The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1884. THE DEFEAT OF THE MINISTRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1231, 23 August 1884, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1884. THE DEFEAT OF THE MINISTRY.

Thr Ministry, after having been in office three days, have been defeated. We have not approved of them from the beginning, and we are not sorry for their overthrow, but after all it must be admitted they acted as well as could be expected under the circumstances. It was in the first instance a matter worthy of notice to see men of such divergent views agreeing on any line of policy, but more worthy of commendation still was the action of Mr Stout in bringing matters to a crisis in the way he did. On previous occasions, want of con - fidence motions have occupied days—in fact, we might say, weeks—and thus time has been spent, and the colony has been put to great expense. Mr Stout on this occasion adopted a different course. He saw that to prolong the debate was useless, and immediately the no-confidence motion was seconded he challenged the Opposition to a division to avoid waste of time. Mr Stout deserves credit for this. He was entitled to be heard; he had only just come into office and might well have asked for more time and a fuller examination of his policy, bat he saw the chances of retaining office were small, and, evidently out of a desire to see the business of ihe country gone on with, he submitted at once. As we have said we are not sorry for his defeat, but at the same time we must say he has shown himseif possessed of very patriotic feelings in thus bringing matters to a crisis so readily. Ihe policy which was enunciated in the Governor’s speech is not what the country wants. It would take at least £5,000,000, perhaps £10,000,000, to carry out the railways it proposed to construct, and yet some of these railways, according to the most authentic information, would not pay working expenses for years. The country would thus not only have to p»y interest cn the cost of construction, but also have to contribute out of the public fun-'e towards the cost of working them. Then the Ministry said it was absolutely necessary to be careful with regard to borrowing. Well, if they could make the railways they proposed without borrowing we regret very much they have not been allowed to retain office. Their statements were contradictory and silly. The speech they made was an exceed-, ingly bad one—it went too far and yet not far enough. It went too far in naming the railways they proposed to make, and yet not far enough in showin!? hew they could contruct these without borrowing money. Perhaps they intended to make them by giving syndicates of English capitalists land in their vicinity. If that were their intention it ought to have been clearly stated. Then they proposed to abolish the pronroperty tax, and put on a land tax, which they were to give to local bodies to spend locally. Here they ought to have explained how they meant to pay their way. fciir Julius Vogel says there is a deficit of £1,080,000, If they abolished the property tax, and put no tax in its place except such a* would go to local bodies, it was necessary for them to explain how they intended to get on. It is useless to discuss their policy now, as it is past and gone, but this we must gay, that they were defeated on their own policy, and it served them right, because it was one unsmted to the present condition of the Colony,

the coming ministry. The Otago Daily Times says:— “As the result of Mr Thomson's amend meat, the task of forming a Government will probably be intrusted to Sir G. Grey ; but no Ministry which is iormed either by him or under bis influence has the remotest chance of lasting. Mr Ormond, however, we believe, could command

sufficient support from both sides of the House tor a Ministry which contained neither Major Atkinson nor Sir Julias Vogel. Such a Ministry, however, would necessarily hold office at Major Atkinson’s pleasure, and to a large extent be the old Atkinson Ministry with new names. The best thing that could happen would be for Mr Ormond to take both these gentlemen into his Ministry along with Messrs Bryce, Mitchelson, Wakefield and Larnacb.” Mr Wakefield has frequently been accused of writing articles for the Otago Daily Times. Of course h -1 would not write such an article as the .me quoted. He is too modest a man. Our opinion is that Major Atkinson wiil not play second fiddle to any leader, and that he need not, because there is no party in the House so strong as his own. Another thing is, if Major Atkinson is in the Ministry there is not the slightest doubt but that Mr Rolleston will take precedence of Mr Wakefield. However, there are indications of a change, The Timaru Herald defends the Atkinson Ministry in its issue of yesterday morning. It has upheld Mr Montgomery, Sir George Grey, Sir Julius Vogel, etc., etc., just as there appeared any chance of either party getting into power. It has turned round to defend the Atkinson party probably because it sees a portfolio for Mr Wakefield dangling on that side. If Sir George Grey becomes Premier, there are hopes for the would-be PostmasterGeneral The Lyttelton Times of yesterday says that Mr Hatch, of Invercargill, voted against the Government for the same reason as Mr Wakefield—because he was not given a portfolio. If the Times’s deception of Mr Hatch is correct it is to be hoped he never will get one, It says that Mr Wakefield speaks like a gentleman but Mr Hatch like a Cheap-Jack, and that his speech is characterised as tbemostimpudent thing ever heard in the House. “ If you want,” says the Times “ to complete the picture of Mr Hatch, imagine a speaker who is evidently the son of Mrs Malaprop, and the nephew of Mrs Partington. He is sa7is everthying—grammar, ideas, self-knowledge and its attendant self-respect.” And yet this ignorant mud orator bad the impudence to expect to be made a Minister the first day he entered Parliament. This is the ruin of Now Zealand politics ; there are too many officers and no soldiers, and their number is still in-cres-sing. Until yesterday no one ever looked upon Mr Thomson as a likely Cabinet Minister, and although he was intrusted with the no-confidence motion no one dreamt that he would undertake the task ot forming a Ministry. But he has, and he will probably form as shortlived a one as Sir Julius Vogel did. The end of all this will be that the Atkinson Ministry must come back ; there are none to take their place, and we feel confident the sooner they come back the belter. But even they can not command a majority, unless they coalesce with Mr Ormond. On the whole it is more than probable that we shall have another dissolution before long.

THE BANK SCHEME. It gives us much pleasure to find that the Bank Scheme is at last being recognised. At last Wednesday’s meeting of the Otago Chamber of Commence Mr John Bathgate, an ex-judge of the District Court and ex-member for Roslyn, moved a resolution appointing a committee to inquire into the matter. The resolution was carried, and a committee formed for that purpose. This is a step in the right direction, and we sincerely trust it will be followed up, for there is nothing on earth that can save this colony from ruin except a National Bank. All other efforts to remove depression must fail, for they do not at all touch the evil that is causing our misfortune. It is to be hoped that Mr Bathgate took care to include himself and others who believe in the scheme in the committee, and that they will put the bright side of the scheme before the public, because if it has a da r k side it will be shown soon enough by its opponents. If the Chamber of Commerce report favorably it will expedite matters, and the proposal will become law much sooner than we expected.

OUR PATRIOTS. The reason Mr Thomson opposed the Government was because Mr Steward, of Waimate, was chosen in prcfeience to him as Chairman of Committees, the salary attached to which is £2OO in addition to the honorarium. Sir George Grey has been brought to account by some of his constitnents for his action, and he has replied that they ought to look for a berth in a lunatic asylum. Let us hope those who idolise him will be undeceived.