The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 1927. AN INTERESTING SQUABBLE.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXV, Issue 10317, 28 January 1927, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 1927. AN INTERESTING SQUABBLE.

With much interest the residents of these Overseas Dominions will await anv further steps which the N.S.W. Premier may propose in respect of his party’s efforts to abolish the Legislative Council in that State. Mr Lang, it is well-known, has not yet recovered from the rebuff which he received when the State Governor refused to sanction the appointment 'of some further Legislative Councillors to enable an end to be put to the Second Chamber. In a recent outburst on the subject, Mr. Lang laid it clown tnat the Government alone is responsible for all legislation in any State and that a Governor who refused to accept the advice of his constitutional advisers was nothing short ol an autocrat! What he aimed at showing was that if the Governor did not listen to the Ministry of the day on one matter he might adopt a hostile attitude towards it on all other matters. “Our powers of self government.” he is reported as saying, “liecome a jihantom and a delusion if a gentleman sent out for a lew years by the Dominions oliice in London can veto the will of the representative branch of the local Legislature and of the Government of the day : and. it' the Tory Government of England has not the initiative and courage to issue a definite and clear insmietion to its nominees in the Dominions something rather serious is. iroing to happen sooner or later!” This? of course, is merely what may be described as “political hot air.’ A Governor who would antagonise his constitutional advisers on account ol the fact that he held entirely different political views would not be worthy of the name. To be fair, Mr. Lang should have tried to control ert, witiu* sound arguments, Admiral de Clunv-s attitude in connection with the'proposal to swamp the Upper House. The Governor, on his part, took up the stand that he did not consider it right, in view of the political state of the country, that the Second C hamber should be flooded to secure its abolition. What is moic he made it clear that a Governor was not bound solely by the advice of a party which holds power only by a verv slender majority. When the dispute referred to Downing St., a ruling was given that when a difference of opinion arises between a Governor and a State Government it must be settled “between the parties themselves.” Mr. Lang, it- will be noted, uses a lot of ‘‘political eyewash- ’ in his endeavors to make Admiral de Chair appear in the wrong. He makes no mention of the fact that, if a majority of the people really wish to see tin? Upper House wiped out. he could have that desire reaffirmed in a constitutional manner, it is still open to him to resign and allow Mr. Bavin to take office and, in that event, if he still should have a majority he could then defeat him and claim a dissolution. But Mr Lang does not want to go to the country and he should be politically honest enough to say so and not try to make the Governor out to he a wrong-doer.