Image TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage Tile
Image size: 5120x6656 Scale: 35% - PanoJS3
Page overview thumbnail

Article text

MEMBER'S QUALIFICATIONS.
(FBOM THK WEST AUSTRALIAN)..
THC coming Perth election is unique c
its kin 1. It will involve a contest, au
a koeu ono, when apparautly nono i
necessary. Nu less luau four candidate
aro iu the field, and it is uot uulikel
that a fifth will yet be forthcoming
Three of these candidates aro of on
mind as to the preciso form which th
new Constitution should take, while til
views -of tho fourth candidate if the,
diverge at all, do so by little more tha
a hairbreadth. According to all th
recognised laws of political warfare, ther
should uot, at the most, be more thai
three of the preseut candidates in th
field, and it might even be argued b;
some that lhere is no necessity for an;
contest at all, But the Perth olectora
contest may claim to be an exception to
tlie rule which guides contests of a siro*
lar nature elsewhere. Had/tiiere befe!
iu the constituency a determined minority
opposed to the introduction of the nev
Constitution, scarcely any language inigh
liave been thought too strong for tin
conduct of men who would have appeara
to be imperilling the interests of theil
party merely for the gratification, of theil
personal ambition. It is, however, bardi]
needful to point out that at present w
such state of affairs prevails in Perth
"Whatever may be the feelings in othoi
cpnstitueucies, it eau scarcely ' be ques
tioned that the electora o£ the capital are
by a great majority, not only in favor ol
Responsible Cfcverntnent, with the mos!
liberal interpretation of the term, but an
also resolved, so far as in them lies, tc
dismiss the existing constitution withoul
§ moment's unnecessary delay. ? - Such
Mng the (jase it really matters little, sc
far as the causo at issue is ooneerned,
whether there he two or a dozen candid'
ates. The electors, to put the mattet
roughly, are giveu the choice, of so many
agent«, each capable of accomplishing
the work chat has to be done. ' No elec-
tion is decided apart from personal con-
sidérations. Even in the United King
d> m^wWeibe^umtry is .divided, -fnto
^wq^ptlfraô^r^t ÇarttM, toé 'choice of
a candidate is often determine^ on perso,
nal grounds, though he is no doubt elect,
ed rather for. the measures which he
supports than for bis op intrinsic vir-
tues. But the singularity of the Perth
election Ji(»ju the fact that it is «ot only
the party organizers, but every single
elector who has to regard the candidates
frqui a personal point of view. Starting,
as the candidates'do, equal in opinion
and in principle,_ each elect* bas
to ask himself what two candidates
have a Urger share pf those qnalities,
apart from opinions, whip}} are to be
looked. fgr in '^hqse who. aspire to tho
weighty, position of framing the laws
§nd otherwise taking a nmre thau oi'4t
nary share in shapicg tl|e dj36tiu,ip,s of
their qoautry. ïfoue will dany tijdt au
enquiry ci 'this nature is à siatter of
extreme delicacy, It is difficult to.
pursue it in tho oolnmus of * uewspaper,
and the difficulty is uot lessened oh the
" public platform. It is, as a matter of
fact, one of those questions, for which a
man most find au answer for himself,
unaided, for the nest part, by the advice
of others. But in order to do this, he
must have some touch-stone by which lo
try the claims of those; who seek' Iiis
suffrage. He must have ¿ clear id/ea.-^
Ijis'njind as to, «ftât, generally' sjjsa^iig,
íjre the. gualifjeatiOns. most to be* desircif
in a replesenj^tiye. Vjphat, theil, are
¿hese $ l^irst and, fawinoBt stands cha-
racter i ÑQ amount of cleverness will
atone for lack of principle. Every
representative should be more or lesa a
reformer. The first duty of Parliament
is to redress grievances, and remove
abuses. All legislation has for its object
either to check some evil, or to advance
some good. The lives bf ' tue "men en-
trusted with .this work must, as far as
possible, be in accordance with it. Nor
in demanding this, do we demand too
much. The average virtue of tho age
is all that vre have any right to es*
peotj and we ^aj lie «ure it is the Tnost,
iteV "tfo will ¿et. The' heroeé and
fflWbT^ in'ihe Vork of raising the con
$cipú pf maakjnd are scotty tq ba
?'fàtm «»idBfclw WQríy war&rVof ^ar
liament houses. They go whore tougher
and higher work awaits them, where the
danger is keener, tile difficulties more
stupendous, the glory well-nigh immortal.
Nor must lt be forgotten that in stipu-
lating for character, nothing is demanded
If ability is given to few, principle is
possible to all. Tho next qualification ia
the list surely, is capability. It has often
been remarked that wJiiJo what is called
"politics" is a science > tho tnostpro
fouud and abstruse, newliug in its appli-
cation care aud reelection toauuucorauion
degree, there is uoue other iu which mon
ajt with so much rocklossurtes and confi-
dence. The rank and file of a party are.
generally speaking, d»»i?d the opportu-
nities for a careful aud painstaking
scrutiny of the progress of public affairs.
But to a man who .is ambitious to be the
representative of his fellows, such at-
tention, and the knowledge which it
brings with it, should be looked npon as
indispensable. Á member who lacks it,
is not only a discredit to himself, but to
the constituency which has elected him.
But important as is this second qualifica-
tion, it is almost valueless uuloss accom-
panied by a third-the power of working
with thoso with whom one is brought
jiuto; coptaCt-r-in a word, adaptability.
If a member is to do anything either for
his country or for his constituency, he
must possess those easily recognizable but
otherwise indefinable qualities, which,
attract instead of repelling his fel-
low-workers. High character, learning
and ability, admirable though they all be,
are warped and distorted fromi tiheir best
possibilities unless accompanied by tact,
in which short wqrcj, we take it, lies a
host of meauiug, much consideration for
the opjnious aud prejudices of others,
much sympathy with one's fellow labour-
ers. T-hese^re aqtne of the chief among,
the qualifications 'to be' looked for ' iu
candidates for seats iu the Legislative
Council. They may seem to point to au
unattainable standard, and on that acoouut
they run a risk, of being branded, as
uupracticable. Jgut ideals have their
usés, it is well to he always on the
stretch for perfection. We certainly
shall never, iuthis world, reach it. Ou»
sam mit attained only brings another into
view. Bat at least by pushing onward
we are prevented from sinking back.
Qualifications such as we have menti med,
compared with the lesser ones, are as is
iJta ead jto^thß means. Among the lesser
4akli^oatiqns~i8 that one which de>nands
that inetn'qecs should helQUflf to qr have
interests in the districts which they re-
present. This is ouly a mournful acknow-
ledgment of the prevalence of self
interest. This same self interest is no
4oub*,-a-po«rei'fttl-cltain--hyrwhioh todbind*
a mau to his duty. But it is well $R
remember that ȣ the sphere of-a purely
selfish man's' interest changes, the man's
actions change also ; whereas those; man
who are guided by a respectable amount
"of self -abnegation and, devotion, to(
remain fixei} and eveq when, their
personal inclination would, persuade them
ip (ravel in another direction.; |
$