The Debentures Scandal

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 13, 13 July 1886, Page 3

The Debentures Scandal

EVENING POST.

It would not be fair to pronounce -any definite judgment on the veiy serious charge preferred against Mr Steward, the member for Waimate, by Mr Thompson's Select Committee, until we have had an opportunity of reading and weighing the evidence. The report as it stands is undoubtedly a very severe one, which, if endorsed by the House,; would render Mr Steward's continued presence in the Legislative decidedly undesirable. The concluding paragraph of the report ia certgriuly a very extraordinary j •••ie. It -87^-? That it is greatly to bY regretted that neither Mr Steward nor rtffir Julius Yogel, as it appears by their respective evidence, recognises any impropriety in a member of Parliament acting as a paid agent in making a sale. to the G-oyernment*" Now, it does not seem to us to be -any part of the duty of a Select Committee of Parliament' to publicly bewail the opinions or convictions entertained or expressed upon points of .ethics by fellow member_.r~ r isoing- so is, we think, rather outside the Committee's order of reference];" as the H^upadid not appoint Mr ' ' au3 his colleagues to einquire into ; or express any opinion as to tiie. .opinions lteld by other members o# abstract questions of principle. The point. .'regarding which tho moral obtuseness of Sir Julius Yogel end Mr Steward is deplored with an" unctjousness worthy of a Chadband, is one on which a good deal of difference of opinion may very fairly exist, even i&ihoiigst the most conscientious people. It is easy to conceive of circumstances in which it might be perfectly right and proper for members to do what the Committee so condemn, while in other cases it might be most improper. We do not think any invariable general rule on such a subject possible, as- each instance requires to be judged by the light of the circumstances surrounding it. With regard to the particular case under notice, we must suspend judgment until in possession of the evidence, WELLINGTON PRESS. The Report of the Select Committee on the purchase of the District Railways is decidedly the ugliest document of the kind that has ever been presented to the New Zealand House of Uepresentatives. It ' casts a grave reflection upon" the'icharaeters of two members of the .House, one of them being a Minister of the Crown,' in connection with a -transaction which on all grounds ought to have "been conducted with the most : scrupulous public and private rectitude. The consequences - may. -be very, serious for both of them ; for, though it is 'admitted that no technical breach of thu Disqualification Act has occurred yel tho report of the;- "Committee is so damnatory and so' pointed that its adoption by the Huuse would be.tantauiwuut to a vote of.ceusure of thf gravest kind. Tite ' attitude of th** Premier will be observed with the keenest solicitude ; for iio public mm, perhaps, was over placed iv a in- >r. • . I i tfi-i cult -r delicatepositioh thauhe ccupie - in relation totho Report of '•-__« Com mittee. As tho leader of tha _i<iu.->«, it is his boundon duty to vindicate their privileges and g aid their hon- 1 <#ur. As a -promiueiit - maxima o: unsnllied reputation, it b-diovus, .hi m above all things to keep himself and his Government as a whole free fr<>m the faintest «unpici<»n of complicity in, or identification with, a sorioui. public scandal.; At tho same time it is impossible for him-' not 'tw be subjt-ct to a warm./ iiupulsu to defend hi.s colleague ani his supporter, whatsoever the evidence against theni may be. Never in all his career has his

political character- bee it exposed to so crucial a test. .The question of th* adoption of tho _3eport of the Committee is of the utmost importance to the House, to the Ministry, and to the public life of theOcMony. Will Sir •xtobert Stout deal with it as a statement or as an advocate '? A, train of consequences of very great magnitude depend upon the answer which he will be required tb /give to that question next week. —0 JTEW ZEiCAOT TIMES. The extreme difficulty of the Premier's position in : this" matter is selfevident. His whole future career will be influenced by theattitude he assumes in this trying si&Ua4Jojh. He may find his natural and extreme loyalty :i placed in direct antagonism to his "blear duty as leader of the House and head of the Government. Nor have the members of the House generally at all a pleasant task before them. They, have to sit as a Court of Appeal on a question most seriously affecting the honour of their House. It is earnestly: to be ! hoped, for the credit of _ our Legislature and legislators, that members. will be able to take a more-favorable view than that of the Committee. But, if meni-

bers honestly believe that the Com.

mittee's verdict; is a. J ust one, no consideration of personal , friendship or political association shwuld deter them .from boldly sayjjig so. It is the honour of Ihe House that is jn question now, ' and not the interests of party. Let not those opposed to jthe Government be carried away by any eagerness to find

i something of which, they may lay hold ' to serve as a weapon for damaging a member of that (government, but let them rise superior to any su eh influences, remembering that much more than the mere f a.c of a Ministry is at stake. So aleo let Ihe supporters of the Government cast aside all consideration of possible effects on party politics, and if they find that they cannot conscientiously approve the conduct of their leaders, let them have the courage of their convictions, and net shrink from' declaring them. In short, let • both sides of; the 'House resolve firmly to. mete out strict im--partial justice as between man and man, and "without fear, favour, or affection." Thus and tbus alone can the fair fame of our political institutions and of our public men be effectively vindicate I.'