The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, JONE 13, 1884.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4814, 13 June 1884, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, JONE 13, 1884.

In an article published by us on the 28th May we expressed a wish that, for the colony's benefit, a coalition Ministry should be formed, and even after contemplating the recent defeat of the present Ministry, and duly considering the colony and its. interests—not the men wbo*are quarrelling—we . can come to no other conclusion than that some sort of amal« j-amation of parties would be for the good of the people generally. It is, of course, perfectly understood that the Ministry objects to lose the "sweets of office," and does not care to be relegated to the " cool shades" of the Opposition benches. It is equally ap« parent that the. Opposition, with its multitudinous interests, is anxious to sit on the otter side of the House; but, are all these personal ambitions to [rise paramount to the interests of the colony, whose fortunes our members hare been placed in power to preside over ? We ask are these — almost periodical-— struggles to ,be allowed and encouraged, to gratify the personal wishes of a small handful of persons, who have been fortunate enough to beguile men into elevating them, and who, as soon as' they get the desired rise, forget the objects they were sent for, and in their race for place and pay, act in direct opposition to the welfare of the country, whose interests it is their bounden duty to i eon serve p If they are, we, looking at the state of affairs from a colonial point of view, consider that an amalgamation of forces would not perhaps be the'most undesirable method of settling the business. There cannot be the least .possible doubt, that, constituted as parties are, a healthy coalition would be for the benefit of'the colony, as, to suppose that its interests should suffer owing, to the personal differences of tw^o political leaders is absurd in the extreme, The .placing of Sir George Grey's ambition to lead, his followers to have a share in the privileges of office; the eagerness of Major Atkinson to retain his portfolio and its accompanying sweets, together with his colleagues' desire to hold their -comfortable billets, and the several other gratifications which will one way or another be satisfied, as against the general good, seems to point-out that the people are not alive to their own interests, and are being made tools of in the hands of designing men, whose objects are self aggrandisement Were these men shown, without any ceremony or what they were sent for, perhaps they might be brought to a recognition of their real position. A strong and useful Coalition Ministry could easily be,formed, and its formation would strengthen the country in many ways. Useful legislation would result; useless wrangling, and waste of sessional time, would be checked; corruption would not be likely to find a home in Ministerial circles, as each party would—more than probably—keep a keen eye on the other ; and even if it were only to put an end to the present turmoil, cause attention to be paid to the country's business, and a performance of the work which members, have been elected to see to. Such a consummation would be a blessing. Al« though we fear there is little likelihood of an amalgamation, we hope it will take place.