THE HON. T. MACKENZIE.

Southland Times, Issue 16840, 16 September 1911, Page 5

THE HON. T. MACKENZIE.

The Hon. T. Mackenzie is in a singular position at the present time. It is an interesting position from the observer’s point of view, but from the personal point of view it must be rather embarrassing. When a man is so placed that he does not know exactly what his foothold is, or the direction in which his next step will be taken, he is naturally an object of interest to those who are looking on at the game but he is probablx mot a little sorry for himself. The Representation Commissioners havinig abolished the Taieri electorate, Mr Mackenzie finds himself without a constituency. He professes to believe that the Commissioners will reinstate Taieri, but that belief is shared by no> one else. Mr Mackenzie, therefore, has to offer himself someAvhere else. He has been mentioned as a possible successor to Sir William Hall-Jones In the High Commissionership, but no appointment will be made to that position until after the elections, and Mr Mackenzie cannot stand out of the political contest. Wisely, he has announced his intention of seeking a country seat, which disposes of the rumour that he would stand for Palmerston North and if elected accept the High Commissionership, resign, and leave a favourable opening for Mr McNab. Mr Mackenzie’s candidature for a country constituency will be materially assisted by the encomiums of members of the North Canterbury Executive of the Farmers’ Union. At a meeting of that body early in the week a member declared enthusiastically that there is no more capable Minister than Mr Mackenzie in the New Zealand Cabinet, and that he would make an ideal High Commissioner, and the opinion was endorsed by others. Mr Mackenzie is fortunate in winning the good opinion of so critical a body. We confess that we have always regarded Mr Mackenzie’s cleverness as superficial and his speeches as consisting largely of glib patter. In his capacity as Minister of Agriculture he has, however, showif an earnest ambition to assist the rural industries of the Dominion, and we believe him sincere when he says that he is desirous of continuing the work of the Department with which he is associated. A Wellington interviewer reports Mr Mackenzie as saying:—“I can see that with an intelligent, scientific, forward movement in agriculture there is a prospect of doing much good for this community. The two and a-half years that I have been Minister have been a period of preparation for greater effort. Throughout the whole world we see the highest intelligence being directed, as it should be, towards increasing the fruitfulness of the earth, and whilst we have advantages here in some respects, we suffer from disadvantages in others. Every condition of land should be dealt with. The products of our soils must be brought to the highest standard, and shipped to the markets of the world under the best conditions possible, and handled there with Intelligence and capacity, otherwise New Zealand will suffer.” These are sound views, and they indicate the lines on which the work of the Department should be conducted. If the Government is returned with a majority at the elections, and Mr Mackenzie is successful in his appeal to a new constituency, there is unlikely to be any change in the Cabinet so far as the portfolio of Agriculture is concerned. But then almost the first act of the new Cabinet will be the appointment of a High Commissioner, and it remains to be seen whether Mr Mackenzie will still be a member of the Ministry after that appointment has been made.