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Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 32, 14 March 1914, Page 6 (Supplement)

Lord Newton, who is in charge of the Betting Inducements Bill now before the House of Lords, has discovered the secret of power—"he would advise a young man desiring to exercise the greatest influence to buy racehorses.'' Lord Eosebery was cited as an example in support of the proposition—he had won three Derbys. " If f Mr Balfour had owned selling platers," observed the noble lord, '' he would not have been driven from the Conservative leadership." The proposition of Lord Newton is startling, but unoriginal, and will hardly bear critical examination. Were it accurate it would mean that ambitious young men would have to readjust all their plans for reaching a position of

dominance. No earnest study and preparation through 'long nights, no- following of the brave ideals, no persistent endeavour of brain and body—these might have been good enough in the old days, but, to-day there is a speedier path to power, to wit, a Derby colt, which is worth a mint Of money (to his breeder only)., and a couple of spindleshanked 'platers. Optimistic men have in the past purchased racehorses, but we have not heard their names "blown Across the listening world." Probably they bought the wrong sort of horses — the not-too-fast sort. It is just a thought, but the greatest Corsican of them all did very well without racehorses, and there is no record that Cromwell, Washington, Hamilton, ran even good hacks at picnic meetings^ — probably these unenterprising fellows were all too busy following a will-o'-the-wisp. Lord Newton's idea will, we feel, not become over-popular; Horses have '' made' \ men, but more often Jjroken them. It is very unlikely we will hear of the brilliant barristers at Heme discarding their wigs to rush to the stud sales. Many of them have achieved a great success by more oldfashioned means. The proposition has so often been proved a falsity that there will be little danger of our ambitious working men dropping the hod and attacking Fortune on these 7 lines.