THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1882. THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2536, 25 May 1882, Page 2

THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1882. THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN.

Undek existing circumstances the Opposition have done the very best thing possible in chocsing Mr Montgomery as a leader. Somebody was wanted to unite the scattered sections of the party. There was the Grey section and the Macandrow section, and the young NewZealand section, besides loose political atoms, whicb, if all brought together, would form a very fair check to any administration. But what was wanted was nn individual who would connect these floating masses, and counteract their divergent tendencies. Now it would seem as if Mr Montgomery was just the man to do this. Ho is not; [brilliant, but ho is suave ; ho is not onterprising, but he is honest. The various leaders of the sections cannot be jealous of him, and he is not at all likely to shine as an oratorical star. But under his mild sway the Opposition may find that peace which has hitherto been defied them, and with a little diplomacy it is possible that they may be oaio all that an Opposition should be. Should they, however, succeed in turning out the present Government, the peculiar qualities which made Mr. Montgomery the man for the present crisis would not much avail him as Premier. Sometimes more than the faculty of acting as a buffer would then be wanted. But things have not yet arrived at that stnge, and perhaps may not for a length of time. Suffice it to say that for the present the Opposition have shown groat wisdomjin cheir choice. Moreover, the new leader's opening speech, though woak, was not accompanied by what frequently is found with weakness, namely, violence. It was moderate in trne, and he promised that while criticising the Government measures fairly and fully he would guarantee that there would bo no factions opposition. Viewing critically the opening of the Opposition tranches, it cannot be said that any particular ability was displayed on the occasion. Mr. Montgomery'sspeech, as wo have remarked, was a feeble one. His objection to the local government circular was particularly foolish, because tho Government are by no means bound by any opinion that may be given, by tho various local bodies. They merely wish to obtain from experts all the information possible, and when that is received Parliament will be at perfect liberty to take the pros and cons into consideration. Mr. DeLautour, the leader of one of the sections which it is the mission of Mr. Montgomery to amalgamate, was principally exercised over the state of the goldfields. When he came to general legislation, his views were hazy and desponding. His opinion, for instance, of the body to which ho belongs is of the most gloomy character. '' It was simply nonsense," he said, " to talk about allocating a new loan. It could not be.

done. As long as they had the power to raise money, so long would they have have demoralisation in the House. They conld not provide for honest administration hy any legislation." It is peculiarly Had to find such words dropping from the lips of a gentleman who is supposed, in some quarters, to be a perfect type of Toung New Zoaland. He would naturally •be expected to be buoyant and hopeful. He is generally pictured as a young man clasping a standard after the manner of the youth in "Excelsior," and, full of aspirations, stepping steadily up the political mountain. To find such a one despairing of his country is not pleasant. Indeed, it is difficult to understand why he should take the trouble of attacking the present Government, if tho whole affair is so thoroughly rotten. A cave in the neighbourhood of Mount Ida would appear to be about the proper residence for him in his present frame of mind. Tho Opposition will certainly not get much out of a member in such a very bilious frame of mind.

As for Mr. Holmes, ho is quite a new horse, and is evidently very full of running, but he wants a good deal of coaching up in colonial and English politics. He apparently imagines that New Zealand Governments, when they do not quite manage to hit it off with the Governor at the time in office, invariably resign. If he had studied the records of his own party ho would never have made such a ridiculous assertion. Sir George Grey's notorious disagreements with the Marquis of Normanby might be cited if any proof were wanted that it is not incumbent for the Ministry to resign under such circumstances, except the Governor officially asserts his opinion. Certainly in 1577 nobody expected Sir George to resign,and as Sir Arthur Gordon has never officially intimated that he is at variance with his Ministers, nobody with ordinary common sense would expect these latter to retire In referring to Native matters, Mr. Holmes has taken a leaf out of Sir George Grey's book. Sir George was always declaring, when out of office, that he conld do in five minutes what it took other people weeks to get through. On one celebrated occasion, in an argument on financial matters, he said that if he were Premier he would make up an excellent budget in a fewhours. The frightful fiasco that resulted when he did become Treasurer is only too well known. In like manner Mr. Holmes is of opinion that there are a dozen attorney's [clerks in "Wellington who would have put the Government straight in legal matters in connection with the "West Coast policy. He totally ignores the difficulties of the case, and the fact that the Ministry had the best of advice from the Crown lawyers, and plumes himself on being wise after the event. We do not mean to say that Mr. Holmes made no points in his speech, for it would be almost impossible to attack a lengthened sories of political events without doing so ; but, taken as a whole, his effusion was decidedly raw, and he will have to mature rapidly and considerably if he is to make any impression on the House.

With regard to the speech of Sir George Grey, much need not be said, because people have weighed him in the balance, and can calculate pretty nearly what percentage of his utterances is based on solid reality, and what percentage is intended ingeniously to mislead bis audience. For instance, with regard to the state of the Treasury when ho left office, ha endeavored to lead the House to infer that there must have been £1,750,000 in the locker at the time. The real state of affairs at that crisis is now a matter of history. But the veteran will stick to his story, and the general public expect nothing else from him.'

It is very possible that among the new members of the House some may be found on the side of the Opposition who will be capable of fighting its battles satisfactorily in the House. From the first day's fight, however, it would appear that it is somewhat weak in debating power unless indeed the speakers on that occasion were drawing a herring across the track. Perhaps, when the proper time comes, Mr. Montgomery will be brilliant, Mr. De Lautour will' prance up the mountain like a figuro on a play bill, and Mr. Holmes will cease to be prolix, strident and unreasonable. Those who live will see. While then wishing the Opposition all joy in the possession of a chief so excellently suited to the occasion, we cannot congratulate them on the outcome of the first day's campaign. They certainly did most of the talking on that occasion, but we do not think the party itself will assert that the mark made was proportionate to the words expended.