Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1895. AN IDEAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5139, 25 September 1895, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1895. AN IDEAL.

In ii recent speech, one of the patriarchs of the House indulged in a parliamentary ideal. Mr W, Hutchison, M.H.H., is reported to have said:-"l had fondly hoped that the goal of our endeavours should be a settled commonwealth.nn accepted social condition of simple living, peace and competonce—contentment everywhere the dominant note of the country." It sounds a little strange to hear,, ijeiiiiments like these from jLiberal'lips, to know that these are the aspiratio'nsrof ii member of a party, which, to commence with, doubled its owu honorarium. In the bad old extravagant days, a pound a day was considered a sufficient allowance tor a member for each day in which he was engaged in the Assembly, now in these days of simpler living two pounds a day is demanded and paid. The distinguishing feature of the settled commonwealth of the period seems to be increased taxation and increased debt and these unfortunately are associated with administrative extravagance. . Our present rulers are not plungers in a Vogelian sense, but they have nothesitated to squander hundreds pf thousands of pounds to bolster themselves up. Is, too, contentment everywhere the dominant note of the country, or has there over been a period in the history of New Zealand when more privation and discontent have abounded. TherppubHcansimplicity for which Mr Hutchison yearns, and which is in every way desirable, can only be the outr growth of political truth, honesty and justice. If Mr Hutchison and bis labour friends built on these foundations, we might applaud their efforts, but the pure ends they profess to seek cannot have been promoted by I thepolitical duplicity, dishonesty and injustice of the leaders oftheir party. 'We hope Mr Hutchison and his ; friends will begin to work again on better foundations. They have followed leaders like Mr Seddon and I Mr Ward, who avowedly have been unscrupulous in governing the [country, They may themselves

have been pure mid honorable in their political dealings, but they < have supported and endorsed the j wrong actions of men, who cannot claim to have beou either truthful or just. It is extremely gratifying to ' know that the Liberal members ! possess high political ideals, but it would be still more satisfactory to find them, in their places in the ' Assembly, acting up to them. ' Mr W. Hutchison, M.H.8., identifies himself with the labour party, a party which has doubtless a high ' ideal, and an honest aspiration, but one which has for the sake of peace and power bolstered up corruption and held a candle to the devil. One member of it indeed, Mr Earnshaw, has had the courage to 1 stand aloof from place and power rather than to be untruo to bis ideal, and in this respect ibis member, though a rough uneducated man as contrasted with Mr Hutchisou, has set a noble example. A high ideal is undoubtedly a grand qualification for a politician, but the real hero is the man like Mr Earnshaw, who refuses to bow the knee to Baal, and who suffers ignominy and detraction, rather than be untrue to bis own conscience.