The Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1880. THE NO-OONFIDENCE DEBATE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1931, 17 August 1889, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1880. THE NO-OONFIDENCE DEBATE.

0? all the session» hitherto witnessed the present one is the most extraordinary. Parliament has been sitting now for nearly two months, and yet nothing has been done. There can ba no doubt that the Government is chiefly responsible for this. They met Parliament with not one measure ready. They had absolutely no business to lay before members, and consequently the Premier, finding the House refused to discuss the rubishy speech delivered by the Governor, brought down his financial proposals. Never before were estimates laid before Parliament during the first few days. It was a surprise to everybody, and people began to calculate that the whole business would be disposed of in one month. The Hare System Bill was next introduced. A week wag spent in discussing it, and then it was withdrawn. Everybody knew from the first moment that it never had the slightest chance of being passed, and the Government is responsible for the time spent in discussing it, Next came the Bepresentafcion Bill, under which one-fourth of the four principal cities were to be politically effaced. This outrageous proposal was resisted by the city members, and they were justified in stonewalling it as they did. The Government had no right to introduce such a measure, and they are responsible for the waste of time. Next came the discussion on the Ward-Hislop incident. It was most natural for members to demand an inquiry into such a startling affair, and it was most unnatural for the Government to refuse an inquiry, Had the Goverument consented to the Committee being set up to inquire into the affair no time would have been wasted. Now we have a third no-confidence debate. Sir Harry Atkinson has made everything criticising his actions a no-confidence debate, because he knows that members dare not vote against him. He has told them that if they vote against him he will dissolve Parliament, with the result that under the reduction of' members 21 members would be reduced out of political life. This, of course, frightens members, and they prefer to vote for letting things go on as they are than run the risk of losing their seats. The waste of time is|due to the reduction of members, because only for this the Government would have been flung out of office long ago. The expenses to which the country has been put in this way is ten times more than will be saved by the reduction.

JUDGE WARD.

The Ward-Christie-cum-Hislop affair is degenerating into a farce. It has really reached a degree as funny as any of the amusing creations of Messrs Gilbert and Sullivan. Last week the Government refused to allow a committee to inquire into the matter, because tho case was before the Supreme Court. Yesterday’s Otago Daily Times says:—“ The action commenced by William Christie against District Judge Ward for false imprisonment has been discontinued. We understand the reason for this is that, oil tho commencement of the

J action, the Parliamentary Committee, I to whom Mr Christie's petition against | Judge Ward had been referred, refused to proceed with its investigations while an action in pending, and that Mr Christie is anxious to have the whole matter thoroughly investigated. We are informed that the action would probably not have been commenced at all if Mr Christie had known that it would suspend the operations of the committee, and that the writ was only issued on the last day of the three months within which any action against the judge could be commenced.” Now this is funny. The Government say: “We wont allow a committee to inquire into the affair because it would prejudice Christie’s case.” Christie says: “ I wont go on with the case if Parliament does not inquire into it.” Yesterday’s Otago Daily Times also says: “ The committee of the Legislative Council, which is inquiring into the Ward-Hislop affair, have summoned Jupge Ward to give evidence before them. He is expected to arrive from the South to-morrow. It is likely that the Clerk of the Court at Oamaru, Mr Filleul, and the gaoler, Mr M’Donald, will also be summoned,” There is a committee of the Upper House already actively engaged inquiring into it. Now what does all this indicate ? Simply that Christie has no case against Judge Ward, and never had, and that the action now abandoned was only a bit of bravado and bounce, intended only as a red herring drawn across the scent to give Mr Hislop a loop-hole through which to escape from the consequences of his most unwarrantable conduct. Judge Ward has been most shamefully treated. He ought to have been appointed Supreme Court Judge iu the place of the late Judge Johnston, but through the machinations of Mr Hislop he was kept out of it. Now another vacancy has occurred, and he has not received it, It is a scandalous shame.

PLURAL VOTING.

The Representation Bill has passed , through the Legislative Council without amendment, and thus plural voting is destroyed for ever. Henceforward the “ one man one rote ” principle will govern all elections, and will make a great difference in favor of the Liberal party. No more roll-stuffing, no more trickery; henceforward we shall have a fair field and no favor, and one man will bo as good as another. If the Act reducing ’the number of members could be repealed, we should regard the destruction of plural voting as the greatest reform that has taken place in New Zealand for many a year. But even with the reduced number of members we are not sure that the Liberals will not be now in a better position than ever they were. The constituencies will certainly be very large, but there is this to he said: No outsiders will he able to turn the election. Every constituency can henceforward elect its own representative, and the result is likely to prove more satisfactory than that gentlemen living in other parts of the colony should hold the power in their hands to elect whom they like. We were afraid the Council would not pass the clause, but they did by a majority of five votes. After all we feel inclined to forget their past transgressions in consideration of their liberality on this occasion.