PUBLIC' SERVICE,

Taranaki Daily News, 18 May 1928, Page 6

PUBLIC' SERVICE,

The Hon. Downie Stewart had something to say in his address to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday regarding the disinclination of a section ot the community to take part as it should in public life. He referred particularly to the sons of the well-to-do people who had had the advantage of a liberal education, and had no great business ties. They were, he averred, free in their criticism, but were unwilling to take their share in public life. They were lazily content to let it be done by others perhaps not as competent as themselves. It will be admitted that there is justification tor the charge. In respect to local as well as the general government our best equipped men prefer looking on and criticising to participating. They act as if they have no responsibility to the rest of the community. In some districts it is almost impossible .to persuade men to take -part in local government, and the result often is that these duties are left to incompetent if earnest hands. This attitude does not bode w’ell for the future welfare of the nation. In England conditions are different. There the educated and leisured classes regard it as a duty to give their services to the public, with no thought of fee or reward. As the Minister puts it, in New Zealand there is no aristocracy of birth or of wealth, and consequently no privileged section, but there is a call for public service on the part of those who have had educational advantages. It is a call, however, that, has not been responded to in the past, and it is a rare thing to see young men offering their services in any public position. It is the middle-aged and the old who exhibit public spirit and are mainly responsible for the public work of a community. Perhaps it is that the young and qualified are not encouraged as they might be to come forward. Maybe they see so. many of the major positions monopolised by the older generation that they feel it is hopeless to aspire to them, and consequently do not desire to serve the necessary apprenticeship. It is a fact that in politics the young men ace rarely considered. Age seems to be the chief qualification in the choice of candidates by the political parties, and the result is that the old hand rules the country. Youth plays an important, if not a dominant part, in the industrial and commercial life of the country. Why not in public life?