Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1898. Rumoured Changes.

Manawatu Herald, 31 March 1898, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1898. Rumoured Changes.

The Lyttleton Times gives a leader to the proposed reconstruction of the Government and in it saya that the Hon. Thomas Thompson must go because " the Department of Defence has been so discredited by the cvi« donee laid before the Police Com mission that it would be the height of folly to meet Parliament without replacing the Minister at the head of that Department. ... It is inviting shipwreck of the Cabinet to keep such a Jonah on board." It ia very plain speaking but is very much to the purpose and, for the Liberal Parly, c statement which appaars to be forced at last by the extraordinary way this Minister misunderstands the duties of big position. From some pressure, at present not made clear to the public, he has acted in a must unwarrantable unfair manner towards a first class pettier and excellent constable. Upon the complaini oE on<\ whoso charges wo reproved utterly groundless, in a jiv cipato manner fh« Miniftor cans, r! Constable Giilespia to be ivmoved from a lucrative poat to sactt duty in Wellington, and after a very full inquiry by His Honour Judge Kettle, in which the Jud<?e decided in a most emphatic manner that the constable had only done his duty, the Hon. the Minister of Defence instead of making haste to-do all he could for the constable he had wronged, sliil leaves him on street duty. Can it be wondered that tht men under the control r,f a D partment with such a Minister at us head, have become demoralised ? How is it possiblu for the public to be fafe-guarded by inteliigout and responsible men if a Mini?ter is allowed, unrebuked, to treat one of their number as he has treated Constable Gillespie ? We have declared such conduct a disgrace and we have i no hesitation in repeating it, and we «re glad that a newspaper upholding the principles of Ihe Libsral Parry has at last been forced to declare for this Minister' 3 removal. We have taken steps to place the case of Constable Gillespie very fully before those holding office, and shall continue doing so, and failing redress at their hands we shall take steps to lay the matter before every member of parliament. The question is not simply that of one man's grievance but is one of the utmost oonsequence to the general public, and therefore deserving of every consideration. We have on the one hand a constable doing his duty, honestly and properly as Judge Kettle says ha did, thus representing law and order, and on the other dde the untrue nnd malicious charges niada by a person worthy of no consideration, thus representing disorder, and yet the upholder of law and decency is disrated. We want, and every right thinking settler should also wan 5 to know for why this man is punished ? Wd feel assured of one fact, anJ that ig that the person who was used as a tool to make the charges against the constable is not the person unto whom the Minister baa bowtd, and therefore it behoves us to fiud, if possible, the powar which his been powerful enough to make a Minister of the Crown forget his position, and his duty to the public, as to disrate a constable for no proved offence. We are enabled to write thus strongly on tb.l3 particular instance of misdoing on the part of the government " Jonah," but the Police Commission has furnished many other facts which go further to show the useles3uess of such a Minister. In another column we reproduce a leaderette from the Mrndard in which it appears the social ev,l flourishes to a large extent n Dunedin owing to the fact that this same Minister of Justice and a Bishop are interested in the property inhabited by knse women. The statement is made and should be promptly contra iicted if nob tiu . We have given the statement as made by our contemporary and it appears to bear the mark of truth. If this wag the only indictment against a Minister it should be sum* cieot 0 cause his removal from office, and again, if true, it may be taken as a very good gu*ge of tl c character of the man. The Prenii- r could do m> wiser act than cb as hts Le:n suggested, viz. reconstruct his Cabinet.