Scobie McKenzie on the Council Appointments

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 135, 4 May 1893, Page 3

Scobie McKenzie on the Council Appointments

Mr McKenzie, in his recent speech at Mount Ida, concerning tho appointments to the Legislative Council, said : -You remember that from the very moment tho Government eatne- into power appointments to the Council were talked about. We in Parliament all knew they wore coming, and I suppose you in the constitueucies had a pretty shrewd idea about them. It was known that cer.nin friends 6i tho Government had pot promises, and sooner or later, of course, the promises had to be fulfilled. But it is a ticklish business for a Government— l mean tho making of Council appointments. \vu may gloß9 them over in nil sorts of speci- | ous •ways, but as a rule people don't like them. They aro apt to say :— " Why | should we be taxed to support a lot^ of pensionei a ?" and that sort of tbin<?. \ou j haye to steer between the claims of your friends on the oue hand and the condemnation of the peoplejnnd the newspapers on j th© other, Tho Slout-Yogel Government made a lot of appointment?, find paid a heavy penalty for them. The late Government made half a dozen at tho very close j of their career, BDd they have never heard , the laat of it. What was the present Government to do ? At first it seemed easj to say that they wanted new men to carry through their policy. But whon by long delajs —for you must remember that " between tho acting of a dreadful thing and the first motion all the interim js like a phantasm* or a hideous dream."— the policy wae got through without tho new men 60 that theory bad to be abandoned. "What wa9 an unfortunate Liberal Oorernment to do '! I see that you divine the position at once. What could they do except to fall back on the policy of imposture ? It was suddenly discovered that tho Labour interest would have to be represented in the Council, and co eight gentlemen— the special friends of the (ioveminent — were smuggled into the Upper House under cover of Labor representation. And the other four were leaders of Labor, I suppose you would say. They were nothing of tho kind— no more than you are and I am. Not half so much indeed, because for tho last nine years I havo been the representative* of Labor in Mount Ida, and right proud am I of tho position.— (Applause.)