A DEFICIENCY IN BRAINS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9671, 9 December 1909, Page 4

A DEFICIENCY IN BRAINS.

In view of the approaching General ■ < Election in England, an article con- j tributed recently to the "Fortnightly ! Review" by Mr A. A. Baumann is of exceptional interest. Mr Baumann may be in error in his views, but he is certainly a candid critic. The Conservatives, he declares, believe in money, whereas tiie Liberal* be • lieve in brains. Mr Baumann, however, appears to overlook the fact that brains and money are very often associated. He, however, professes to find that the result of tne creeds referred to is reflected more s'rongly than ever in the composition of the two parties in the present House of Commons, not in their : umbers, but in their comparative calibr?. "Collectively," says Mr Baumann, "the present Government is the weakest of modern times; individually it is the strongest. It is not only in its first line, the Cabinet, trnt the Go-J vernment is strong—though no Cabinet that I can remember has had two young men in training for the leadership of equal calibre with Mr LloydGeorge and Mr Churchill. The distinctive strength of Mr Asquith's Ministry lies rather in its second line. Mr Herbert Samuel, Mr Masterman,

M r Runciman, Colonel Seely, Mr I Trevelyan, Mr Acland, and Mr Hob- I house constitute an unusual reserve ot ability. I read in the magazines, and hear in conversation, a great many severe things about the personnel of the Unionist party, which are, unfortunately, true. Far worse than the truth of these anonymous strictures is the fact that, if there were an election to-morrow, and if a Conservative majority were returned, there is little prospect of this intellectual deficiency being made good. This comparative mental inferiority of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons is not surprising. My wonder is that the average level of intelligence is as high as it ie, seeing from what a very limited class candidates are permitted to be chosen. Putting aside the lawyers, the only class who, for some mysterious reason, are allowed, or rather encouraged, to pursue their own business concurrently with the prizes of public lite, the number of men, particularly of young men, who can fulfil the qualifications of a Conservative member or candidate must be very small."