HON. A. L. HERDMAN

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11752, 6 February 1918, Page 4

HON. A. L. HERDMAN

The resignation of the Hon. A. L. Herdniau wiil be a. very heavy loss to the Parliament of Mew Zealand, particularly at a. period when radical changes in our system of Parliament- j ary government are almost inovit- ' able. Mr Herdniau is one of the few politicians of the Dominion who have had the courage to stand to their Convictions. He has never pandered to party, or sectional interests, even though by His independence he may have risked popularity. In "tiie administration of the oiiices of Attormey-Oeneral, Solicit or-G en eral, and Commissioner of Police he has displayed the. greatest judgment and ability. Hik most courageous and statesmanlike action as a Minister of the Crown was the framing of legislation to remove the Public Service from political control. This legislation has met with considerable hostility. but it will ultimately be accepted as one of the greatest reforms in the political history of the Dominion, amd one of the surest safeguards against jerrymandering and corruption. As a Judge of the Supreme Court, Mr Herdman may not possess the high legal attainments of some of tlie present occupants of the. Bench. He nevertheless has a strong judicial temperament, a robut intelligence, a legal sagacity, a- philosophic mind, and a knowledge of men and things which should make him a valued acquisition to the Judicature of the Dominion.