THE QUALITIES OF GENIUS

Taranaki Daily News, 9 July 1930, Page 11

THE QUALITIES OF GENIUS

KEEN MANIPULATIVE MIND THE UNIVERSAL PENNY POSTAGE. SAVING FINANCIAL DISASTER, It is the necessary fate of a genius that the fruits of his genius .should, with the passage of time, become commonplaces. The reason for this is that the ideas of a genius are ultimately universally recognised aud adopted. In this way the thoughts in the Book of Proverbs and in the works of Shakespeare have become current coin in tho English language. This fact might almost be termed a test of genius. Looking back over the remarkable career of Sir Joseph Ward it is surprising to see the number of reforms introduced under hia leadership or on hia advice which were startling at the time by the force of their originality but have now become commonplaces by the universality of their adoption. One is struck by the dexterity of the mind that could- .conceive them and the strength of the personality that could put them into practice. "For many years an agitation for Imperial penny postage was carried on by Sir Henniker Heaton. It is a tribute .to Sir Joseph Ward’s clarity of vision that, in the face of expert opposition, he saw the great, benefits of such a scheme, put it into practice in New Zealand and enabled the Dominion to lead the whole world towards the ideal of the universal penny post. In 1891, dur•i • his first year as Postmaster-General, Sir Joseph managed to have legislation passed giving the Government authority to establish penny postage in New Zealand, and on reciprocal terms with any country which might be persuaded to adopt that great postal reform. The reform, however, was not introduced into the Dominion immediately. There were difficulties in the way and * postal, officials feared a heavy drop in revenue. The scheme, was dropped altogether when business misfortune compelled Sir Joseph to leave politics for a time, but on his return to the House he attacked the problem again. He was gazetted Postmaster-General at the end of the year 1899 and at the beginning of the year 1901 he established penny post- j age in New Zealand as an accomplished fact. The new system came into force on January 1 and, on the stroke of midnight, the big Post Office building in Wellington was suddenly lit with red, white and blue light. Rockets were sent up into the sky, sirens and whistles sounded and the great crowd, shouted and cheered. In the building itself the •postal officials were presenting Sir Joseph with a commemorative gold medallion and an illuminated address, subscribed for by every post office in New Zealand. CONFERENCE AT ROME. Five years later was held the great Postal Conference at Rome. Before the representatives of the world’s nations Sir Joseph urgently pressed for universal penny postage and, after a brilliant speech, moved “that in view of the enormous social and political advantages . . . this conference recommends . . . a universal adoption of that rate.” The motion was adopted. Through him New Zealand won the credit of beginning the move toward the universal penny post. There were numerous reforms of this nature to his credit. The cheapening of the telegraph was largely due to his efforts, and through him the sixpenny telegram was established.- As Minister of Railways he closely watched every forward step ana under his administration the tablet system and the Westinghouse brake were introduced. ■ The establishment of a sinking fund to pay off the National Debt was one of the fruits of his financial genius, and the State Advances to Settlers on the 1 kind was another. Until the establishment of the Ministry of Health, in 1901, with Sir Joseph as Minister, the control of public health was on a very inadequate footing. Each local body was a board of health. There was no co-ordination, no central control and no system. Under the new scheme the country was organised into health districts with responsible medical officers of high standing in charge. The advantages* of the system were not long in coming. In the Financial Statement of 1902 Sir Joseph was able to record the repulse of the danger of widespread bubonic plague. “Although we have not been successful in preventing " the occurrence of plague in the Colony,” he stated, “I am glad to say that the health authorities have in each instance been able to circumscribe the- sphere of action of these eases so that nothing in ’ the nature of an epidemic has taken place.” The full benefits of the scheme ; were, however, not shown until the influenza epidemic of 1918, when the Public Health Department •by its efficient organisation saved thousands of lives.

BANK ON. VERGE OF..FAILURE. One more stroke of genius must be mentioned. Sinister rumours began to ‘travel .the country in the year 1894 that the Bank of New Zealand was bin the verge of failure. A Parliamentary Commission had been set up to examine the affairs of the bank. In Australia the sensitive web of finance had been broken by the swift failures of! many banks in the Commonwealth. On June 29, 1894, the report of. the commission on the affairs of the bank was ; tabled in the House. Outside, an agitated public felt tho shadow of impending disaster. Tho House, alive with rumours, was nervously putting through some trifling Bills. Then Sir Joseph, tne Colonial Treasurer, rose and gave notice of an emergency measure for that evening to be put through all its stages... That evening every member was in his seat' and the galleries were full. Shortly after eight o’clock the printed Bill was circulated and the Colonial Treasurer rose to speak. In a speech going straight to the heart of the matter he outlined tho position, showed the grave nature of the crisis, quoted the bank’s assets and liabilities. Immediate action was essential; the State must give the bank a guarantee of £2,600,000. Delay, he warned them, would be (fatal. The Standing Orders were suspended and the Bill was put through all its stages. Well after midnight the Bill was passed bv the Legislative Council, received toe assent of the Governor and had become law. That day has become a landmark in New Zealand