WELLINGTON.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 77, 22 June 1868, Page 149

WELLINGTON.

KE-CONSTRUCTION OR THE PRO"VpTCIAL EXECUTIVE. . (From the Wellington Journal, 10th June.) The “ Ministerial Crisis ” is over, and the Hon. John Johnston has formed an Executive, consisting of himself Mr Brandon, aud Mr Halcombe ; the former of those two last-named gentlemen being Provincial Solicitor, and the latter Provincial Secretary and Treasurer. On the whole, this arrangement is a satisfactory solution of the problem, “ How best to get rid of a Government very unwilling to go, and how best to put new men in ” their places, wlio on the whole, agree with the majority of the Council on the question on which the Government were defeated.” No one can doubt that the personnel of the new Government is superior to that of the former one. Mr Halcombe is a very decided improvement on Mr Hickson, and Mr Brandon is more to be depended upon than Mr Borlase, though it may be doubted whether the new Provincial Solicitor is as popular in the House as his predecessor. The sound common sense and honesty of Mr Dransfield is, perhaps, not entirely compensated by the calculating cautiousness of .Mr Johnston. Without doubting for a moment that the position he has taken up in the Patent Slip question is one which he can fully justify to his own conscience, we cannot but think that in his anxiety to protect the interests of the Province, he has somewhat lost sight of the claims of justice, and of that far-seeing expediency which is averse to any mode of proceeding likely to cast a shadow of suspicion upon our dealings with foreign capitalists. The talk about repudiation in which some writers and representatives so freely . indulge, is, of course mere “bunkum,” and not even good of its d°es not look well member of the. Council insmqateiibat, on the whole, it would be a good thing to get rid of the Patent Slip. cdntract, because’ we;have found* out i| ifras a mistake, ever to have /tsa> tered intu it. , We trust, however, tfraf the new Executive -will, in this res pent at least endeavor to verify the oracular assertions of Mr .Johnston, that the Government, while respecting the decision of the Council, would take care that the rights of the contractors, were not lost sight of.