The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1883. A Future Ministry

Feilding Star, Volume IV, Issue 80, 8 December 1883, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1883. A Future Ministry

♦ The difficulty experienced by the present Ministry in recruiting its ranks from members of the House has excited, in the minds of thinking people, a desire to discover a remedy for -a condition of things that is far from desirable. In order to suggest any means of getting over the difficulty, it will be necessary for us to go beyond the coming session, and consider what will be the condition of parties after the dissolution which will then take place. Assuming that the reign of the continuous Government will be at an end, it is only fair to suppose that at the general elections many of the old and tried politicians, who, during the session just concluded, were without seats, will again be returned to the places they so well filled in the days gone by. It is beyond doubt that a large majority of the electors regret the loss of the services to the country of such men as Readeb ' Wood, Obmond, Richabdson, Bax.la.nce, Donald Reid, Waxefield, Sir W. Fox, and Stout, and blame the precipitancy that led them to change old and faithful servants for new and untried men. This desire for change is perfectly- natural, and almost excusable, but although it is so, it is generally wrongly exercised, and the results are often disastrous. Although the electors are, in a measure, to be blamed, yet it must not be forgotten that members themselves are often the unintentional authors of their own defeat at the hustings. A blind faith in themselves, two much confidence in the belief that the rectitude of their actions and well - directed political ability (displayed in the service of the country at large, and their constituents in particular) is all that is needed to preserve to them the good feelings of the electors who put them in their positions. This is their weakest point. Take the most humble man on the roll, elevate him above his fellows by putting him in Parliament for a few sessions, and at the end of the time which must come, he is rejected by the very men who were his staunchest friends— one has not far to go to find the reasons for his downfall. It is very simple : he has failed to conciliate — altogether unintentionally— some one or two electors, and these have leavened the whole against him, or such a part of the whole that his case is a hopeless one when he deems himself most secure. If it is admitted that a very humble man will become inflated by a sense of power when a member of the House. How much greater is the risk to & man who is confident in his ability, and conscious' of . a power of intellect that raises him above the ordinary level of humanity ? And where the: meek man of mediocre brain power offended one, the other -will make mortal enemies of fifty. We believe the gentlemen we have mentioned above will win, seats next i general, election; and if such should J fortunately be the case, from them

alone could bo formed one of the most powerful Ministries that ever sat on the Treasury Benches of New Zealand. Orjiond, as Premier ; Eichardson, Public Works ; Ball\nce, Colonial Treasurer ; Donald Ekid, Minister of Lands'; Wakeiield, PostmasterGeneral ; Stout, Attorney-General ; Whitjiore, in the Upper House, as Colonial Secretary. With such j men in a Ministry, we believe that a respectable Opposition would also be organised, sufficiently strong to assist in the good government of the country, and to bring out the splendid powers of debate to be found in Eeader Wood, Ormond, Donald Beid, and Wakefield. The Colony would again be delighted with some of the speeches of Mr Ballance, which for elaboration and beauty of diction, assisted by oratorical powers of a high order, have rendered them famous. The proceedings of Parliament would be marked by a dignity and decorum that has, unhappily, been markedly absent ' for the past few years, and the older inhabitants would recall the time when the New Zealand Parliament was the purest and most dignified in the South Seas — when such as Weld, Stafford, Fox, Fitzherbert, Featherston, and other equally talented gentlemen were the rulers of the State. We think that we have shown clearly that the Atkinson Ministry is not absolutely necessary for the government of the country ; in fact, every member of it, as now constituted, can be dispensed with, and their places supplied by men of higher mental calibre, and of equal, or superior, political honesty. As members of an Opposition the only " strong man " would be Atkinson, and in his case there is a doubt in some minds as to whether he is certain of a seat at the next election. The others would occupy to their leader the same relative positions they hold now of being ciphers to make up the value of the Atkinson unit. Should our prophecy be fulfilled — and stranger things have come to pass — there would be a strong likelihood of questions of high political import being debated in the House. During the past few years, debate — properly so called — lias been unknown, discussion in nearly every case having ended in a wordy altercation among the " small fry " of the members, the voting having generally been a foregone conclusion. Among the gentlemen whom we have named for a future Ministry we are aware that there exist certain differences of opinion, but they are not sufficiently wide apart to prevent an amalgamation by slight mutual concessions.