doctor gets punished for ignorantly compounding medicine that kills one, lor for unskilfully setting a broken bone, politicians who ; ignorantly injure the body politic through their incompetence, and thus do infinitely more harm than poisoning a host of people, get off - scot free? How comes it that, whereas - lawyers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other professional v men and artisans have to learn 1 their callings, politicians who move on the highest - plane affecting the nation, it may be for generations, do not prepare? Men who cannot for lack of brains or industry make a living at hard work, ; rush * into politics and make a trade of J it, as if, forsooth, everybody could formulate, discuss, or decide on good laws to make a people happy and prosperous. In tho forthcoming election let us not be madly governed by mere party considerations, but let us vote for the best all-round legislators, who would put the interests of the country first- .. _. " •" Let us weigh our franchise as if weighing something more precious than diamonds, and nob „ - - "Let lightly fall,without recall The written scroll a breath mav float The crowning fact, the kineliest" act Of freemen is a freeman's vote." F. G. •. EffiKciox.