MR HISLOP ALSO RESIGNS HIS SEAT.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 401, 11 September 1889, Page 3

MR HISLOP ALSO RESIGNS HIS SEAT.

DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE. Wellington, September 6:

In the House yesterday atternoon tin Speaker read Mr T. W. Hislop'a resignatioi ot his Beat for Oamaru. Sir H. Atkinson : I beg to move in ac cordance with the usual custom that i writ be immediately issued to supply thi vacancy which has been caused by the re signation of the hon. member for Oamaru and I might take the opportunity of stat ing that the Colonial Secretary has tenderec the resignation of all the offices he held ir the Government. I wish to say with re ference to my colleague that having knowi him for many years, and having served with him in our ljite relationship for twc years, I extremely regret the action which he, as a matter of honour, has fell it necessary to take, although one regrets that through the occurrences which have taken place in reference to the Christie- Ward correspondence, the hon. gentleman should have come to the conclusion that he should take the extreme step of not only resigning from the, Government, but also his seat in this Souse, in order, as he thinks, to place himself right before the public. Although "1- believe a very large majority of the House "will regret the step which the hon. gentleman leltithisdutyco take, still, Idcfeel thatthe House will feel proud that its public.men should have so high a sense of honour that when they are censured even as to a matter of discretion, they should at once take the most extreme step that it is possible to .take to place themselves right with the public. As a late colleagde of mine, I bear with great satisfaction testimony to this fact, that the hon. gentleman's sympathies- have always • been with the people, and I venture to say that no >act of his administration, although he may have been a 'little. indiscreet at times, has he ever performed except for the purpose of doing his duty to the colony. , Although I feel regret that he should have felt it his duty to go, I cannot help feeling proud of a colleague who will take the first opportunity of setting himself entirely right, and showing that after all the action he has taken has been taken in the interests of the colony and himself. Mr Ballance : I also beg to express regret at the action which the Colonial Secretary has thought it necessary to take in this matter, and I shall take no exception whatever to the words just uttered with regard to the conduct of the Colonial Secretary by the Premier. Upon the whole, I think possibly the Colonial Secretary has Laken the right course. At the same time, I must express my regret, and my deep regret, that the Government should have refused a Committee of this House to have made an .inquiry jointly with bhe Committee of the other branch of bhe Legislature into this matter. v The position we occupy is an anomalous one. Mr Hislop has resigned upon the censure passed by the Committee of one branch of the Legislature. He has resigned .his seat in the Ministry and resigned ' his' seat in the House, while we we're denied' in this branch of the Legislature an opportunity of being associated with them- in the inquiry and of having an opportunity of expressing"! ouv opinion on the matter. I think that is a • subject of very' great- regret 'indeed.,, The, position, as I have said, froma consbi&ttfcipiYal point ot view, appears to me to be quite anomalous. It is ,upusual for a Ministry and for a Minister to' resign their position upon any action taken by s the other branch of the Legislature. The x^remier :, He baa not done that at all. Mr Ballance : Well, it does appear to me that it follows vupon a, report which is brought down in another place, and I think therefore I may express* the opinion that the course adopted was an unconstitutional one not to consent to the appointment of a committee of this House in the first instance at once. 1 have not one word to say on the action of the Colonial Secretary, except to say that, in my opinion, he has taken under all circumstances what appears to me to be the right course. Mr Turnbull was of opinion that Mr Hislop could have done nothing, but resign, for he had made a most unwarrantable interference with the course of justice. (Cheers and dissent. ) Whatever penance the hon. gentleman made would not rehabilitate him in his old status in the House. A few weeks ago he should have admitted that he had been indiscreet, and not wait until the position was forced on him. ■ Sir Geo. Grey : I am desirous of saying afew words on this subject, and they must be very few. The impression left upon my mind with regard to this transaction is that the Minister of Justice and one or more of his colleagues believed that a judge had sat in a case in which he had "an interest of that kind which a judge in Great Britain possessing would not Jiave sat on the Bench to hear the case. I am quite satisfied that they earnestly and honestly believed that. (Hear, hear.) Then t it was their duty bo take some step or other in the | transaction, and what I have found as a rnle through a long fife is this; that if in l some. case in which it is believed a wrong act or An imprudent act or an impolitic act on the part of a great official has been committed and he is v interfered with, then generally the course adopted is to take" objection to the manner of that interference, to some word that was said, to some single act that was v performed, and the original question is in a great degree lost sight of, by considering that minor point. In dealing with a vasb variety of cases' in various countries through a long life, I have' found it is almost impossible to go into the investigation of a subject of the nature of that which has occupied ouYattention without taking some step that may be objected to. Possibly the majority will approve of the step that was taken, but there will be a minority who will object to what was done> and direct their attadks to the authority \ .that had to interfere Upon that specific point, and who very- often will appear to be a very ,much greater offender than the person in' regard to whom the original motion was taken. . I am quite satisfied in my own mind that Ministers on this occasion did what they thought was necessary and was fcfest. (Hear. ) Ido not mean to say that they may nob have made some mistake, committed some indiscretion in action, or used some wqrd which might have been better supplied by another word — that I will not go into j but I cannot find it in my mind to condemn the Ministers in what they did, •So far as I am acquainted with the transaction, I believe they honestly strove to do their duty" as' they thought right, a duty which I believe they felt to be a most arduous and most unpleasant one, and as far as I am concerned I will pass no censure upon them in reference to any action they took in the matter. I pardon all parties, and I pardon them espeouUty for having had difficulties of an, e;x;ts<aardinary kind to contend against^ suoh'as it was almost impossible fqy them to successfully carry out wfthout making some step or 'the othe^ to which objection might .very, posI sibly be taken. - (Loud cheers'. )J *

-After some further ; Remarks" from. Jdie Premier, the motion was agreed to. ; „ ,