A Self-Drawn Portrait.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6626, 17 March 1893, Page 4

A Self-Drawn Portrait.

Sir Henry Parkes's estimate of himself, which is to be found in his book ' Fifty Years in the Making of Australian History,' is as follows :— " 1 believe myself to be a proud, but thoroughly un nelfish, man, with a fervent and unchanging love of my fellow-creatures. I am proud of my strength to stand alone, of my power to resist forces brought against me, of the conquests I h»ve mide by my own energy and perseverance ; but I fcol no pride in place or position, or in the possession of the cifts of fortune, which, indeed, have been few with me. I have never known >vhit it- is to feel envy of othera more favored tfvui myself, nnd I have never withheld my last shilling from those who needed it more than I. The influence of these feelings will explain much in my conduct which men lmvo misunderstood. . . . Looking back upon my own efforts in the young public life of Australia, I foel conscious of having pursued three clear purposes, at timoa held with a relaxed grasp through the pressure of adverse circumstance*, but, never loßt to sight. I have tried my utmost to win th« first place in Australian progress for New South Wales, without abating one jot of my loyalty to the dear Mother Country. I have tried, as occasion has served, to promote tho sentiment and to strengthen the nascent ties of Australian union ; and, through good and evil report, I have cluns: to the idea of the expanding greatness and the integrity of the Empire. . . I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of believing that my influence has tended to conserve the good, to eradicate tho evil, to strengthen the energy, and to elevate the sentiment in the national character. The growth of the colony in which I have lived and labored has been amazing in my time. If I dare not claim any large positive share in its advancement, I have little fear of being accused by posterity of having created obstacles in its j.ath of progress. I joined its scanty population when it was little more than a scattered settlement, and I have lived to see it entering into the noble fraternity of nations. Others will arise to examine more critically tho work I have done ; I can only siy that it has been done with an honest purpose."