THE Wairarapa Mercury. MONDAY, JULY 22, 1867. TOWN EDITION. THE MINISTRY AND THE PARLIAMENT.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 29, 22 July 1867, Page 2

THE Wairarapa Mercury. MONDAY, JULY 22, 1867. T OWN EDITION. THE MINISTRY AND THE PARLIAMENT.

It has seldom happened that a New Zealand Ministry has been able to secure for any length of time a good working majority in the House of Representatives; but there perhaps never was a ministry that had so few hearty supporters than the one now in office. This speaks well for the Parliament of New Zealand, It represents more or less faithftilly public opinion. The present Ministry are not deserving of suppprt. They cannot do anything- in an open, straightforward and honest manner. They try to accomplish by diplomacy ond trickery what they despair of accomplishing by any other process. There is no doubt whatever with reference to the Otago difficulty that they intended to usurp the funcions which either by the Constitution Act, or Acts of the General Assembly, had been previously exercis'ed by the Provincial Governments. They thought that the Provincialists would not dare to take up the cause of McAndrew, and that they would be so blind as not to see, or so prudent as not to wish to see that their cause was attacked in his person. They intended to take the administration of the Gold Fields into their own hands, and they began with those of Otago, because they thought the opportunity was too good to be rejected. In this they were disappointed, and ever since they have desired to retrace their steps, not by acknowledging their error, but by a system of dodges which no statesmen worthy of the : name, would, under any circumstances, have had recourse to. It may or may not be advisable to abolish Provincial institutions, it nlay or may not be proper that the Gold Fields should be under the administration of the central Government, but the Ministry was not bold enough to ask the Parliament to decide'the question either one way or the other. ' They were frightened to ask the House riot to support provincial. Institutions, so _ they had to frighten the House from not supporting the cause of a man they designated a public defaulter. They were not successful, and they did not deserve success under the circumstances. They [did not adopt an open

straightforward course to ;ct their object. Instead of saying, what tbfiy sincerely thought aud desired, that the ■Gold Isolds-should in future- ha administered by the central authority, they merely said that the delegated powers under the Gold Fields’ Act could not be conferred upon Mr McAndrew. They would probably have secured as many supporters by the straight as by the crooked course, but as the latter was one on which they had not been in the habit of travelling- they phoose the former, and could not then get out of it.

, The amendment which the Ministry asked the Parliament to adopt was in reality, rio amendment at all. It affirmed to all intents and purposes the principle embodied in the original proposition. The Opposition said virtually that the Gold Fields ought to be continued under the administration of the Provincial Governments, and Ministers in so many ;Words said the same thing. Without going to the trouble of either a debate or a division, the Ministers acknowledged themselves defeated. The division proved that they had not the support of the House, and it only requires a man like Dr Featherston to move a vote of want of confidence in them to establish the feet beyond all cavil or question. They are at present but a Government on sufferance, and it will not be by such a Government that Provincial Institutions will be destroyed., If the present Ministers continue in office, the colony will suffer all the evils arising from the'existence of the two systems without enjoying any • of the advantages which would accrue from the destruction of either.