"AN INSULT."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1208, 17 August 1911, Page 4

" AN INSULT."

It seems that New Zealand was insulted in the eyes of the Government when the Parliamentarians of the Mother" Country invited representatives of the New Zealand Parliament to be present at the Coronation celebrations at the expense of those issuing the invitations. At least this was the excuse put forward by' Mr. Millar yesterday in the course of a rather half-hearted attempt to explain away the strange conduct of the Government in suppressing the invitations. It is only fair to say that Me. Millar appeared quite sincere in the belief which he expressed that the offer to defray the expenses of the New Zealand Parliamentary representatives should be regarded as an insult— an unintentional one, but an insult all the same. It does not strike us, however, as being at all a convincing excuse, or, indeed, to afford any justification whatever for the action of Ministers in suppressing the invitations to the Legislative Council; nor does it quite fit in with the previous explanations made. But after all it is quite in keeping with the general attitude of Ministers. The Fact that the invitations were addressed to and intended for members of both Houses of Parliament, and that Ministers were merely communicated with as the natural and recognised medium for conveying the invitations to Parliament, counts for nothing with our Continuous Ministry. Why should members of the Legislative Council receive their invitations from the Committee of the English Parliament if the Ward 'Ministry prefer to keep them to themselves'? It may be argued that it is quite as dishonourable for_ a Government to suppress an invitation placed in its hands in trust to be forwarded to a third party as it would be for a private individual to act in that way. As a matter of fact it is equally dishonourableParliament knows it is and the public know it is. Ministers had no more right to suppress the invitations than they have to intercept the private correspondence of members of Parliament sent through the post. It may surprise some people that they should dare to do such a thing; but it is pretty generally known now that thov do'practically what they please with Parliament and will continue to do so until the electors of the country return n sufficient number of Opposition, members to Par-

liament to cither throw the Government out of olliec altogether or else to instil so deadly a fear into Ministers that they will mend their ways. It is really degrading to see members on the Government side of the House, excellent citizens no doubt in private life, knowingly supporting the Government in wrongdoing and attempting to salve their consciences with the pitiable excuse that dishonesty of this kind is a necessary part of the equipment of a party politician.