The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE Proprietor. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1897.

Waikato Argus, Volume III, Issue 226, 23 December 1897, Page 2

The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE Proprietor. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1897.

The second session of Parliament held in the year 1897 is ended, ami it is with a sigh of relief that the intelligence will bo received by nine men out of ten. The second session was imposed upon the country because the Premier could not trust his colleaguos to carry on the business of the country in his absence. The proceedings of the session just closed fully establish that he had not put: too low a value upon his colleaguos. It is an unfortunate thing for a country when a sufficient number of men cannot be selected from a dominant political party to form a Ministry capable of managing the affairs of the country in and out of Parliament. So long as the Premier had an overwhelming and unthinking majority lie rode rough shod over Parliament, it was physical, not mental power that governed. With the numbers more nearly balanced the Premier's leadership has completely broken down. He has been forced to give much information to the House which according to Parliamentary usage it was entitled to have before it, and which ho strove to withhold. He has been compelled to give the Opposition fair representation on the different committees, but ho did neither of these things until ho had tested the physical capacity of members to the uttermost and found that they were equal to the occasion. He and his followers will without doubt when stumping the country at the country's expense during the recess, call this assertion of rights fictions opposition and waste of time, and give that as » reason wby the policy measures promised in the Governor's speech were not carried, whereas the real cause is that the Premier is only capable of driving, and is not possessed of the tact necessary to lead, and the innate defects of some of the measures as introduced, were such that to cobble them up in Committee was found impossible, and they reached the Upper House in such a shape that their rejection was a foregone conclusion. The trump card, which Ministerialists will flourish before the eyes of the people during the recess, will be the rejection of the Old Ago Pensions Bill. Tbey will dilate upon this as being a good reason for wiping out the Uj.per House, and as affording convincing proof that members of the Opposition are opposed to legislation in that direction. Neither of these statements will of course be correct. There is not a member of the House who is not in favour of a proper measure. Wo shall deal with this Bill and others at length in future issues.