A POLITICIAN'S LETTER BOX.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 932, 27 September 1910, Page 4

A POLITICIAN'S LETTER BOX.

■ " THE MAN WITH A GRIEVANCE- • AND OTHERS. Many and varied aie the letters received by members of\Parliament The average ' member receives anything bo- . ' tiveen .fifty an d one hundred communicaitions per week,'which demand an answer •. if it be but a formal acknowledgment ' : Ministers, ot course, receive a great many - more,''but they, have the assistance; of", their privdte secretaries, and stall's wra- . sponding to the.. m'aiiy.:, demands upon, i tnem. The Xeader ,of-the Opposition is '-v.in a .unique position, for not only has he to look" after the .interests oi his con- ~ stituents, but be has also to respond to various demands .made upon him in his official capacity as Leader of His Majesty's Opposition. Mr. Massey . has..' to ' answer -between. 6ne "hundred 'and . one hundred and fifty letters each week while -. Parliament is in session, and it- requires a ; considerable amount. ot tact to. deal . with 6ome of them without transgressing. .- the rules of etiquette. Thus one of tho constituents of ■■■a. Government member,.. may allow, his political .feelings to induce him to ignore Jiis member, and write to Mr. Massey. Such.a communication has . to be handled delicately. Sometimes it may be sent.direct to a-iMinister, ,with:a covering note; again, it.may be sent, to the ■ member - for the! district;' sometimes. the contents inolude private or personal : matter, and a portion of it has to be copied and forwarded to'.the Minister or member: The majority 'of the letters.ro- ' ceived by Mr. Massey are in his capacity as Leader of <-tho Opposition,' and not as member for, Franklyn. ' i. ■ A good many aro begging- letters, -posi- . tions or subscriptions, or money for the personal use of the writers' being mostly V in demand. On one occasion; for. instance, Mr. Massey placed on record an . expression of sympathy " fof- ■ .the poor. -, About & week later a lettet arrived from ' the' back-blocks recording this 6ehtiment 'against : him, and asking him-,to prove its "' sincerity by forwarding:, ill. The .writer .-/ Was. a woman; women . are the ' most■ troublesome in this respect. Mr; Massey : . finds others who do."not write for taoney: or. positions write for advice on all 6ortt': of matters. -'-'Would you adviso me to come to Wellington to see tho end pf my case?" asks one man who.has a,-petition, before .the House. "Should tv;e send : ; 'a deputation to the' Minister P'f: writes - an- ■- v 1 other. . "Can -you give mo information ,: ; about the iron,industry£"■' asks .a',third.- i : o- ■ All these, letters were . picked casually by Mr. Massey : oiit ; "of jlast night's'* maiL'''. -V Others, asked' for information aboilt; the V proposed gold duty and how to alter the boundaries' -of counties. Of ! all oorres- . pondents,' the man - with '* a'grievance ia the most-lengthy. . He may . have; no'iopa ' of a remedy, but the mere recital of " his sorrow; seems : to- aiford: him some to lief. : Ope letter Mr., Massey .picked. from 'r. the initil inJront of him .complained that' the writOT had been' retrenched' unfairly. . .- This ran .in to several pages.. Another he : pulled from' a drawer consisted of twenty , foolscap pages, all dealing with one griev- : > •anoe;-' -V- *■ : :

Not all the letters received, however, 'vhave a selfish nature. -Some aro prompted by a, desire to Mr. Massey to ail understanding of. .' all -Vths. : -bearings./-of ..- matters of the day, and of these : a 'per: ; . oentage, small perhalps, are really , vain- i:;. 1 . able documents, : information: 1 J ; th&t' might : not- be' available froin.;Other; •' i' channels. One 6uchlay: before Mr. Masssy lost - night. It contained .nino-pages, - and .dealt with the. early; history of-Gov- . ernmeht House at Auckland, ■giving/much -:. : : detail to show that from the " historic point of the house' was ; : Vrorth-retaining. : , Petitions, resolutions, eto., como thick, y< : ' but they require only formal,, if any, ao- . ■ knowledgment. Mr.. Massey makes; it: i rule to. keep well , abreast of his ponderice.-, He himself - will : not "say what •: y effort; .theise replies, * with the"; incidentaly X/; research, cost, but' those who frequent' Parliament . Buildings know that tho ,Leader of the Opposition is nearly 7 always in his room after 9.15 a.m. sitting days .and: holidays.-AStanding jest is.-- the in-, difference:, of. the'- Leader I b£ '.this .Opposition' to the time tho House rises. Whether, it ' rises at midnight or 4'a.m., Mr.-Massey' is in" his .room about. 9.15 'a.m. grappling ■ -. with hie.correspondence,- reading Hansard proofs, or preparing pabulum - for.- his# v? speeches:;?. '. ■B: