The Daily Telegraph. MONDAY, JULY 28, 1884.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4061, 28 July 1884, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. MONDAY, JULY 28, 1884.

Has the Atkinson Ministry been defeate< by the recent appeal to the country is : question that can be pretty accurately answered by a reference to' the list of gentlemen who haye been returned to Parliament Some newspapers regard the Ministerial defeat as a crushing one, others again thin! the result of the elections as not unf avorabk to the Government, but the most of our exchanges agree with us in looking upon a coalition between Major Atkinson's followers and'thoso of Sir Julius Vogel as a certainty. Our Wellington contemporaries hold diametrically opposite opinions. With the aid of Sir George Grey's support the Times considers "the* Ministry are iri a solendid position for strategic purposes'. The • Post; on the 'other hand, says that "further examination and analysis of the roll .of the new Parliament shows that the : ;dofeat of the -present.-administration, ?at the ballot-box, has been, far more crushing thau at first sight appears. In the elections Major Atkinson' has absolutely lost no less than fifteen, seats. These arc Auckland North, New Plymouth; Wang*anui, Hutt', : Bulleiy Inangahua,'/Cheviot, Avon, Ashburton, Christchurch Nprthj Heathcote, St, Albans,"'Hokitika,'Dunedin West, and Waikouaiu, £~ ? f v .ww. t in thelate 'represented- ,by Ministen«,.::.", but wlxicn have n«w 'returned belonging to one or other section of ih'p Opposition. •:■ Mataurn, whjch lvp- a}so formerly represented by, a Ministerialist,; hasliow returned a' "" doubtful;"\who will incline towards the .srrongest side ofthe House. the other hand, although fifteen of the late Opposition were, beaten at the polls,; the Opposition *>nly lost five .seats Wall. . "These are, Franklin North, Rodney; WaipaJ Greymouth,

and Wallace. For Waipa no Opposition candidate stood, and in all the other cases than those named, where Opposition members of the late House were rejected it was in favor of some other Opposition candi- - date. . It is remarkable that of the fifteen who were refused re-election as members of the Legislature, ten were Greyites. These were Messrs Harris, De Lautour, George, Sheehan, Ivess, Bracken, Fish, Pilliet, Feldwiek, and Daniels. Four of these were beaten by Ministerialists, aud the others by Oppositionists owing no allegiance to Sir George Grey. .The only, seat Sir George Grey seems to have won" is Auckland North," so that his/strength in the new Parliament will be much-less than it,waa in-the late: one.. It has, we.notice, been suggested by thei Government' organ that Major Atkinson will attempt to carry on the bnsinessof the country, relying on the support of Sir George' Grey to keep him in office rather than let Sir Julius Vogel into power. A more disgraceful proposal was never suggested, and it would not be worth notice were it not that the fact is only too notorious that for some years past Major Atkinson has held office practically at the will of Sir George Grey. Still we cannot believe that Major Atk__.l son would openly take up the position which his mouth-piece suggests, and we are quite sure that if he attempted it there are a number of honourable men on his side of the House now rwho,- would refuse to be associated with such a proceeding, and who would leave him to his fate. It is impossible that good • government can proceed from a Ministry in a minority in Parliament and existing only at the will of a section of its opponents. Such a Ministry can only continue in office by a series of compromises and humiliating concessions- It cannot propound any policy or carry any measures of importance. Even if Major Atkinson is willing, to cling .to power on such terms; if Sir Georye Grey is willing to prop him up,- and: if the. supporters of both bodies are willing to sanction the arrangement, it cannot really be" carried out, for a union of the. Atkinson ancl. Grey parties would not afford a'working majority in the House. : Together they would barely form a half of the House, and it would -/be impossible for any business to proceed -if it was attempted. . The verdict of the country having been so unmistakably pronounced against Major Atlrinsbn,that he is l_ft;with something less than a third r of the -total number of members "as his pledged "sripporters, while the remaining -_twb-thirds, whatever their internal differences may be, are avowedly opposed to both" his-adminis-tration and policy, it is his undoubted-"duty to resign as soon as possible.--•',-:'." ; -''•'''