The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1912. STILL SILENT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1326, 2 January 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1912. STILL SILENT.

'Although the Prime Minisiek -is still unwilling to trust the people with even a hint of his intentions, there_ appear'to ,be- indications that he v/ill not much; longer refrain from making an- announcement. There aro only three possible declarations: that he is resigning-from offico, that Parliament will bo summoned at an early date, or that things will continue as they- are. Wo do not know how much ■ significance must be attached to the order postponing the annual leave of the telegraph operators, but it fits in with the suggestion that the Prime Minister has been made to realise that the House should assemble . this month. The absorption of a large section of tho public in the business of holidaymaking has to some extent aided the Prime Minister in his improper policy of reticence, but the public is very keenly watching him for all that. It is difficult to find words to characterise adequately tho line of conduct that the head of .the Government has chosen to' pursue, because it is a line of conduct that is, so far as we know, entirely without precedent. The Prime Minister knows, his following know, everybody knows, that at least forty of the members of the new Parliament were commissioned to vote against him, and that some other members will also assist in ending the "Liberal" Administration. The general opinion is that tho 'Prime Minister's extraordinary behaviour is explainable by his. hope that he can manoeuvre himself into a majority, but we cannot accept this view. In the first place, docs anyone believe that Sir Joseph _ Ward wishes to keep his place in politics in the new conditions? Nobody who has studied at all closely the course of politics in the .past five years can have much doubt that the Prime Minister has no use for a political life that is not simply the. ovcrlordship of a safe and: solid party. And however the parties may develop, the situation that suits him is at an end. In the second place ho knows better than most people that ho simplv cannot carry on, and that intriguing will avail him nothing. The true explanation of the Government's attitude is probably its anxiety to have a thorough overhaul of the records of Cabinet and of the Departments. To speak', quite plainly, the "Liberals" have by no means carried on the government of the country in such a fashion that they could at a moment's notice hand over Hie keys with a full confidence that their successors would find only a record of honourable administration, tthen, as'must happen sooner or later, and sooner rather than later, the Reform party takes over the management of affairs, tbcv will probably find evidence that the*"Liberal Administration has made full use of tho past fortnight in rendering difficult the investigation of those incidents and affairs, and those details of administration, that have been carefully concealed, not only' from the public eye, but from the eve of.Parliament itself. Sir Joseph }uriD_not only refuses to state his intentions; he refuses even to give a reason for his:silence. One's temptation is to bo absorbed in the humour of such a situation arising in a democratic country that is proud of its democracy j and the humour of the situation is not lessened by the dutiful alertness with which the "Liberal" press is echoing its master s silence. As if by saying nothing on a subject of which everyone is thinking will make tho. public forget the matter ! • Parliament stands prorogued until to-morrow week, and we shall be greatly surprised if his Excellency the Governor, whose latent powers it requires just such a situation as the present to render active, will be found helping- the leader of a beaten and discredited party to impose himself anv longer upon the country.