THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JUNE 10, 1912. IMPERIAL TRADE COMMISSION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10655, 10 June 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JUNE 10, 1912. IMPERIAL TRADE COMMISSION.

\The resignation, by Sir Joseph Ward I of his scat upon the Imperial r i\ ade | Qoinmissjon ' will come as ia surprise and disappointment to the country. Sir Joseph o ;states that he cannot, in justice to himself and his constituents, retain ! his position ,as a Comahisisibner and his seat in. the House xtf' Representatives, iivlos't people were agreed' that he would be compelled to ..make a (selection between the two. But nobody imagined for a lmoment that ,<he .would aibandon a position of dignity, trust; and emolument for one of •comparative iretirement, unless ; he ■were obsessed of the idea that'his services 'would again, be in requSal as ia leader in politics, Critics Avill natuf; lally ask the question why Sir Joseph accepted a seat on the Trade CommisIsion when he knew that such acceptance .would involve .retirement from local politics .for a period. His suggestion that the change in Idle pkree, ttf sitting of. the Comimissiion . has \irijfluenced his, decision . will hardly',fee' iregaided ae sufficient, • for'he must Jhavo known that sooner or later he '♦would be (required to leave the Dominion for an indefinite time. What, then, is the, cause of the present precipitate aotion ? Has be decided to •accept the invitation- to save the .Commonwealth from disaster, or' can he see in the crisra in New' Zealand (the opportunity ..of again becoming the ileader of a party? Sir Joseph is a .very ambitious man, and nobody supposes for a moment that he wlill ibe •content to occupy a subordinate posiItion in the House for a iiod. Is it not ifailr to assume that he (regards the downfall of the Mackenzie Ministry as imminent, and that he ■aspires to be leader of the Opposition .when tlfe Reform 'Party takes up the reins of office, the Hon. T. Mackenzie having iti the : meantime ibeen, translated to London as.High Commiissioner, or to 'fill the position on the Trade '.Commission ? It is certain that if the Premier cannot keep his team .together,, while he has the reins, he would be un'able to do so as leader of fthe Oppositifflii. But would sir.Jcs<eph Ward be inore successful? That lis ,a question upon which people can only .speculate. In the meantime, interest will /be centred in the appoint»ment of a successor to Sir Joseph

' -Ward as Trade Commissioner. If tlio .Hon. T. (Mackenzie will nut trust himself .to make an appointment to the iHigh CcinmiiEisionerisJitp, van 'he be expected at *his juncture to recon*mend a.-succsesov to-Sir «7oseph Ward? Tha probabilities arc that he will allow both .positions to remain c,pen until after .the first crucial' division is taken in the House. In -the event of tho Government toeing defeated, as in all prubuSwlrty it will lw, the ity fair making one, it not both of the appointments, would devolve, upon Mr Massey, and tlnis would place the ReIform Party in <a .somewhat awkward position. The development of the next few Arecks aire full of' interest. There was never « time in the history of the Dominion, when .the major parties in politics weire confronted with greater difficulties. If the leaders of these parties wore to show a little self-sacrifice, there might he- a hope for the const™ction of a stable Ministry, having a majority of ten dr fifteen in the House, and the country behind it. Tho only othekr alternative is a dissolution, ''Mid. it is que«sibionable whethctr this would, in tho present state of (parties, produce more definite results than the election of last year.-.,. c .- • •