LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 May 1918, Page 4

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS.

Partly for the sake of appearances, and in other part for the convenience of embarrassed Ministers, we have a National Government jn the Dominion. Nothing else—outside the war—seems to matter. The life Parliament has been prolonged and patronage still exists, therefore the people should be happy. The House of Representatives is supposed to be so constituted as to reflect the will of the people; that it fails in this as well as in other matters is a mere detail. The country is governed by Cabinet—nominally democratic, but actually otherwise. Still, the people look to the House to keep national affairs moving in the right direction; yet when trouble appears likely, the handy expedient of a caucus meeting irons out the creases. There are many who are greatly concerned over what the House does, but scarcely anyone can be found to take even a passing interest in the proceedings of the Legislative Council. The few really capable administrators in the Council only serve to emphasise the incongruity of the remainder. But what else,could be expected from the patronage system? We have only to look at the list of new appointments, and it is at once evident that it has mainly been compiled on party lines. The irony of such a procedure, in view of the party truce, is very apparent, especially after the profession of the Reform Government in favor of an elective Council, as provided for in 1014. It will puzzle most thoughtful people to find a reason for making any appointments at all, except that it was possibly in response to the continuous and everincreasing pressure of those political friends who clamored for a reward for past services. It may be unkind to suggest that the appointments were published most conveniently just after the two political leaders were beyond the reach of immediate criticism, so that by the time they again appear in Parliament active hostility to the course taken will have evaporated. Otherwise, why were the appointments made at this particular time? It is a matter of perfect indifference to the welfare of the country whether there arc ten Legislative Councillors or ten times ten, and though the numerical strength of the Upper House has fallen very considerably, no one can say that it is either more or less impotent than it was before the war. There might have been some excuse for ignoring the postponed statute for creating an elective Council if the appointments had consisted of men specially fitted for dealing with the urgent a.nd grave problems of the immediate future, but tile list of nominations shows no particular deviation from former lists, and it may be claimed that party rewards ahd soothing hostile critics has largely entered into the selection, though there are one or two notable exceptions. There can be no question that the making of these appointments was quite unnecessary, and this further adherence to the iniquitous system of patronage is a blunder.