The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1895. THE WORM WILL TURN.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 136, 7 December 1895, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1895. THE WORM WILL TURN.

Although Ministers may hold their too abject followers in utter contempt it is neither prudent for tbem to give expression to that feeling themselves nor to allow others under their control to do so. Yet they have made that mistake, and if a man's " human nature " is not altered for the worse by his becoming a " member of Parliament and representative of the people " such a remark as that made by the New Zealand Times in a recent issue, wben criticising tbe speech made by Mr H. D. Bell to the Wellington electors, is certain to be most bitterly resented, especially by those members who have a spark of manhood left in them. Our contemporary wrote : — " It is Mr Seddon, who was content list session to do nothing for the authority of the Government until the Government majority, in the last hours of the session, absolutely disgraced ordinary manhood by their ioYiy, compelling him thereby to kick them back into line? It is true they only acquired one kick." As this is a Government paper under the direct control and supervision of Ministers, tbe public must accept the incident as based on fact, that the " kick," in a moral sense of course, was applied, and that most vigorously if we may judge by the results. But, while we admit that Mr Seddon knows best how to manage his followers, it is a huge tactical blunder to take outsiders so far into his confidence and to openly declare his system of coercion. Our contemporary the Manawatu Daily Standard of this morning, in dealing with this not over palatable subject says that " tbe quotation refers to the caucus held in the dying hours of the session when the Premier induced his party to reconsider their vote on the reciprocity proposals with Canada and South Australia. But the " kick," indeed it required more than one kick, was administered by the party ,to the Government when two of their policy measures were rejected without consideration." That is to say " the party " kicked against Mr Seddon but Mr Seddon showed his one kick was harder than the two kicks of his, for the moment, refractory followers. Our contemporary concludes its article as follows : — We should not have thought the subject worth referring to only for the almost indecent reference made to the " kick " by the Government mouth-piece in Wellington, which might have the effect of landing the Ministry next session in a bigger hole than they found themselves last October." This is significant, and when the independence of character, and courage, of the member for Palmerston North, is considered it means thar. at least one member of the Ministerial party will not forget the insult.