THE NEW POLITICAL SITUATION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1403, 1 April 1912, Page 4

THE NEW POLITICAL SITUATION.

The new Peime Minister's appeal to the public to remember, m effect, that his is a new Ministry and that it ought to be given a chance to show what it is made of may appear to some people to be a reasonable one. As we have said in an earlier article, we shall not attempt to prejudge Mr. Mackenzie's intentions, but it is impossible not to feel that circumstances will be too strong for him. The very best thing ho can do for himself between now and the end of Juno is to do nothing, because as time passes the public is exceedingly likely to feel rather strongly about the granting of a three months' lease of power to a Ministry that is already quite plainly without the confidence of the country. From north, south, east, and west there have come already many unmistakable evidences of public hostility and discontent,'and the only applause that comes to the anxious ears of the new Ministers comes from those quarters from which a mechanical applause could be counted upon beforehand for any "Liberal" leader and any Ministry he might select. That applause will not strike Mr. Mackenzie as worth having. As a matter of fact we are surprised at the depth and amount of the hostility that is already growing against the new Government in tho house of its friends. From "Liberal" quarters in Auckland there are menacing growls at the over-representation of the South Island,' and Otago is up in arms at the disappearance of Otago's traditional representation. Mr. Sidky protests against the allotment of four places to Canterbury, thinks the new' Ministry is a slight to Otago and a personal reflection on himself, and declares that there is a possibility that he may "reconsider his position with regard to tho Government." Mr. Glover is dissatisfied, and we may feel quite sure that several other "Liberal" members arc in a mood to cut the painter. Finally, Mr. Payne threatens to withdraw his support and support Mr. Massev. So far as Mr. Payne is concerned we can say plainly that however he may be regarded by the Reform party in Parliament, for which we cannot speak, tho Reform voters in the country, for whom we can speak, will hope and trust that Mr. Payne will remain true to the "Liberals." His vote and support are not wanted by the friends of Reform.

Under such discouraging circumstances the Mackenzie Ministry commences its career. One of the few of its journalistic supporters in the South has sought to console the new Prime Minister by recalling that some people predicted a short reign for the Liberals who took office in 1891. It was an unfortunate appeal to history, because it emphasises very sharply the weaknesses of the new Government's position. Mr. Ballance was not tha last hope of a party that had been going downhill for years and that had actually been sentenced to death by the nation; he was not dependent for existence on the thin thread of a couple of broken pledges; he had a policy upon which he had won the battle; ln"s party was solidly united; he stood for definite principles, the chief of which, namely. prudent finance and self-reliance, has been most conspicuously absent from the "policy" of present-day "Liberalism." Nobody appears to know whether the new Ministry intends to explain to the public what it stands for; nobody knows what is its policy on the, chief questions of the day. All that can be conjectured is that it will somehow strive to carry on the-ma-chine and the methods of the deposed leader, who will probably continue to exercise his influence upon his successors. It seems to us that in view of his having accepted the leadership after the Caucus had adopted the Governor's Speech policy, it is Mn. Mackenzie's duty to cxnlain and defend that policy in public. At any rate we must accept that policy as the sum of his intentions, and wo liavo little doubt that the Reform partv will undertake the work of consulting th? public upon the new situation. Tn the meantime, Mr. Er.L. who has relieved Mi:. Colvik of Hk Postmaster-Generalship, has already delivered the first blow in Hie badle : he is dealim: boldly with slot, telenliones.' .Mi;. Mackenzie will probably follow 11j> I his move with soiii" iinnouneeiiieiil coiieeniing iniUci-, for lie bus gone t<. Wereroa ' The bailie, we take it, has (hrrnfoiv llegllll. ■"■ '" ——t