A LOST LEADER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 286, 30 May 1912, Page 4

A LOST LEADER.

That now proverbial wisdom of the Bible which proclaims that a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, bids fair to have a very emphatic illustration in the Dominion shortly. The rumor that Sir Joseph Ward will not improbably be found a seat in the Commonwealth Parliament ought really to make the people of New Zealand sit up and think preJfcty vigorously. There is nothing at all unlikely in the rumor, and color is lent to it by the fact that neither Sir Joseph himself nor Mr. Fisher, the Federal Prime Minister, has seen fit to deny it when approached upon the subject. Indeed, their references to it have been just sufficiently of that veiled order which tends to invest them with particular significance, nor is there anything improbable in the suggestion. It is an open secret that had Sir Joseph Ward wished it he could have had a seat found for him in the Imperial Parliament, and such a procedure would only have been a preliminary to his securing office in the Cabinet. With the exception of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, no colonial statesman is held in higher repute in the counsels of the nation to-day than is Sir Joseph Ward. His name ranks with those of departed political giants who have won respect and esteem at Home and whose. names figure largely in the history of nation builders. He has represented the Dominion at many political and social conferences and State pageants in the Old World, and upon every occasion he has taken a leading part in the deliberations of the moment, and has been listened to with respect and a conviction that would not be lightly accorded by the Home authorities to ' statesmen of lesser calibre. He has given his time and his money and his intellect unsparingly to his country and he has allowed opportunities for a wider sphere of usefulness to pass him by, so long as the Dominion evidenced a desire for his services. But the country has deliberately changed all that. Of its own volition it has forced him 1 into taking a subsidiary position in its political counsels, and having of its own free will left his hands free it cannot now complain if he should d'ecid'e to transfer his energy and his ability elsewhere. Should he decide to do so, there will be no lack of opportunity offering. But the loss will be a very severe one for the Dominion, for there is no man in the country today who has a wider grip of finance or a better general knowledge of politics. He is the one man who has the unqualified confidence of the English public, and if he should decide to transfer his talents to Australia it will be difficult to replace him here. It is earnestly t to be desired! that the people of New , Zealand, eschewing party considerations for the moment, will make a very strong t endeavor to retain his services for the , Dominion. We cannot afford to spare men of his calibre from our political . life.