THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1881. THE NEW MINISTER.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2172, 10 February 1881, Page 2

THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1881. THE NEW MINISTER.

The amount of speculation as to who will be the new Minister is something very considerable), for that one will be appointed shortly seems pretty well agreed on by all parties. The amount of fine old crusted provincial feeling that has been brought into the field on the subject is astonishing. The Wellington " Post" has an amazing article, which, should files of that journal be handed down to posterity, will, in thirty or forty years, be looked upon with much curiosity as showing the lengths to which New Zealand journalists and politicians of the present day can go. The articlo in question endeavors to prove that Wellington is entitled to a Minister. Not a word is said about the capacity of the Wellington members, but on the assumption that every district should be represented in the Cabinet, it is endeavored to be shown that it is now Wellington's turn. Canterbury has two Ministers, says the article—indeed, three, for the Premier should count as two! Otago has two. Taranaki has one, and Auckland one. None of these districts can possibly have another. Napier and Wellington, and a few minor districts remain unrepresented. The latter had, indeed, Mr. Bryce, although the " Post" rather doubts if Wanganui should be counted as sufficiently representing the Empire City. Napier has, among its representatives, Messrs. Ormoud and Russell, but they do not appear to wish to join tho Ministry. Nelson and the West Coast need not count for much. Hence Wellington alone is left in tb» fiold, and Mr. Levin or Mr. Walter Johnston, or some gentleman of the same calibre should be at once asked to give tho aid of his valuable services to the Cabinet. It is impossible to imagine Provincialism carried much further. We were under the

impression that New Zealand, as a whole, is ruled by representatives who are bound to see after the good of the country first, bringing forward the just claims of their respective districts as occasion may require. But it appears that matters do not Btand thus. The " Post" informs us that the various provinces stand with respect to each other like the various European Powers, and that the balance of power has to be maintained. It is inferred that a Minister will look with favor or otherwise on legislation first as it affects his district, secondly as it affects his country. Consequently a Cabinet is to be got together regardlees of the talents of its component parts, provided only the members come from the right parts of the two islands. They should be labelled like plants. For instance—" Dick, ajslow-growing perennial, not showy, grows in Otago;" "Oliver, a somewhat sickly annual, is much in fluenced by the soil in which it grows, also from Otago;" "Rolleston, a very hardy plant, when once got into a garden extremely difficult to eradicate, comes from Canterbury;" "Hall, a very fast growing active shrub, most useful, and by some considered ornamental, also from Canterbury;" and so on throughout the Cabinet. If the soil in which Ministers are grown is to count for everything, some such classification will be necessary. We had hoped that this old spirit had nearly died out, but it seems as if this were not the case. As far at least as the Canterbury members of the Cabinet are concerned we have reason to be proud of them. Their energies are not devoted to the sole benefit of their electorates. There are grumblers who say indeed that Canterbury is neglected by them. But this we do not believe. We" believe them, on the contrary, to be actuated by a sincere wish to benefit the country at large, having Ike whole time a kindly feeling for the place of their political birth, and by a resolve to do their utmost for that place when the inclination does not in any way clash with their broader duties. The pettifogging spirit displayed by the Wellington journal is unworthy of the occasion. It is not a question whether the Empire City has great interests, but it is a question whether it can raise a capable Minister from the ranks of the gentlemen who represent it and its neighbourhood.