MR W. F. MASSEY, M.P.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 70

MR W. F. MASSEY, M.P.

By "Democbat."

LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

A MAN OF THE PEOPLE

With the hoqr comes the man! In all the »reat crises that have been recorded from ti.rte to time in the history of free peoples [eaders have arisen to pilot the barque of Rate into safe waters. In political as" in jher affairs, dangerous periods are cn/ered upon, when the liberties of the people are imperilled through the insidious attacks made upon freedom of ppeoh, the right of public meeting, and ipon that "watchdog of the people"— he nress, and it becomes necessary for the Icmbcracy to assert its rights, and to rsist upon the sweeping away of abuses, ind the introduction of much needed and ong dtla3'ed icforms. One such crisis is tpon the people of New Zealand to-day. A bureaucratic Government is in office, wedded o the political patronage idea, filling.one shamber of the General Assembly with its lominees, and rewarding its political supiorters with Government appointments, disposing the public moneys like so much argess amongst the electorates favouring its supporters, and exploiting the country .n the "spoils to the victors" principle; Jenying the people, under the notorious Criminal Code Act Amendment of 1905,

the right of free speech in public meeting; ,-aggir.g the press with the infamous clause 7 of the Law of Libel Amendment Act of

1910; increasing the cost of government at jhc rate of £450,000 per annum, and placng additional taxation burdens upon the ountry, in order that more money may be ivailable for the bribes it holds out to the people, the increased taxation of the last [2 months (according, to one of its supporters, Mr A. M. Myers*, representing an ldvance of £1 Is 7d per head of the popu-lation—-i.e., from £4 6s lOd in 1909-10 to 35 8s 7d in 191C-1L And, despite the claim f certain of its supporters that the coninuous Liberal Administration, has merely mtered upon its majority, the fact remains rhat, politically, it is in the sere and yellow -'caf. decrepit and tottering to its fall — '. prey to its own extravagant follies tnd to its weakness and shortcomings. It has long since ceased -ffectively to represent the people; lustful ■f power, it has hedged itself round and .bout with almost .sovereign prerogatives, isurping the rights* of Parliament, of the ocal governing bodies and the people alike, latiated with Jong enjoyment of the 'sweets" of office, the one object of its jxistenco seems to be to perpetuate the life

riven to it by the people, whom it alternately threatens and cajoles. It introduces •'iws in the most slipshod fashion., not even doubling to ascertain if one law conflicts vith another, and consequently compels tha Jouso to spend half its time revising the .'aulty legislation which has been forced ipon the country and the people with little it no consideration for either. This is 'hoWn by the fact that during the first ive ■ sessions controlled by the Ward Aduinistration more than half of the public lets introduced by the Government were • amendments of former acts passed by the continuous Administration, two, three, and jveh more bills being needed before the j jangled skein could be unravelled, and in j wmo instances the law is still very faulty. ! The Administration is virtuous only in the Indignation with which it regards criticism Jireeted against its financial methods or nodes of administration, and it is becoming;

more and more conscious of the fact that it '.s steadily alienating the sympathy of the vorkers, and that, it is viewed with feelings >f growing distrust by the people, who are j wakening to a sense of the true position of affairs. They realise that they have reached a crisis in these affairs thait calls Tor careful pilotage, and the presence at he helm of State of a strong man—a man of courage, capacity, and resource; a. man of high ideas, and of unimpeachable character, —and they are already asking themselves where such a man is to be found.

Ths ciisis finds the strong man ready and waiting to s«-op into his rightful place in the counsels of cur young nation. His many years' faithful service in the hitrher

interests of the people of this country" deserve, and should receive, recognition in the 'ordial confidence of the electors. Not that William Ferguson Ma.ssey is looking- for >eward, or that tho services he has freely rendered to the community can be measured in mere pounds, shillings, and Tepee, or by the emoluments of office. Mr Nlaseey never has been a man seeking oolitical preferment or Ministerial office, ft is only his T-clitical opponents, who fear aim, and tho people who are not acquainted vftb him who speak of tho Leader of the i Opposition as other than a strong man. ! Vfr Massev is beyond question the strong inn of fcho New Zealand Parliament to- ; »y. It ha.« boon well said yt him that 'before and above all # he is an honest nan, a '.vbo will be found faith- *«!,. faithful to God and his country and ir> his oortcionce: wfcor-e word, given only ■

after his own calm, unbiassed judgment, is his bond." Mr Maasey has been long enough before the public to enable those who have taken the trouble to study his career to recognise the sterling worth and integrity of the man. In a very real sense of the term he has made himself the servant of the public. He is deservedly respected and honoured by his constituents, and is looked up to by the party he leads as the most hard-working and self-sacrific-ing man in the House. Level-headed, clear brained, quick-witted, and always on the alert, he is one of the most effective speakers in the House, and his voice and brains are both used in the interests of the people at large. It has been said, with perfect truth, that the real Liberals' in the House are not to be found on the Government benches, but on Mr Massey's side. The Leader of the Opposition has been described by his politioal opponents as "a Tory of the Tories," and it has been alleged against him that he is ,a supporter and advocate of the wealthy- landholders. The exact contrary is the case, however. Mr Massey is far from being a wealthy man. He has been a hard worker all his days; he is a hard worker still, and is likely to remain such until the end of bis career. He started life in a very humble way, toiling hard with his hands and earning his bread literally by the sweat of his brow. By. sheer energy and industry, coupled with a force of will that is infinitely to his credit, he parved out his own fortunes, first as an. employee, then as an employer,, and, during the whole of his career, he has done nothing of which he needs to be ashamed. He remains as much a worker to-day. and is as much in smpathy with the legitimate aspirations of the workers, as the most • industrious and zealous advocate of the Tights of Labour in the ranks of the unionists themselves. He recognises that "The rank is hut the guinea stamp, The man's the gold for a' that.'''

He is consequently one of the most liberalminded men in New Zealand. It was well said of him by Mr E. W. Alison the other day tliat "Mr Mrssey towers over the ordinary Minister like a great racehorse above the ordinary hack. He is quite competent to take his place among the leaders of the nation, and if he assumes the reins of office he will pass legislation that will be in the best interests of the whole of the people of New Zealand." To use the words of another close observer of events: "No politician in the Dominion has been subjected to a more searching or cruel searchlight than Mr Massey-, and yet to-day he stands higher in public esteem than he ever did. Ho passes unharmed through the flame of the furnace whether fanned by a Carroll or a Ward, or a Fowlds. The precious gold of his character shines more brightly with a richer gleam, yet is "calm and steady. Innuendo, ifalse accusation, misrepresentation-, base caricature, and defamation he has borne and still bears, not indeed with insensibility, but with a quiet conscious power and self-restraint. His warmest friends will not claim that he has mad© no mistakes—'to' err is human,'—or that he * 'has always 'seized opportunity by the forelock; but his bitterest opponents must admit that ho has displayed throughout his long and strenuous career an exceptional arid splendid self-restraint. I hope to live to see Mr Massey's self-victorv crowned by the supremo approbation and'' tribute of the Dominion."