THE GREAT "LIBERAL" PARTY IN DIFFICULTIES.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1776, 29 October 1879, Page 3

THE GREAT "LIBERAL" PARTY IN DIFFICULTIES.

WELLINGTON, October 27.

Tho New Zealand Houbo of Representatives never presented a more amusing scene than that exhibited last Friday afternoon. But it was one that it would be impossible to transfer to paper. Even those who witnessed it could not appreciate it to the full unless they had previously seen the overbearing bounce and tyranny of Meßsrs Grey, and Macandrew when they thought they were in a majority, and the happy faces of Messrs Stewart, Ballance, Pyke, and Shephard, when they saw the apples were just within their reach. For two days previously there had been no bounce. A sort of ominous calm had come over the Opposition. Even Mr Sheehan had left off orowing, and Mr Macandrew had told some of the aspirants to office that they must catch the hare before they could cook it. But on Friday a gloom was Been on every face on that side of the House. Mr Ballance's expressive mouth was seen to be in difficulties, Mr Montgomery looked bilious, Mr Pyke looked savage, Mr Shephard looked listless, and Mr Stewart seemed to court the shades of retirement.

In real difficulty of course the real leader came to the front, and all the pretended leaders were forgotten. Sir George Grey as usual rose to speak on " the most important question that had ever claimed the attention of that House" —"one that had caused him to lose all faith in human nature." No language could express tho indignation he felt at the conduct of a Premier who could resort to such corrupt practices as he had heard of, and he would move that certain correspondence and verbal communications which had passed between the Government and certain Auckland members should*be laid before the House before supply was granted. As there was no correspondence, the Government did not know whether to treat the matter in joke or in earnest —to vote for it or against it, especially as their supporters were evidently divided. It was not their game to speak until all the boiling indignation of the Opposition had been poured out. The question was put from the chair, and the Speaker said " the ayeß have it." But some one -was foolish enough to call for a division. After the division, which was 52 ayes to 26 noes, Mr Andrews, who often acts as the catspaw of his party, was put up to ask the Speaker if a member who had given his voice with the noes could afterwards vote with the ayes, to which the Speaker replied " No," and proceeded amidst much laughter to take evidence and catechise the members of the Ministry as to how thay had given their voices. Major Atkinson was first accused, and confessed that he had given his voice with the "Noes" when the Ayes and Noes were first called for, and his vote was transferred from the " Aye " to the " No." Tho same process was gone through with the Premier, with the same result. Now it takes a very bold man at any time to make an affidavit that any man twenty yards away from him said " No " in a chorus of forty voices. But so far bold men had not been wanting in abundance. When, however, it came to Mr Bolleslon there was a lack of witnesses, and only .Mr Seddon was quite certain that Mr Kolleston gave his voice " No." Mr Rolleston requested the Speaker to ask Mr Seddon where he was when he said "No." A slight misgiving passed over Mr Seddon's previously confident face as he said, "To the best of my recollection, sir, he was standing up at the hack of his seat." Mr Bolleston, " I was sot

in the Houae at all, sir, but just got to that door in time to prevent being looked out." The shouts of derision that followed that exposure of Mr Seddon's evidence would have been unpleasant to most men. No more witnesses were forthcoming, and the examination dropped. As soon as this farce was over, another commenced of a etill more amusing charaoter. Mr Reader Wood stood up to make an explanation, and to give his version of the appalling crime which had «o shocked the innocent mind of Sir George Grey. Mr Wood is an actor by nature, and between his acting and the laughable nature of the revelations he made, the lorig-drawn faces on the one side, and the shaking sides on the other, I have never seen a droller spectacle, The action of Sir George Grey'e face as one damaging thing came out after another, and the stolid, firm unchanged countenance of Mr Macandrew as Mr Wood related all his offers, were both inimitable in their way, and added not a little to the fun of those who could afford to enjoy the scene. First, Mr Wood said that he had voted for the production of the papers beciuaeßthere were none. He had enjoyed the righteous indignation of Sir George Grey over the bargain he had made with the Premier, because he had never spoken one word to Mr Hall on the subject. Any conversations he had had on the matter were with Mr Whitaker, and neither he nor Mr Whitaker wished to conceal any thing they had agreed on, and were by no means ashamed of anything that had passed between them. If he had been so selfish as he was represented, why should he not have accepted the Treasurership offered him by Sir George Grey, or the Premiership offered him by Mr Macandrew ? And with Sir George Grey and Mr Macandrew within three yards of him, he said, "Now, Sir, where is the corruption, and who are the corruptors P" Sir George admitted that he had offered the Treasurership, but Mr Macandrew said that he offered the Premiership in chaff, upon which Mr Wood related the exaot words and circumstances, and added, "If that was chaff, Sir, I should like to know where the honorable gentleman keeps his wheat." None of the minor farces that followed were sogaid as the main one, but they were not bad in their way. Mr Moafc: ornery thought it was very wrong that any votes should be influenced in that House even by promises of, a public character for local benefits, but he made no allusion to the Akaroa railway. Mr Turnbull, with a tremendously long face and a most p»thetic voioe, thought such things very sad, but said nothing about the Timaru High Sohool Act, 1878. Mr Shrimski wanted to know how such little swindles were managed, and no one referred him to the Oamaru Waterworks Amendment Act, 1878. Even Mr Shephard spoke, though with great caution, and, of course, said nothing about seats in the Legislative Council. Mr Pyke takes Sir George {Grey's plan, and boldly cries " stop thief " when he is found out and being pursued. He informed the House that Mr Wood was a man of no principle, and Mr Hall was a man he could not trust. Mr Ballance and Mr Stewart had sense enough not to speak at all. It would have been awkward for them to have talked about leaving parties who had not appreciated them. Mr DeLautour made a slow dragging speech full of very ugly charges, and was called in the next evening's "Chronicle" the coming Demosthenes of New Zealand. If Mr DeLautour is in any! danger of feeling too much elevated by this prediction, he might know that the compliment is somewhat lessened in value by the same Grey organ holding up Mr Shrimski as a great wit, who gave Mr Hall a " splendid Rowland for his Oliver," and Mr Reeves as the great law reformer of the House. The only thing necessary for any member iB to honor Grey, and his organs will soon honor the member, and represent him to be as eloquent, witty, and learned as he could possibly desire. Mr Wakefield said that if the politic action of the Auckland members had not kept the Greyite in the safe shades of 'opposition, they would have found themselves embarrassed with four Premiers, three Treasurers, and six Attorney-Generals. In fact, they would have had to provide forty-five portfolios to keep their party together at all. Mr Hislop made a long and very bitter speech, and, like Mr De Lautour, informed the offending members that they would be excommunicated, and that, ou'side of the House, he would not speak to them. For more than five hours and until after one o'clock on Saturday morning this vituperation was kept up by the great "Liberal" party on four of their late colleagues who had dared to think and act for themselves. Mr Wood suggested that if the Auckland members were all bound to Sir George Grey without any right of judgment for themselves, it would be better to pass a short Act giving Sir George Grey fifteen votes and let the other fourteen members stay at home. There was nothing in the whole five hours' scolding that could entitle it to be called a debate. It was as free from wit as it was from argument, and after Sir George Grey and Mr Reid had spoken there was not a single original idea expressed ; but each speaker followed in the wake of his predecessor, saying exactly the same thing in a little coarser language; as it seemed necessary to make the language more unparliamentary in order to keep up the interest. There was a singular agreement amongst all the speakers in calling Mr Wood the arch traitor who had led a poor innocent like Mr Swanson entirely astray, although those who know Mr Swanson would be inclined to think that the boot was rather on the other leg, as he is known to be no chicken, either in brain power or experience. It was amusing to see the caution with which all the speakers alluded to him. It was evidently safe enough to rail against the other three, but Mr Swanßon had some mysterious sting left in his tail that made them all approach him with great respect. But the most astonishing thing was to see how these speakers jumped like sheep one after another into a trap that none of them saw, and which was so fatally damaging to the character of all their leaders. Messrs Grey, Macandrew, Sheehan, Ballance, and Montgomery, had during the last few days most solemnly and vehemently asserted again and again that the Opposition were most anxious not to stop supplies, and that if they were stopped it was entirely the fault of the Government. On Friday evening Mr Reid asserted that when Mr Macandrew had brought forward a mild vote of want of confidence at their cauous, Mr Wood advised the stopping of supplies, and the whole party had taken his advice, and every succeeding speaker of his party corroborated this assertion. Mr Wood denies this, and says that the party determined to stop supplies, and that he could not persuade them to give up that determination. But in either oase the fact remains that when the Greyites thought their party in a majority they had deoided to stop supplies at the very time that their leaders were trying to deceive j the House and the country by asserting that they had no such intention.