PARTY GOVERNMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5034, 2 May 1878, Page 2

PARTY GOVERNMENT.

TO THE EDITOR OB THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES.; i SlH,—We have almost daily flaunted before us in some form or other by certain portions of the New Zealand Press the great necessity of, with the incomparable benefits to be derived from, strictly party government, in which the broadest and most closely'defined party lines shall be drawn;. while from the present constitution of society in this colony the elements for the. formation of party government evidently'do not exist. ; ;' Party government presupposes the. existence of a privileged class or classes, which may be said to have existed in • Great Britain in pristine glory and fulness up to 1832. Previously to that time _ the aristocracy and church in the United Kingdom possessed great and extensive privileges as against , the great masses of the people. ' Hence the existence of parties in the Legislature of a. most clear .and' well-defined character,- —the one contending for the maintenance of those privileges, the other for the extension of those'rights and privileges to the populace. ! ..’The passing, and: consequent’action'of the Reform Bill'of 1832 tended to level the differ-ences-of privilege which previously existed between "the aristocracy, the church, and the great masses of the people. Prom that time, arising from the operation of the Reform Bill and numerous subsequent Acts in .the same direction, party lines have become less clear .arid . distinct,; Hence the ' change of appellation from Tories and Whigs, denoting the higher party distinction, to Conservatism and Liberalism, ns a less marked distinction of, parties ; while ,we. now, find ,that party lines are become yet less clear .and distinct by the fuVther blending of >ihe opposing parties, under the nairie’of Liberal Conservatives, and Conservative Liberals, of which combined elea large portion of the present British House of Commons is now composed. So that party government cannot be said to exist in Great Britain at the present time in the sense in which it existed previous to' the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832. ' And if .we carefully itra.ce the history of parties from that time we shall find thatpartyism and the. strength of party ties have’decreased iri an equal ratio to the nay tidu having become more arid more democratic, which points clearly to ‘the incompatibility of anything’ like' well-defined, party government with democracy. We, then, in this colony are, far more' democratic than' Great Britain at the present time: 1 It, therefore, as we have seen,'or may see,' party government has there waned before advancing 'democracy, that waning of* partyism cannot but be regarded ;as an evidence of its unsuitability to" a democratic state of society; and 1 we being eminently democratic,bit ■ follows it iriust be altogether unsuitable to our social organisation, and consequently anyl'serious: atteinpt to' establish it cannot but.be obstructive to good ’government and the general progress of our institutions, arid must end in’utter failure and-’humiliation to those who may attempt: it, because it is out of harmony with the spirit of our age and the circumstances with which; we are surrounded. Of this we have had a most recent practical illustration. On the question of the abolition of provinces there was placed before the country a most distinct issue, in connection with which, ’ and all questions arising put of the same, Ministers had a most pronounced and decided majority. But on that question being settled ministerial supporters could no longer be held together as a party, hence the defeat and resignation of the Ministry under which the abolition of provinces was carried. The present Ministry have now to deal with the questions of the franchise, the readjustment of representation, and changing the incidence of taxation, iri connection with each of which questions there will; beyond doubt, be distinct and separate combinations in the House. That it should be .so is in perfect harmony with the democratic character of our political constitution, and the general equality and independence of the people; who, through ■their representatives, will be called upon to discuss and decide on l these questions which independence of thought, speech, and action the people’s representatives are not likely to sacrifice: on the altar of party. Where, then, are the elements of stable party government to be found ? Party government means the sinking of the rights, liberties, and independence of the individual, which is in direct opposition to the spirit of democracy, and can never be successfully carried out where equality and independence, the natural offspring of democracy, exist to. the extent they do in this country.—-I am, &c., , ; Q.