A STRONG GOVERNMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5433, 26 August 1878, Page 3

A STRONG GOVERNMENT.

(From the Timaru Herald , August 19.) Three weeks of the session are now gone, yet the real work is scarcely touched, and the prospect of the sho t sitting, which has been so confidently predicted, is rapidly passing away. The state of parties is such that the whole House is disorganised and out of gear. The Government party is as unwieldly and unmanageable as it appears to be numerous, and no enthusiasm or hearty concord prevails amongst its members. There is no denying that the united and devoted following by which the Ministry were kept in ofiice last year no longer exists as it then existed. Dissatisfaction and disunion are rife, and the only reason why many now avowedly support the Government at all is because no other leader has made any sign. There are plentiful indications not only of one split but of several. That the Ministry are well aware of this is manifest, from their hesitating to press on the business, and was openly admitted by the Premier himself the other evening. In the course of his labored and meaningless, though highly rhetorical speech on the Electoral Bill, he. entreated those who had supported him last' session, and had assisted to keep him in power in spite of such great difficulties, not to fly off from him now, merely because he had not deemed it advisable to go to the full length which some of them desired. On the whole, we think that was one of the weakest speeches that Sir George Grey ever made. It was a confession of having to some extent deceived his friends, and it was an admission that the Government depend for their existence upon the support of a section of the House whose opinions are not identical with theirs. Of course, if, iu mentioning that there were members of extreme views who were dissatisfied because the Government would not go the fall length in electoral and financial changes. Sir George Grey had stated the whole extent of the dissension, it would not have bSen anything serious. It is obvious, however, that, in putting the case as ho did, he disguised the real fact, which is that, not the moderation, but the feebleness and novelty of the Ministerial proposal?, have dissatisfied their followers. The feeling of the House unquestionably is that the Premier has hot stuck to his colors, that he has allowed those of his colleagues who are new to tho Cabinet and have little in common with the Grey party, to take a position which puts a new aspect on affairs, and that as he has shifted so far, there is no depending upon him at all. Yet it is equally plain that Sir George Grey and Mr. Sheehan are the life and soul of the Ministry, and that without them, Mr. Stout and Mr. Ballance could not stand for twenty-four hours. The efforts of these latter at leading the House appear to be an utter failure. We are assured by those who were present that Mr. Ballance’s debut in the committee of supply was most pitiable. He knew nothing about the Estimates, and had not the wit to conceal his ignorance. Major Atkinson dealt very tenderly with him, and made no attempt to puzzle him. Yet, slight as the difficulty was for a man of any resolution, he was completely nonplussed, and could do nothing but stammer out excuses or sit at the table looking horribly nervous and miserable while the Attorney-General endeavored by a bold dash to relieve him from his perplexities. Mr. Stout, though never lacking in nerve, has no more tact than his colleague, and his audacious attempts to bully the House into silence are producing exactly the opposite result from that sought to be achieved. What could possibly have been more injudicious, for instance, than his unseemly wrangle with the Speaker, over the vote of a hundred pounds for the Clerk of Writs ? On those rare occasions when the Speaker chooses to appear on the floor of the House and take part in the debates, he is always listened to with great attention, sympathy, and deference ; and that could not but be specially the case when he was asking the House to assist him in a matter iu which he conceived their dignity and privileges to be involved. There seems, moreover, to have been nothing really in dispute between the Speaker and the Government, and if the vote bad been allowed to be taken when Sir William Fitzherbert sat down after explaining why it was asked for, all would have been well. Moved, however, by his innate spirit of contradiction, and perfectly blind to the consequences of his action, the Colonial Treasurer at once plunged into a violent altercation with the Speaker, treating him with as little respect as if he had been some raw novice who had made an impertinent speech, casting imputations on his bona fides, and handling him in the roughest possible manner. There were those no doubt, who, watching this lamentable logomachy, wondered how the Ministry were not restrained by common gratitude, if by no other considerations, from thus harshly demeaning themselves towards the present Speaker of the House of Representatives That, though, is a sentiment which could hardly be expressed in the House ; but it existed, wo are sure, iu many minds there, nevertheless. Neither gratitude nor ordinary prudence had any hold on Mr. Stout. A point was to be argued, and he would argue it to the bitter end. Sir William Fitzherbert was evidently quite equal to the occasion, and his eloquence, spirit, and sarcasm told heavily upon his rash antagonist, and would have told still more heavily had tho debate not been interrupted. And this is leading the House ! Instead of sedulously contriving always to have a largo majority of the House with them, the Attorney-General does not care a straw whether he has a single supporter. In that particular case he forced tha whole House to be against him, for even his own colleagues must have felt that ho was damaging their prestige, as well as traversing their opinions. A mere squabble with his colleagues, though, is nothing to Mr. Stout. He entirely forgets that he is no longer a free lance, and rushes into a wrangling match with any body, .whether friend or foe, on the smallest provocation. Ho is pugnacious, overbearing, and indiscreet, as Mr. Ballance is heavy, unready, and irresolute. Neither of them hqs any personal followers, and; but for their administrative talents, both must ho a source of anxiety to any Ministry. Very different is tho relation subsisting between tho Premier and Native Minister and tho Government party. Sir George Grey, has a very , considerable baud of supporters who are warmly attached to him, and are proud to acknowledge his influence. It cannot bo douted that the number of these has been.] ’diminished, and tho confidence -of the remainder shaken, by his recent vacillation, yet ho still has a numerous personal following. His bodily weakness, of course, a serious disadvantage to hirq. M*- Sheehan simply has no onprqios, for even in tho “ little lovings” which so frequently pass between him and Mr. Fox there is not a trace of bitterness. He is the heart as well as tho brains of the Ministry, and is without ono exception the beat leader of the House of any who now pretend to that position. But he is iu bad-