PRIME MINISTERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24400, 11 September 1940, Page 8

PRIME MINISTERS

EARLY- POLITICAL HISTORY MEN WITH HIGH IDEALS ADDRESS BY MR W. DOWNIE STEWART Mr W, Downie Stewart delivered an interesting address at the meeting of the Otago branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand in the Museum lecture room last night on “Some Early New Zealand Prime Ministers.” Mr Stewart said that if they wished to find some distraction for their minds from the tragic conflict that was at present menacing their whole civilisation. they could either look forward to the future and dream of a new world order, on they could turn back to past days and find consolation in the records of history. In the ancient world •t was customary to imagine that the perfect Golden Age lay far back in the misty past. On the other hand, the modern world looked forward hopefully to the future for the coming of its Utopia or New Jerusalem. He invited his audience to look backward, not indeed in any search for a Gcdden Age but to remind themselves of what they owed to some of their early New Zealand statesmen who had niloted this country through the most difficult and stormy period of their history.

Early Problems

So competent an historian as William Gisborne had declared that no statesmen in any country had .to face and solve problems of greater magnitude and complexity than those which fell to be dealt with by the political leaders in the first and second decades of New Zealand’s constitutional history—say from 1850 to 1870. It was during that period that the fight for responsible' government had v taken place; that the, incessant struggles between the Provincial,Governments and the'central Parliathent had to find adjustment; that land laws suitable to a, new country of greatly varying character had to be evolved; that the turbulent populations of the goldfields had to be provided with mining laws and good government; and, above all, that some solution had to be found- for reconciling the conflicting' interests of the Maori and the pakeha so that they might live in peace, and goodwill as members of one nation. &:.■

All these problems might well have tested the capacity of the statesmen of the old world, anyone of the most fortunate features of their history was that they had men of great ability and of the highest character and of wide human sympathies to cope with these far-reaching and intricate problems. He was, said the speaker, referring to such men as J. E: Fitz Gerald. Sir. Edward Stafford, Sir Frederick Weld, and Alfred Domett, who were all Prime Ministers in the first period.

Common Characteristics

Much as these men differed in tem J perament and outlook, there were certain striking characteristics common to so many of them that they might be said to constitute a type, and as this type had long since passed away, he would endeavour to describe it. In the first place, they were nearly all the product of the grekt English public schools and' universities, and as at that time specialisation had not reached its' present intensity; they had acquired a broad culture and a fine background. This meant that they came to their work here with a splendid educational equipment. They werr good classical scholars, and many of them had been in contact with fahnous men in the great world of politics, literature, or art. As the years ; rolled on they 'would realise more and more what a great debt they owed to their farsighted statesmanship. Another characteristic of this group was that nearly all came from ihe landed aristocracy of Britain, and yet they had founded a country that had become noted for its extreme radicalism. The speaker first referred to Sir Frederick Weld who came from one of the great English Roman Catholic families, and had become imbued with “the heroic work of colonisation one worthy of the keenest minds and the stoutest hearts. 1 •'• •••'.£» J. E. Fitz Gerald If they looked at the usual list of. New Zealand Ministries, said . the speaker, they all began with -the. Bell Sewell Ministry in 1856, but; if they looked at any sketch of the life or J. E. Fitz Gerald most of his biographies gave /him the credit of being, the first. Prime Minister. The 'reason for this was that in 1854 Fitz Gerald ./became head of the first executive, with Sewell and Weld as colleagues, but they resigned office when they_ found that the Governor would not dispense with three colleagues. A brief outline was given of Fitz Gerald’s remarkable career. In one memorable speech in the House Fitz Gerald had said that fie ventured to predict that among the traditions of the great nation which would one day rule these islands, and the foundation of which we are now laying, the most cherished and the pioshonoured would be the wise, bold and generous policy, .which had giyen, the Magna Charta of their liberties: to .the Maori face. The related other facts in the public career of Fitz Gerald, and said that i! the tributes paid to him after hjs death , were in ; any, degree accurate he must have possessed an astonishing personality. , ' - ’ Sir Edward Stafford Sir Edward William Stafford did not immediately succeed the hybrid Ministry of Fitz Gerald, but he was the first to form a stable Government. That was in 1856. continued the speaker The two previous Governments, known as the Bell Sewell Government and the Fox Government, had only lasted for brief periods. Sir William was educated at Trinity College, Dublin' and was a good Greek scholar. He rode to hounds regularly, and was a good jockey. He was also outstanding in ! other forms of sport. In New Zealand he owned several horses, and rode his mare Symphony to victory 16 times. The political career of Sir Edward was traced, and when he became Prime Minister in 1856 he had proved his outstanding ability, both Gisborne and Saunders declaring that he was the ablest leader of a party New Zealand had ever had. He was,a man of extraordinary industry He paid a visit to f England in 1859 when he interested himself in matters which might be of benefit to New Zealand. All authorities were agreed that as a political legislator and organiser New Zealand had never seen his equal. He retired to live in England in 1878. Sir Frederick Weld • Mr Stewart then referred to Sir Frederick Weld, the author of the selfreliant policy, who, he said, was perhaps even a more remarkable nan than the others. He was a man with a great vision and a high and ’.oble outlook. He had left New Zealand and had held high Government office in West Australia, Tasmania, and then the Straits Settlement Mr Stewart quoted extensively from the records left by Sir Frederick to show his views of life, present and future. He had s ated that the family was the basis ’ of Society and the State These three men. he, said, by no means exhausted the list of that ■ admirable type of statesman which he had sought to portray. There .were others, like Dillon Beil and Domett, who had the same fine backt round, the same close contact with istinguished men overseas, and the same high and passionate ideals of service to the State and the Empire. Hu believed that the standards pf public morality that they had established had had a permanent influence on' the policies of New Zealand.—(Applause.;