Finally, Sir, I insist upon the qualification that those who aspire to be members of such legislature, or to hold such high offices, must themselves have some positive qualification. I am not just now thinking of purely academical qualifications. I am thinking of those more mature, deeper, fuller indices or measures of qualifications, which might be provided by constructive work, or social service, or some other work that is much more tangible evidence of fitness and suitability of such people for the posts, than mere academical qualifications. Those latter are very often the work merely of a good memory rather than of a good character, or a good general outlook on the part of the person concerned, not a means or index of judging his real, objective fitness for such responsibilities. The criteria–or indices–I am suggesting will provide better, more reliable means of judging the suitability of particular individuals for the posts they aspire to, or which they may be asked to fill.
