The Tariff.

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 330, 20 September 1907, Page 2

The Tariff.

The ection of oar m'jnber, Mr H. J. G<eensli.de, in voting against the Government recently in the House, baa been freely di.-c lately, and we take tbe f llowii g appreciation of bis action from the Auuk! md Observer : —“lc wag unreasonable %3 w-H undignfied of Sir J >seph \Vvd to fly into a pasii n the members representing mining and dairying districts CKubinad with the Oppo-d’.ion to remove the duty from the maebindy and other appliances c ranee ed with their particular industries. Sir Joseph denounced their action as disloyal to tbe Government and in icg to himself. It is not easy to discover the personal insult in the episode, As for the disloyalty to the Government, is is equally difficult to discern. This was not by any meins a piny question. If the issue had been one of prot .ciun versus free trade, and the had been beaten on th? ma’ter ■-t p i icy by the votes of its own sipporte s there would have been much - n for anger. But the House being -ic.reed’ on tbe policy of further pent. - tion, the membars were entitle-1 to exercise their individual judgment concerning the items of the tariff, irrespective altogether of any question of party. Take, for example, the c -e nf Mr Greenslade, who was osp cially singled out by Sir Joseph for rebuke. The first duty of Mr Greenslade is to the Waikato settlers, who placed him in Parliament, and who expect him to keep a watchful eye upon their interostp. One of tbe chief interests of the Waikato is dairying, and, as a cousieotiius representative, Mr Greenslade is bound in honour to do his utmost to prevent the machinery and appliances used in the industry from being taxed. By aadsting in the combination with the mining and Opposition members and thus defeating tho proposed duty, Mr Mreenslade was loyal to his constituents and to the district that be represents in Parliament. There are d umb dogs enough representing Auckland constituences. We have members as it is who are content to fill the billet of boy in buttons to the Ministry, to fetch and carry at command, and to loyally re echo any sentiment that falls from Ministerial Ifpg, whether it is favourable to their constituents or not. If Auckland cat? a sorry despicable figure in the Parliament of the c >untry, and if her neuessitieg are flouted by Ministers and scoffed at by southern memcars, it is because we as a peiple have elected as our represents lives men who are afraid of the sound of their own voices, and who tremble at the voice of a Cabinet Minister. Mr Greenslade has no reason to grieve because of the Ministerial wrath that be has brought down on his independant head. His fault is that he has made the interests of his constituents his first consideration in Parliament, and, in following this policy, he will carry with him the sympathy and greater confidence of the Waikato people. The pity of it is that certain other members whom we could name representing Auckland seats are nnt equally impressed with tbe responsibility they owe to their constituents and to this particular part of the colony. Loyalty to party is all very well, but a greater virtue is patriotism, which in this case mean- a watchful and independant concern for tbe interests of the district that the member represents or misrepresents.”