The Southland Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1872.

Southland Times, Issue 1645, 8 October 1872, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1872.

Although it wag generally understood that the supporters of the Fox-Vogkl Ministry did not intend to accept their defeat as final, and that another effort would be made by them before the close of the session to recover the reins of power, few persons, we believe, were prepared for the announcement which was made on Saturday morning, that the Staffobd Government had been defeated the previous evening, by a majority of two votes, on Mr Voqel's motion of want of confidence. The issue raised on this occasion must be considered, even more unmistakeably than on the last, to have been entirely personal. Charges of maladministration, which were the peg on which Mr Stafford ostensibly hung his resolutions, could hardly be brought against a Government whose practical tenure of office was scarcely a fortnight old. The Financial Statement of the new Treasurer differed very little from that of his predecessor, and the course he proposed to follow had not even been criticised in debate. The estimates of the previous Government had been adopted as they stood, and some progress had been made in passing the various items of appropriation in Committee of Supply. The Public Works Statement did indeed differ from that of the late Government, and in a very important respect. While Mr Oemond confined himself to recounting the progress that had been made, and abstained from giving the slightest hint of what was intended to be done, Mr Reid, on the contrary, was compelled, from the nature of his position, to show his hand, and declare the intentions of the administration with respect to the particular works which it was proposed to execute duriug the current year. It ia possible that this circumstance may have been a source of weakness to the Government ; and the impossibility of their being able to please everybody may have been calculated upon by their opponents, as affording a certain indication of the proper time to strike the decisive blow. The resolution of Ibe Ministry to accept the result of the division without a debate, and the acquiescence of the Opposition in the proposal to do so, may be taken as further evidence that the issue to be decided was regarded by both sides of the House as of an exclusively personal character. The adoption of this method of settling the difference ■will probably be considered by many to be the most sensible proceeding of the session. Weary and profitless as its discussions have hitherto been, beyond example, we believe, in our Parliamentary records, another no-con-fidence debate like the last would have

been almost too much for human nature to endure, and it is well that it was avoided. But the spectacle of a deliberative assembly incessantly engaged for three months and a half in debate, and the formalities o£ legislation, and yet producing nothing more useful than a convincing demonstration of its inability to furnish an Executive which shall com mand its confidence, is not a pleasant one, and raises grave considerations. Parliamentary government has its drawbacks everywhere, and in New Zealand, with its complex political system, and peculiar physical configuration, the difficulties are redoubled. Two islands, a thousand miles long, by one hundred broad, differing widely in climate, soil, resources, and the character and pursuits of their population, yet dipping into a common purse and making common laws, present a sufficiently perplexing problem to begin with. Acid to this the further complication of nine separate centres of political vitality and influence, each with its miniature Parliament and responsible Ministry, all equally interested in the grand money question, and represented, in many cases, by their own paid officials in the supreme Assembly, and there is a chaos of conflicting interests which would tax the abilities of the astutest stateman that ever held a portfolio to deal with successfully. To these causes, we believe, may be assigned much of the inefficiency so painfully apparent in the action of the Assembly. This must not be attempted, or tbe Otago members will be offended — that must not be thought of, or the Auckland men will vote against us in a body. These are the questions each successive Ministry has to consider, instead of the welfare and advancement of the whole. The remedy is obvious, but, as often happens, it is easier to prescribe than to administer. The people are willing enough for the change, but the politicians are not. The legislative and financial separation of the two Islands, aod the abolition of the Provincial Governments, would be declared for by an overwhelming majority, if the population of tbe Colony were invited to decide the matter by a general vote ou the abstract question. But when it is referred to their representatives, different counsels prevail, and it is easy to see why. So it has been for years past ; and so, it is to be feared, it will continue to be, until the evils of the present system become too grievous to be borne any longer even by the patient and long-suffering electors of New Zealand. The contest still pending affords no hope of an immediate solution of thid difficulty, although the circumstances which have led to it are undoubtedly connected with the evil \vb have described. The vote just taken has no direct constitutional bearing, and although it may be assumed as certain that Mr Stafford will not relinquish the struggle without asking for a dissolution, it is equally difficult to see on what grounds His Excellency would be able to justify such aconcession. A Coalition Min istry, in any true sense of the expression, would appear in the present position of affairs to be impossible. The return of tbe Fox-Vogel Ministry, unchanged in composition, to power, appears equally out of the question ; but it seems likely that the Ministerial changes of the session will end, as many think they ought to have begun, with a reconstruction of the Ministry which initiated the Public Works and Immigration policy.