THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1880.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1918, 17 April 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1880.

Sir W. Fox is not a man at all likoly to be satisfied with the cool shades of the Upper House. His animal spirits are immense, and the somniferous effects of tho atmosphere of the Lords on his constitution must be more or less distressing. When the lotus eaters orowded round the vessel of Ulysses of old, and exprossed their views on tho aims and objects of life, the restless warrior, though probably more or less taken with the charm of their description, forced his sailors on board their ships, und made sail with the utmost expedition. " A little of this tranquil repose," he probably said to himsolf, " must go a long way, and without exercise my digestion weuld be ruined, and my muscles would become flabby," So, too, our modern political Ulysses must long ago have been tired of his forced inactivity, and must havo been eager to seize the first opportunity of returning into the more stirring scenes of the Lower House. There are some men whom ago seems not to affect. They carry the fire of youth far beyond the limits which is usually assigned for the operations of that divine afflatus. The blind and agod Dandolo taking Constantinople by storm in his ninety-fourth year, was borne by his ardour through an undertaking that would have baffled many a warrior in the prime of life. Not that Sir William Fox is ninety-four years old by very many a long year, but he is apparently made of the stuff that, should he live long enough, would at that advanced age still carry him into the clash of political warfare, with the full enjoyment of youth. And, as matters stand, we cannot but foel gratification at Sir W. Fox's resolve. His great knowledge of the political affairs of New Zealand, his wide experience of the world, and his large capacity for work render him a most useful member for the country at large, and a most useful aid to his party. As a party leader no doubt ho has proved to be a failure. His temper does not fit him to occupy a position in which, above everything, calmness and a long-suffering good-nature are requisite. Where political parties are not separated by tho broad lines of demarcation that divide Liberal from Conservative in the old country, it behoves a party leader to be more careful in the manner in which he handles his troops. It would be impossible for any members in the English Parliament, except professed obstructionists, to balance themselves on the rail dividing the two parties with that acrobatic skill that has, at times, characterised the proceedings of tho member for the Dunstan and other gentlemen of the same kidney. Consequently, the leader of either of the great parties in England is safer of his men.

There is too much of the vi et armis about Sir W. Fox—too much vindictiveness against a political foe. The possession of conciliatory finess is not his strong point. However, he is hut little likely to see himself at the head of a party again, and apparently, as he informed the electors at the Bulls, he has no hankering after office, and would not accept a place in the Ministry except under extreme circumstances. The masterly manner in which he and Sir Dillon Bell have arranged Native affairs since they have been on the Native Com-i mission give Sir W. Fox a fresh claim on the gratitude of the country. No one can read the interim report of the Commission, to be found in our columns today, without recognising tho fact that the delicate questions placed before the Commission have been handled with great ability. Justice to the Natives, and the rightful claims of the New Zealand Government to enforce the confiscation, have been weighed side by side, and a balance has been struck which it may be trusted will arrange the affair on a satisfactory basis. This is no light task to have accomplished. The outcome is practical and beneficent, and of considerably more value than any amount of general talk on the rights of mankind. As Roderic Manrique

"Drew, Each fading character anew In his old age," so Sir W. Fox has renewed [the memory of his services in the old days to Now Zealand in tho manner in which he has acquitted himself on the Native Commission, and we trust that, as it is his wish once more to enter into the Lower House, he may be successful at Rangitikei.