The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1930. SERVING THE PUBLIC.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18619, 15 July 1930, Page 8

The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1930. SERVING THE PUBLIC.

Lives of great men all remind us we may make our lives sublime, And departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time; Footprints that perhaps another, sailing o'er Life’s solemn main A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, seeing shall take heart again. Applying these lines by the poet to the departed leader, who has played a leading part in the national life of New Zealand, his Lordship Bishop Brodie, in a eloquent, panegyric pronounced on the occasion of the death of Sir Joseph Ward, declared that the “career and work of Sir Joseph Ward impresses one with the rich treasury of inspiration the lives of our public men must offer to the youth of our day. When we recall,” said the distinguished prelate, “the lives of past Prime Ministers such as Mr Seddon, Mr Massey, and now the latest name to be added, that of Sir Joseph Ward, the record of self-government in New Zealand becomes illustrious in the careers and accomplishments of the men whose political record reaches a high standard of statesmanship.” It is worthy of note that Sir Joseph Ward had at least the satisfaction—often denied our national leaders—of realising in the eulogium of his life work, that was expressed on his retirement from the leadership of the Government, that li is public services were sincerely appreciated by political opponents no less than by those who were found within his own camp. Tn his case the voice of the people was not altogether silent until death closed his career. The passing of Sir Joseph Ward, however, lias shown that the work of the men who serve their day and generation in the high and perilous places of public life does not go unappreciated. “I would say it is a noble and laudable ambition to devote time and talents to the public good,” said Bishop Brodie at the solemn Requiem Mass at Christchurch. “Our wide and generous franchise gives to every citizen the right to seek the suffrages of his fellow citizens and it should be our wish and prayer that God will ever inspire men of ability, of upright motive to seek the honour of being associated in the honourable and arduous work attached to Parliamentary life.” It is interesting to observe, however, that there is no scarcity of aspirants for political honours in this country. Indeed the right to become Parliamentary representatives of New Zealand constituencies seems to be an eagerly sought honour; so much so that on the retirement of Sir Joseph Ward from the leadership of the United Party no fewer than four members of a Party of twenty-two aspired to succeed him! The difficulty of every political party in New Zealand when the general election comes round is not a dearth of candidates, but a veritable rush of more or less suitable supporters keenly anxious to carry the Party’s banner into the contest. Community service appears to hold such an extraordinary fascination for a very large section of the average community in New Zealand, that it would appear that the gratification the individual experiences more than compensates for any sacrifice that is made. It was ever thus. Archimedes the Greek, and Tom Paine, the Philistine, had this in common —each looked for a place to stand. The old Greek, proud of his discovery of the power of the lever, declared: “Had we a place to stand on, we might raise the world.” With the ascendancy of democracy no body of political folk in any civilised community need long lack standing room; indeed within a few short years has come the elimination of political distinction based on sex. Only a few months ago, comparatively speaking, Labour looked from the front seats on the Speaker’s left in the British House of Commons, across to the Treasury benches, aspiring to make the brief but great journey thither. To-day, the Labour Party is invested with all authority as His Majesty’s Government in the Imperial Parliament. In the British Commonwealth of_ Nations, the fight for political rights is over; no longer, to paraphrase Paine’s description, will freedom be hunted round the world, nor reason be considered a rebellion, nor the slavery of fear make men afraid to think. The fulcrum and the lever are already furnished; the place to stand has been found for the modern social mechanic! But the use to which the Archimedian lever is put by the community depends largely on the measure of the general enlightenment of the comnnihity. An ignorant democracy will be powerless to achieve its own good; it may even be a positive menace. The late CampbellBannerman declared that selfgovernment is better than good government, and there is a profound sense in which the dictum is true. A struggle towards excellence in self-directed political action is infinitely preferable for a community in this century of democratic advance to submission to the political slavery, however paternal, imposed by an autocrat or bureaucracy. But having won its freedom, a democracy’s use of

that freedom will be conditioned by the political enlightenment it possesses. It is said with truth a country gets the Government it deserves! Hence it is obvious that nothing can save the community but an educated commonsense in things political, and if this free and enlightened country is to advance steadily along the path of real progress there is urgent need not only for inspired and inspiring leadership, but a just appreciation of the greatness of citizenship; since it must be obvious to all intelligent members of the community, that if all citizens think in terms of national good and give duty and service the chief place in their counsels, community service in this free and enlightened democracy becomes a rare honour and a prize worth winning.