MY PARLIAMENTARY ALBUM.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 6432, 3 January 1900, Page 2

MY PARLIAMENTARY ALBUM.

{By Our Whukalaki Correspondent). TUE HON. CAPT. RUSSELL. "

f' Ami thus lie bora, without abuse, the grand old name of' Gentleman."') Captain ltussell is, pre-eminently, the House's ornament. Not that he poses, or designs to be ornamental; on the contrary the member for Hawke's Bay is absolutely unaffected and wholly natural, and he honestly and earnestly discharges his duties, both to his district and the Colony. But his antecedents arc those of a well-'ored Englishman, who takes the political field from a sense of duty and looks upon political activity not as a professional pursuit, but as an obligation of citizenship. The extreme rarity of such qualifications makes them the more ornamental. If it be desirable (as some of us have the temerity to think it is) that a memher of Parliament should bo a man of culture to whom the word politics is not a synonym for " bread and butter"; and who when ho speaks shall not be offensive to ear and eye—Captain Eussell is a type of Parliamentarian who " fills the bill." That he has force enough to be a leader of men is doubtful, that he is a shining example to public men is beyond a doubt. Tall and of a fine presence, easy graceful in carriage, of uniform gentlM courtesy, a man with a due sense of importance of his subject and deference to the opinions of others, and free from all taint of egoistic disease, self-respect, ing in life and language, the Leader of the Opposition is invariably heard and answered respectfully. Before his unfailing and natural dignity and gentleness, the " yenomed darts " of party malice fall harmless. Nobody ever turns upon Captain Russell the fire of infective or personal abuse. He speaks clearly, pleasingly, and with tempered earnestness; and his speeches give evidence of honest and laborious thought, and a proper grasp of his subject. He neyer talks for tho mere sako of doing so, nor does he talk " all round the compass," or in strain of personal bitterness. Some of bis fellow members sit and squirm as he speaks: " What," they murmur inwardly," what is thero about the man, why are ice so different ?" It is caste; and the social coolie recognises it, even though freakish destiny may liavo placed him in a falso position by making him a member of Parliament. The refiuemeut (mental and moral) of ik the mau is more conspicuous than thefl gifts of the politician. Full of ateness,_ he lacks the artificial taet which turns divisions, jockeys measures, and buys votes. His criticisms are honest and his object in speaking is not so much to prove his opponent in the wrong as to assert what he believes to be the truth. This istheyery antithesis o£ the new order of politicians, with whom party and personal interests come first, and abstract truth is subordinate. There is nowhere such a net-work of duplicity, dissimulation and jobbery as in Parliament, and he whose path keeps him clear of this net must always command respect. Captain Russell's yiews oa pretty nearly eyery subject are hopelessly divergent from those of his fellow members whom the "one man one yote" ordinance has placed in senatorial position, otherwise his eo-opofation with the "Liberal" party would be of inestimable value to the colony. He must orer be in an attitude of protest, erer bear aloft almost single-handed, the banner of the old order, The" old order , changeth, giving place to new." But always" history repeats itself" and the crowd who now by revolutionary modes, have been bustled into the legislature, will be rent in twain by a new Opposition, which will evolve out of itself, 'k Talent, breeding and refinement must 1 assert themselves, and nobody was more solicitous to imitate the graces of the old chivalry, than those who at one time hunted them to the guillotine. The world soon becomes weary of revolutionaries and recognises that there must be ' some finality in legislation. When the national mind pauses to reflect, it will again long for the presence in its counof men who haye preserved the traditions of all that n as good and noble and cultivated in tho past. And when that day comes in New Zealand, she will fill her legislative halls once more with men of scholarship and refinement, whoso yery studies and experience will have taught them the moderation that is the best characteristic of statesmanship, and the baser element of political jobbers will be extinguished. Labour agitators and strike leaders will have no part or lot in an assembly made up of studious and thoughtful men, bent on carrying principles into practice, and less concerned about party than about the general good. And when that day comes, when perhaps Captain Bussell will liavo passed out of the ranks, and his voice be no more heard in the Chamber, the memory of his grace and public spirit, his unselfish and sincere character,aud his exemplary courtesy will * be fragrant for ever. ' 'A ..== I