The Southland Times FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1937. A Task That Demands The Ablest Men

Southland Times, Issue 23379, 10 December 1937, Page 4

The Southland Times FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1937. A Task That Demands The Ablest Men

In a statement published yesterday Mr C. H. Weston, Dominion president of the National Party, referred to “the need for men of sound beliefs and high integrity to assist in the government of the country.” This is a problem which receives attention as every new general election draws nearer. But although it is generally recognized that there is room in Parliament for men of much better intellectual quality than many of those at present to be found there, the right type of candidate continues to hold aloof. It is quite true, as Mr Weston pointed out, that men “eminently suited to public life” are inclined “to withhold their consent and leave the burden of responsibility to others, perhaps less qualified than themselves.” To a certain extent this unwillingness to enter public life is the result of a perfectly natural desire to avoid the interruptions and- penalties inherent in a parliamentary career. Men who have established themselves in business or a profession are anxious to push forward with their own affairs, and feel that, in a personal sense, they have nothing to gain and a great deal to lose from a seat in the House of Representatives. One result of this has been that some of those who are attracted to ■ politics are careerists untroubled by any but the most casual political beliefs, experienced in platform polemics, but lacking a wider intellectual background, and quite unfitted for responsible tasks which sometimes come to them from the inner workings of the party machine. One other reason why men of unusual ability involuntarily stand aside from politics, is that New Zealanders are incorrigibly addicted to an amused and slightly contemptuous attitude towards politicians, as if the business of governing a country were something that need not be taken seriously by men of affairs. This attitude has become increasingly foolish over a period during which government in New Zealand has reached more noticeably into the Eves of individuals. It. should be clear, too, that we have entered a phase in world affairs wherein the need for wise guidance is greater than ever before in the history of this country. European nations have succumbed, one after another, to the virus of a new authoritarianism. In many ways the movement is simply a reaction from forms of government which had no claim to an indigenous growth; they were set up largely as a result of the strength of British democracy, which existed as a ready-made model for peoples achieving a sudden freedom in the expansions of the nineteenth century. This is one reason why Britain, whose democratic government is the natural expression of the national spirit, has been able to adapt herself to changes which have come convulsively in other countries. But the times are difficult, and in New Zealand there is no large historical background to impose a check on those who mistake an uncontrolled innovation for progress. If we are to pass through a transition period and retain the fundamental values of democratic government unharmed, these historical and traditional influences must be replaced by the qualities of enlightened intellect. We do not mean to suggest that New Zealand is on the verge of crisis, or that salvation can lie only in a grouping of outstanding ability within a single party. The point to be made is that both parties in New Zealand politics should seek to attract the best available men to the service of their country, and that these men should think long and hard before they reject an opportunity which is also a responsibility, thrust upon them by the increasing complexity of government, and by the special needs of the times.