THE PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1312, 12 October 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1872.

It is sincerely to be hoped that, for the season at least, we have seen the last of the shifting of scenes upon the political stage. Much shifting must be . much vexation of spirit* to the scene-shifters. It is scarcely less a source of vexation to the spectatsrs. It should be more so, because they pay in pocket, as well; as in weariness of flesh, to witness transformation scenes which, however much they may contribute to the spectacular, are often serious interruptions to the plot of the play. It is sincerely to be hoped, in short, that, for this present session of Parliament, we have seen the last of its series of Ministerial changes. It is to be hoped 60 because there is a limit to popular patience, and that limit has been well nigh reached. But the hope may be cultivated less on that account than in consequence of the very fair prospect of the new Cabinet being capable of satisfactorily conducting the affairs of the couutry — of doing so better, perhaps, than the Ministry who were in office when the session opened, and certainly not worse than the Ministry of the interval whose chosen emblem should be Jonah's gourd. It will, we are confident, be confessed by all but the cavilling partisan that the Cabinet maker of the period, Mr Yogel, has, in the peculiar position in which he was placed, worked out the problem of organising a Ministry in a manner which, at least, exceeds expectations. Examining the list of names which appears in another column, our readers, we think, will readily admit that the Cabinet which he has formed has sufficient aggregate strength to make any points of weakness which it may present of but slight signifi cance. To the probable surprise and envy of the opposite party, he has secured Mr Waterhome, whose presence will prove to be the keystone to the whole construction. Though, so far as this Colony is concerned, MrWaterhouse has cultivated theamenities •f private life rather than the enmities of a public one, he is a man whose repute is colonial, and his presence in the Cabinet, as Premier, will alone be a rebuke in the future to such assertions as were made in the past— that a Yogel Ministry, must inevitably begin its career in reckltssness and end in ruin. The return of Mr John Hall to the ranks of the Ministry is another circumstance for congratulation— congratulation which is only diminished by the fact that, for the present, he holds a seat in the Legislative Council. With him and Mr Waterhouse among "the Lords," the point in which the new Ministry will most exhibit weakness in the Lower House will be in their debating power, and it may eventuate, in, consequent of that consideration, that tin suffrages of some constituency will either be asked for Mr Hall or for tho Premier. I It may possibly have been a dernier resort

to transfer Mr Hall from the House of Representatives at the time he was nominated to the Council, otherwise it was a palpable error, resulting as it did in the re-election of Mr Cracrof t Wilson, and probably in the defeat of Mr Fox's Ministry. The re-appearaace of Mr M'Lean and Mr Qrmond in the list is the strongest indication of the reliance of the old party upon the counti/'s approval of their Native and Public Works administration, and their determination to. make no confession of failure in these departments. The promise of Mr Richardson assuming the management of Public Works, and his presence in the Cabinet without portfolio until the time of his doing so, will give present and prospective strength to the Ministry, for, either as colleague to Mr Ormond or as that gentleman's successor, his practical professional advice will be invaluable. His name, as a professional man, is associated with one of the greatest public works in the Colony — the Canterbury tunnel ; and, as expressed in the thoroughly practical speech which he made during the no-confidence debate, he Js in spirit and sympathy with Mr Fox Kind Mr Yogel, believing them io have a [policy, and to have fairly and economically carried it out so far as it had gone. M 9 Bathgate' s position, as Commissioner of Customs, is not one of eminent importance, nor is Mr Bathgate, as Mr Bathgate, of much importance to anybody or to anything but to that which is as often in his mouth as it was in Dominie Sampson's— his "conscience." But it was a necessity that the Middle Island should be represented, more than it has been, in the composition of the Ministry, and, if it was not a necessity, it was, perhaps, a wise enough choice to select, as that representative, Mr Bathgate. His colleague, Mr Reynolds, is an older politician, so far as the Colonies are concerned, but only an abler in point of Dutch persistency, and, with hia proclivities for Separation, he would, at the present juncture, be rather a source of weakness to the Ministry than a source of strength. The southern Provinces of the Middle Island, though producing most to the rerenue, have had the smallest share of representation in the Executive, and^the nomination of Mr Bathgate, as thaj; of Mr Reeves, is but the beginning, let us hope, of a change for the better by the ultimate discovery, in these parts of the Colony, of better men. The offer of a seat to Mr O'Rorke was not only, in a diplomatic point of view, a justifiable proceeding, but a just recognition of a gentleman who is old in politics, though not in years, and who is, for his intelligence, industry, and integrity, as much respected as any member in the House. His acceptance would probably involve his abandonment of his office as Chairman of Committees, but the country might gain j more by his joining the Ministry than the House would lose by his vacating the chair. Though not demonstrative, he is of the party which Mr Yogel represents, and neither his acceptance of office, nor the acceptance of office by any other members who have been mentioned, involves a particle of compromise between the proper party of Peace and Progress and the party who fishily favored the policy from the first, and who finally, while pretending to promote it, *' damaed it with faint praise." •