POLITICAL PORTRAITS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1191, 26 September 1874, Page 8

POLITICAL PORTRAITS.

ME GISBORNE.

" And who is that sitting on the end of the bench with the shaven chin, dark countenance, and stalwart frame, that looks as if he had no interest in things mundane, while he is being attacked and pointed out by that vehement Oppositionist ?" was always a question asked by an amateur casual visitor to the House of Representatives, and readily answered, for everyone knows Mr Gisborne by sight and by reputation. Certainly one of the ablest men who has ever held office in the colony, he was the possessor of a quantity of peculiar talent which fitted him exactly for the positions he was called upon to occupy ; and though he is now, in the secure and comfortable berth of the Oommissionership of Annuities, virtually excluded both in person and in ability from taking auy prominent part in politics, and no longer holds a seat in Parliament, yet the remembrance of him as one of that august body is still fresh, and he still is consulted by _ many who know the worth of his opinion and the soundness of hi 3 views. A short outline of the phases of his political career will not be uninteresting to those who have not been so long in tho Colony, and ' desire to know something of the men of former dayd whom they see now at the head of affairs or honourably retired from that position. So many of those who are now beginning, by being bound up witli it and having embarked their fortunes in it, to take a real interest in the Colony and in the future which lies before it, are always' ready and anxious, as they should be, to know something of the men who have made New Zoaland what it is. Though we are only a Colony of some 30 years standing as a Colony — for it was not until about that time since that a really Colonial status was demanded by the psition in which the early settlers, after the lapse of a few years of hard struggling and fighting, found themselves and their prospects, yet the familiar expression — these thirty years, which would pass almost without notice in a settled and established country, seem an age. The third of a cycle which has passed over our heads seems to have comprised within itself the elements of a struggle which would be equivalent to the records of a century in another country. Our progress has been so rapid, and our development so astonishing, that the events which happened only a few years ago, instead of being considered as recollections of the past to the mind, seem rather to assume the appearance of traditional legends. At all events it is certain that the majority of New Zealanders prefer to treat them so; and much as they are, as a rule, lamentably ignorant of the history of their own country, though all comprised within a lew years, and every event within the memory of many middleaged men who sit now as they did then, and have done from the first, in the councils of tho country, yet they are well acquainted, perhaps, with the history of a period of several centuries in the annals of some other countries. Whatevor be the cause, it is a fact that many of the eminent public men who are well known by name and by present action and conduct, are often thought to have been only of the present time, their former career having been neither enquired after nor c jnsidered. There used to be, and still is, in use in some corporate bodies in England, the practice of praying for some particular person who has benefited — or, as the Americans would say, donated — the Institution which they govern. In these all the good man's deeds and the history of his past actions are recounted for tho edification and example of his successors. As all things now are practically founded on example, to have an example is always a good guide. Mr Gisborne's first entry into the intricacies of public affairs was so far back as 1854, shortly after Government became a reality, and some recognised constitutional functions were established. He was then Private Secretary to Lieu-tenant-Governor Eyre, whose duties at that time were not very extensive, but Were, nevertheless, the means whereby what rule there was vraa established. This i was the same Governor who afterwards j became so notorious in the matter of the Jamaica insurrection and the trial and execution of the negro Gordon, and possibly recollections of the manner in which he had been obliged to regard the Maoris of New Zealand led him into tho mistake he made, by inducing a somewhat caivlesa mind to believe that African slaves would be ruled with the same rod as independent Polynesians. The appointment of Mr Giaborne — who was then, of course, a very young man — to be hia private secretary may have been a useful one, &o far as ability and clever aptitude were con cerne.l ; but ideas then were a little wild, and surrounding ciruumst incus hardly «'>' * ducive to austere steadinc-is, a quality in which Mi' Gisborne, though subjected to several noberinq" processes, has nei er been, particularly distinguished for. We next find him, after a brief tenure of his small post of dignity, ia the position of Commissioner of Crown Luids for the Province of Auckland. An nppoiiifcmout which in those days contuned only a vary f,iint idea of the <>nerou3 duties which were foreseen to be Incumbent upon the position when the Jit' 4 of tho laud muddle? commenced, and lilto a drop of quicksilver, broke into innumerable other li3?e muddles, only ingrvostag tiwv nwftwmi \m>mty mom

tantalising the more attempts wore made to bring them together, and pat a stop to them. Such as the duties were, however, Mr Gisborne performed them with his usual ability and zeal, and the experience he then gained, as well as the parts he exhibited, were made the ground for conferring upon him another office connected with land and land claims. In the year 1850 titles to land, such as those sections and parcels purchased by the New Zealand Company, as well as those secured, or attempted to be secured, by enterprising but indiscriminatiug new arrivals and speculators, became mixed up, and threatened to give great trouble if not speedily dealt with. Accordingly, an office was created for "questioning titles to Land," the exact functions of which were never very well understood outside it, and possibly still less comprehended within it. However, whatever mysteries may have attachedto it, Mr Gisborne was here securely installed, and no doubt gave great satisfaction by his perfunctory duties, for ho occupied in succession several other appointments of some emolument, gradually working his way up in tho Civil Service which had been established, and out of it, until lie came to be recognised as a very useful servant and a clever officer. When Mr Richmond came into power in the year of (he Compact, as ISSO is called in the North Island, the Under-Secretary and general medium of the Government was Mr Gisborne, and no more efficient person to fill the office could have been found, the minor business of Departments being carried on with a management^ and attention which materially secured its smooth running. Not only did Mr Gisborne evince great aptitude for general departmental work, but he also, in this capacity, gave the first indications of that ability "for the conduct of financial questions which is no mean part of his qualifications for the office which lie now holds after his public career — the Commissionership of Annuities — in which a vaster amount of money questions and financial probabilities are involved than is generally imagined to be the case. A financial head was then at a premium, and without much previous experience to warrant it, Mr Gisborno became in the following year Secretary to the Treasury, whose duties are now so ably fulfilled by the present Paymaster - General, Mr Batkin. The appointment was no sinecure, and was not interpreted as such, and perhaps some of Mr Gisborne's handiwork may yet be traced in the organisation and method of conducting the Treasury, than which there is no' more intricate and difficult branch in the public service, or one which requires more hard work and careful management. Not very long afterwards, Mr Gisborne was once more Under-Secretary, and finally was elevated, under the auspices of Mr Fox, into the style, title, and dignity of a Minister of the Crown, holding the ofEce of Colonial Secretary, with the duties of which, as Under-Secretary, he was more { fully and intimately acquainted than any one else. As a member of the Fox-Vogel Ministry, he was perhaps their best colleague and coadjutor, but held rather the nominal than real superiority which lm position entitled him to. Having now got down to recent times, it will be enough to say that on the fall of the Ministry, Mr Gisborne died game, and having , resigned his seat for Egmont, retired from Parliament into the office he had held conjointly with the Ministerial resignation. From beginning to end of j his career Mr Gisborne always won, and always deserved, commendation and approval. He has been one of the tinest j speakers in the House, and one of the purest. The advantages of a good English training (Mr Gisborne is a Harrow mar, if wo mistake not,) were superadded to by a native talent which developed itself by experience, and a more mature tone and spirit always marked his speeches i than waß customary in the ordinary run. Many of his sayings have been terse and pointed, savouring of the bitter as well as the epigrammatic, and his witticisms were always of that peculiar kind which is not forgotten, or, as the saying is, goes in at one enr and out at the other. In the young days, when the greyheads now were hair- brained devil may-care scamps (no other term would express the w.klnoas of young spirits just in the heat of colonis'ng a country they had chosen for their homes), Mr Gisborne was the leader in many a freak, and a good story is told of him which is generally credited as true. A select party of Ancient Oddfellows or Freemasons were holding a Lodge one night in a rather primitive building in one of the first settlements — for there were none of the grand Masonic Halls we see now-a-days the windows of Avhich had not been so carefully obscured as was due to the mysterious rite 3 and ceremonies supposed to be conducted within. Some of the free and etisy uninitiated resolved to see and judge for themselves without being f>ubjocfed to the) branding and other unpleasant processes supposed to bo attendant on Mrconry. No sooner, therefore, was the conclave deep in their E'.eusinian mysteries than Mr. .lsborne was seen slowly mounting a ladder to a vacant spot on one of the window-frames, from which ho had a full view of the proceedings. Whether they were so appalling as to elicit a groan, or so unexpected as to provoke a laugh, the presence of tho intruder was discovered. The horrified Masons rushed out m masse, and having circumvented the enemy by a flank movement, intercepted his retreat, and carried him off in triumph within the sanctuary, vhero he was then and there sworn a JFweJBWW* TJIUB runs tho atopy oi Mr

Gisborne becoming a Mason. There were many of these wild pranks played in those days, and perhaps some day an author will rise up who -will be able to give an account of them. It would be as amusing as it would be interesting. One of Mr Gisborne's most amusing characteristics is his utter imperturbability under all circumstances. The aspect of utter unconcern which he can assume, the total disconnection with all sublunary affairs which he can call upon his face to express, are invaluable qualities. The keenest hit and bitterest attack make^ no impression whatever upon his impassiveness, except that a light twinkling of the eyes shows the inward appreciation of the fury into which his sangfroid and nonchalance always lash the unfortunate assailant, who, plant his blows where he will, can never find a vulnerable point. Mr Gisborne is seen at his best advantage under these circumstances. Leaning back on his bench, his arms are crossed above his head, his eyes half closed, and he is apparently engaged in some deep astronomical problem. He is wide awake, however, to everything that is going on, hears every word, and notes every point. Bye-and-by, when an error is made, there comes a short derisive chuckle, not a laugh, which exasperates terribly, _ and then the old wrapped-up attitude is resumed to the adverse discomfiture of the speaker There is no finer face on any of the benches than his : a massive compact set of features, surmounted by a grand forehead, which fully confirms the impressions otherwise formed of ability and character. The wise are supposed to bo careless of the fashions and demands of everyday-life, and perhaps, it is for this reason that Mr Gisborne is to be recognised by an ungainly, slouching walk, and untidy appearance. The good old habit of button-holing still remains with him, and there is a cordial goodwill and genial smile with him for everyone, while the funny tone and drop-dropping voice keep the attention curiously attracted. A man might have many a worse fellowworker, and many a less sincere friend than Mr Gisborue.

AI3DUL.