THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S "COURAGE."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1220, 31 August 1911, Page 4

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S "COURAGE."

.. « A SOUTHERN VIEW. Like-'nearly everybody cl«, the Christchurch "Evening News" is puzzled by the compliments paid to the Attorney-General on his "courage" in deciding to contest a scat in Parliament. It fays: "Wo can quite imagine that u a man is unpopular and knows it; if he is looked upon as a doctrinaire aiid a visionary; if he is full of paternalistic schemes for the regulation of life in all its phases by governmental machinery, and at the same time has little real knowledge of the lito that plain common people live from day to day, it requires a good deal of courage (o go to those plain common people for their votes and to ask that they shall put him in authority over them. . . . Tho next problem is where to find a feat that the courageous Sir John has a reasonable prospect of winning. At present ho is merely a knight in Srmoiir setting forth in quest of adventure. Hi 9 challenge has im-l with a prompt response, but the field of battle must needs bo chosen with great circumspection. But for the necessity of taking careful precautions to manoeuvre this political champion- into a winiiiim position before the signal is given for the onset, the matter might l>o settled in a very different way. The "News" also poinls out a rather important fact:—"lf the ordinary procedure will be followed of inducing «>mo loval Ministerialist to stand aside, there is'the difficulty of dclcrniiniiiK accurately what is a safe" Government prat as far as Sir John Findhy is concerned. There are plenty of seat* like Mr. Mils and Mr. U'ilh-'s that are prelly safe ns lohr us the pro--cnt im-inhers olt'er thenlwws for re-election, but it would bo ano'lher proposition altogether if Sir John Findlay camp on tlie «•«"'• * w ls ' !u> ~0. , , l >' o'iscd by the lad that another Minister in'the person of 11 r. T. Mackenzie, m<l an ex-Minister, Mr. R. M'Nab, are lo«V iii" for 'sifo' seals. The latter Hunks he'has discovered one at I'almcrston North, just us he thought ho had solved the land question, but he will knmv bolter in November. .So will Sir John VimMny."

■ Aged eighty-one, Sir Henry Nightingale, who served ihroiislioiit the Burmese war of 1852, died at Folkestono on July 17, after a short illness.