THE POLITICAL SITUATION

Temuka Leader, Issue 1378, 13 August 1885, Page 3

THE POLITICAL SITUATION

The Wellington correspondent of the Press telegraphing on Tuesday night gives the following interesting items of political news :—lt is now tolerably well known that Major Atkinson has been telegraphed for, and that the situation is deemed very serious. The latest secessions from the Ministerial ranks have taken place on grounds so very damaging to the Government that they can hardly be regarded as retrievable losses. Ministers have been explicitly charged by the seceders with what is tantamount to bad faith and duplicity, or at any rate deceptive concealment of matters which the House had a right to know before being called on to vole. This makes the position very awkward, because while the censure is ostensibly aimed at Sir Julius Vogel, it unavoidably embraces all his consenting colleagues. Tims the Ministry as a whole individually stand openly accused of wilfully deceiving and misleading the House and country, and such a charge made by erstwhile staunch friends who have been reluctantly driven into enmity by this conduct must of necessity have a very damaging effect. Strenuous efforts ace being made to bring up the Opposition leaders to the pitch of undertaking adverse action. If this is definitely agreed on, the Government would probably abide the result of the vote which would release Ministers from present bonds, without involving a break up from within, but should the vote not come off, then it is believed that Mr Stout at any rate would insist on resigning on the ground of the failure to carry ■ out their measures, A report was circulated this evening that the Government would ask for a dissolution. Should this be so, I have reason to believe it would not be refused. I hear Sir G. Grey has advised Mrs Marcus Clark (widow of the deceased Australian author, and formerly a Dunedin girl) to apply for the Queen’s pension available for widows of literary men. Id order to set all doubts at rest as to whether or not the Government were in possession of full informarion re Meiggs’ proposals when the motion for the Select Committee was before the House, Mr G. F. Richardson has asked that all correspondence since the signing of the railway contract be laid on the table, in order that the dates may transpire. The latest story about railway proposals is that the representatives of the districts interested have obtained a promise from the Government of £150,000 for the East and West Coast Railway under the District Board arrangement, and it is further stated on what appears to he good authority that the Government have a comprehensive scheme for the whole colony in the matter of the construction of public works, by which all are to be sweetened. I suppose if this turns out to be true, that a feature in the scheme will be local responsibility for interest.