There was, apparently, no field of inquiry too wide for his criticism and investigations. His zeal and earnestness carried many members with him. He showed that it was not party feeling which dictated the course of action he had adopted, but a genuine desire to clear the Civil Service of some of the evils that beset it and to place it in a much better position, in which it would receive and hold the confidence of the public. There was no obstruction in his tactics, and when he found a proposal from the Government which he believed should be put into operation, he had no hesitation in supporting it, whether his party liked it or not.
He was now rapidly coming into greater prominence in the eyes of the colony. He was recognised as the first lieutenant of the Liberal Party, a man whom other men might follow. His strength in debate was recognised. It was freely acknowledged by Mr. Ballance, who frequently put him forward to lead the great charges made by the Liberals on the Government’s positions.
He was improving steadily in his manner of speaking, and in the way in which he arranged his facts and placed them before those whom he addressed. His speeches were forcible. He discarded flippancies and fribbles of debate, and, with an earnestness that carried conviction to many people, poured forth his grievances against the Government and his hopes for the colony’s future.
He himself realised that he was now becoming a prominent figure in politics. He no longer made those half-apologies for speaking that characterised his earlier speeches. His remarks were entirely free from egotism. He said nothing of what he had done or what he intended to do. If he cherished high personal ambitions, they found no place with him when he rose from his seat in the House or stepped on to the public platform. It was his subject that engrossed all his attention; and his subject was New Zealand and her people. He had come forth from his parochialism. He was no longer merely a miners’ representative, but a New Zealander, and was determined to do his best for the country in which he had found a home.
