The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 1882. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 602, 21 April 1882, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 1882. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

"Mr Whitakku, the Attorney-General, has been sent for after all, and the Hinern.oa, which takes back Sir George Grey to the seclusion of Kawau, will bring Mr Whitaker to Wellington, where he will reconstruct the Ministry. Borne telegrams i'rom Wellington sny that Mr Hall resigned not only through illness, but because two of his colleagues had deserted him. When Mr Mall resigned, says the same authority, the Governor was doubtful as to the relative strength of parties in the House, mid therefore sent for the last leader of the Opposition, to gain further inf'nvmnt.inii fmm him. the result being

t.li:it, il appeared to the Governor parties were evenly balauwd, an.l he therefore gave the benefit of the doubt to those in power, ;>nd sent for Mr Whitaker, as recomm nd'd in the first place by the retiring Ministers.

The Press special correspondent, however, states that Mr Hall's illness the sole cause of tin 1 resignation of the other Ministers" and tin* break up of ilu 1 Government, and that there was no dissension of any sort in the Cabinet on matters of policy. Whichever statement is correct, there is a certainty of one thing, ami that is, that the Governor, whatever were his first intentions, lias been recalled to his senses by the force of public opinion, which unmistakenbly declared itself averse to »Sir George Grey, anil that ho has pursued a course which will commend him in ail eyes.

It is not only the Government party that will rejoice. The present opposition, or at least the oldest portion of it, would rather not hold office at all under Sir George Grey's leadership for they have no faith in him. Supposing he had been allowed to form a Ministry now, the certain results would have been the return to power of some members of the present Government at the very commencement of the session, and the opposition, weakened by dissension amongst them elves, would have made no head whatever during the session. As it is, the Governor has clone some damage by his irresolution ; for the reassemblage of rebellious natives at Parihaka, commenced with the very rumor of Sir George's return to power, some 800 o f them having come to the conclusion that as Bryce had gone and Grey was in his place they could hold their meetings !

We congratulate Mr Montgomery and Mr Macandrew, and other leading members of the opposition from holding back from joining such a completely forlorn hope as a Grey Government would have been at the present crisis, and we are glad that the Governor, in spite of predilection and old association returned to a safe constitutional course at the eleventh hour.