WANTED: A MAN WHO IS TRUE TO PRINCIPLE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 438, 22 September 1908, Page 4

WANTED: A MAN WHO IS TRUE TO PRINCIPLE.

[By Dr Madison C. Peters.] A man without principle is like a shifting quicksand, which to-day may be on the heights, to-morrow submerged in the depths below. The philosophers of the olden time regarded a man without principle, no matter how brilliant bis talents, or how high his station in society, as a person dangerous to the community, inasmuch as his words and actions cannot be relied upon at a crucial moment or when the affairs of State or society demanded implicit confidence in his assertions as to his intentions or manner of procedure in affairs of vital importance to the issue at stake.

Seneca said : “ Give me a man ot principle rather than of power,” Who can doubt the wisdom of the old philosopher in his demand ? Conscience ever comes before power. A ruler or potentate or Czar may have power to will the life or death of thousands, yet may not have enough principle upon which a single individual could rely when the decisive time arrives.

We often hear the remark, “ Ob, he is a man of no principle,” which is equivalent to saying he is a person on whose word no one can depend, one in whom the public can have no trust whatever. MANY SEEM TO COURT IT. Such is an unenviable character to gain among one’s iellow citizens, but many seem to court it by their actions rather than repudiate it by straightforward conduct and manly observance of duty. Many make principle depend upon policy, unfurling the banner of honesty only, when it pays them best to fight beneath its standard. As soon as it is for their own emolument to be crooked they desert the colours of decency and become recruits under the black flag of dishonesty, aiding the cohorts of evil against those of good to the utmost of their wicked endeavours.

It is impossible, however, to show a Janus face to the world all the time. Honour and dishonour have never been affinities, and never will. Sterling principle can have nothing in common with a double-dealing policy—they are opposed to each other, and can never amalgamate into a homogeneous whole. Without principle o back them the virtues can have no value, nor can the material things of life add happiness nor contribute to the common welfare. No legacy is so rich as a spotless reputation, and no wealth so valuable as that reputation harnessed to a useful purpose in life. The great master of all experience, Shakespears, says Good name in man and woman, dear my lord. Is the immediate jewel of their souls ’ Who steals my purse steals trash ;’tis something, nothing ; ’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands, But lie that lilches from me my good name Bobs me of that which, not enriches him And makes mo poor indeed. A spotless reputation is the noblest crown the human head can wear. Riches, after all, are but evanescent at any time —they may take wings and fly when least expected to do so, but character, if upheld, remains as constant as the adamantine rocks of time. Knavery, falsehood, double-dealing, perjury, chicanery, oppression, and all their attendant train of evils may flourish for a season, but in the end they are bound to fail, miserably fail in degradation and in shame. The unprincipled mau 7 s money does not always take ■wings and flee from its source of being, but often seems to flourish in the parent nest. Here below the balances do not always swing evenly, but faith teaches us to believe that the seeming imperfections and inequalities of the moral law will be adjusted in another and better world, where wrongs will be converted into rights. TROUBLED BY HIS CONSCIENCE. 111-gotten gains ca» never make the possessor happy, but on the contrary they bring misery in their train. The unprincipled man is always haunted by shadows, which, like Banquo’s ghost, will not down. His conscience troubles him, there is a constan t gnawing at the heart, which- never allows surcease from- suspicion and apprehension of the future. Not alone ih his mental equilibrium unbalanced, but his physical being is indicative of the strain in the sunken eye, the pale cheek, the nervous tremor, the uncertain step. A fear is ever upon him which he cannot shake off, and, though he may be a Croesus, he cannot purchase that contentment of mind and poise of body which confer their happiness on the poor man who has led an upright life, true to principle, and who, like Longfellow’s blacksmith, can look the whole world in the lace and fear not any man. The unprincipled man sails in a ship like the fabled one of old which, when it approached the magnetic mountain, had all the nails and bolts drawn out and went to pieces in the depths of the sea. But the man ot principle, self-sustained, is invulnerable, can surmount every difficulty, withstand every siege, and triumph in his own vindication. When Gen. Reed, who was president of the continental congress was offered 10,000 guineas by foreign commissioners to espouse the royal cause, he indignantly spurned the offer and Eicathingly retorted : “ Gentlemen, I am poor, but tell your king he is not rich enough to buy me.”

SUCH MEN NEEDED NOW. We stand much in need of such men in politics to-day, men whom the desire for office does not kill, men whom the spoil of office cannot buy. We need honest men in all ranks and conditions of life, men who will keep their conscience to the magnet of right as the needle keeps to the pole. The world has confidence in the man of principle, and it is this confidence which makes life really worth living, for when a man loses the respect of his fellows he had better be out of the world than in it. Especially the young men of our day have much to guard against and much to learn of the precedent of those who have gone before. Det them not be blindfolded by the apparent success of tricksters, swindlers who have risen to power and pelf by trampling on the rights of others and defying the laws of sociely and the moral laws of a higher power. Temptation may be strong, but they must resist, realising that only honour and integrity can ultimately prevail to enable them to reach the true heights of a righteous manhood. The world never angles for true men in mud and slime, but always casts its line in the clear waters of unsullied reputation. A fresh fish from a tiny rivulet may be small, but it is better than a bloated one fed on decomposed sewage. A hovel wherein dwells a good conscience, is preferable to a mansion that houses the glittering gilt of perfidy and moral corruption, and better, far better, the grassy mound that covers righteousness than the marble mausoleum which towers over the bones of a scoundrel.—Chicago Tribune.

First race tc; start at 11.150 a.m. sharp Faces for children, throughout the day NOMINATIONS, accompanied by 2s on each event, close with the Secretary, Foxton, and M. 11. W. Armit, 51 Lambton Quay, Wellington, on Monday, October 2(5, at 10 p.m., for' events, 1,4, 5,7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 10. HANDICAPS will appear on or about November 2nd. ACCEPTANCES close on ihc ground 30 minutes before the advertised time of starting each event. Entry forms can lie obtained from the Secretary. Special trains from Feilding and Palmerston North. A special tram will run from Pukenui and Sanson. Trains will stop at ground, Refreshment Booth on the Ground. Band in attendance. Grand Concert in Evening. Programmes can be obtained on application to the Secretary. Admission to ground; Adults Is, Child on under 12 half-price.

FRANK D. WHIBLEY, Hon. Sec., Foxton,