Manganui Chronicle. and TURAKINA & RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. TUESDAY, 14th JANUARY, 1868.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 817, 14 January 1868, Page 2

Manganui Chronicle. and TURAKINA & RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. TUESDAY, 14th JANUARY, 1868.

A Mr Kynnersley is Gold Fields Warden and chief Government representative at Westport. We have noticed that he has been lauded for bis local administration. At a recent ball in Westport, this gentleman appeared, it is said, in improper female company. The Westport Times commented with some severity on the alleged fact, whereupon Mr Kynnersley severely as. saulted the editor, and has given rise to a ten days’ talk. [Most likely that is all tha-j; will come of it, but if so, it will he the greater pity. We merely tell the tale as it has been told in the Nelson papers ; it may be true or false ; either way it should point a moral. Gentlemen holding high office under Government are bound to be very circumspect in their conduct. Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion. And, we regret to say, it is not always so. There is inexplicable tolerance of the sensualities of our official and supposed rich men ; a disregard, in many cases, of what may be called the minor moralities of public life ; and a mean adulation of successful audacity wherever it shows itself, —things which should receive no quai'ter from the press. The idea seems to be entertained that a line can be drawn between the private and public conduct of officials—that there are times when a inan in authority may make a fool of himself, and even worse with impunity—and that they have managed to solve the problem of faithfully serving two masters. Few ideas are more wrong or likely to lead to more pernicious results. Even Confucius, among the earliest heathen moralists, understood this truth and insisted upon it with great earnestness. The Chinese philosopher held that example is the corner-stone of good government. So far from saying that it was a matter of indifference what was the private life of an official, provided he performed his public duty well and caused no open scandal, he maintained that great officers of State must themselves be good and exemplary, even in private life, if only to influence others. It is even so ; and a higher and better teacher enforces the lesson.