THAMES VALLEY WARDEN.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1848, 28 May 1885, Page 2

THAMES VALLEY WARDEN.

MAJOE ATKINSON'S ADDRESS ATHAWEBA.\

*f The Spirit of the Times shall teaoh me spse</.' ~- »KING JOHN, ACT IV. '

THUBSDAY, MAT 28, 1885.

. The speech of Major Atkinion. on iFriday evening last may be accepted as a declaration of the course to be pursued by the Opposition during the approaching session. In language sufficiently plain, he proclaimed that he had no confidence in the present Government, and, though he . would be no party to useless obstruction, he would, as soon as the fitting occasion presented itself, do his utmost to turn them out of office. This ia fair warning and should the . •: Ministry, after receiving it, neglect the opportunity of preparing themselves tor the attack of which they have received unmistakeable notice, they will have themselves to blame for the consequences. The Major, who evidently recognises his position as leader of the Opposition, leaves the Stout-Vogel cabinet in no doubt as to the points of their policy which he chiefly means to assail, and he also indicates the directions in which he is prepared to give them a general support. It must be admitted that the candour he thus displays reveals the ~" seriousness of his purpose; and, if the ministry refrain from judiciously adapting their measures so as to render them more generally acceptable to the House and the country, the hardening of the Opposition will proceed until it' is strong enough to effect their overthrow. , As was to be expected from his • attitude towards the Ministry last session, as also from certain features of his own policy when in office, Major Atkinson will give his aid towards effecting the purchase of the district Railways. The principle inysy©d in the proposal to purchase

these railways, he fully endorses, on the ground that the bills providing for the construction of these railways were avowedly for the purpose of relieving the Government from pressure at a time when they were, not in a position to undertake the works, but on the understanding that they should when finished be taken over as part of the railway system of the Colony. What lie stipulates for ia that the colony should not be required to pay more for them than their present market value or to make good the deficit created by the failure of those interested in their construction to pay the rates due by them. In the same way he intimates his approval of the East and "West Coast Middle Island Railway, for the reason that it had formed part of the original Public "Works scheme. The Government were unable to undertake the formation of that line and it was therefore proposed to hand it over to a company ; hiß only objection to this proposal being the immoderate extent of Crown land which it was intended to alienate to the syndicate contracting for the work. Here, as in the former case, his opposition would not be to the principle of the measure, but to the manner of its application. In the matter of the defences of the Colony, as also in regard to the steps taken to pave the way for union with New Zealand of Samoa and other islands in the Pacific, the Major ex* presses himself generally as in accord with the action of the Government, though reserving to himself the liberty of disapproving of any particular proceeding in connection with these questions, such as the reported order of the Government for a New Zealand cruiser, which did not com* i mend itself to , his judgment. On these and similar subjects the ministry may reckon on obtaining from Major Atkinson that measure of aid which, on broad views, an experienced gtateiman will always be willing to render to any Administration. Any opposition he may offer on these, or indeed on any other question, will, as he expresses it, be the opposition of fair criticism. But, as for the rest, Major Atkin»on makes no secret of his being in decided antagonism to the general policy of ministers and especially their leading measures. And this applies not only to the internal but also to the external aspects of that policy. He dissents strongly from the tendency of the Cabinet to isolate New Zealand from the Australian Concert and believes such a course will be detrimental to the influence of this colony. Whether he will meet with much sympathy in this matter is doubtful. So far as we have been able to observe, the sympathy of the New Zealand people, while not averse to an Australasian Concert, are not in sympathy with an Australasian Federation. The establishing of a Federal Council with legislative powers is therefore distasteful to New Zealand and anything approaching a confederation such as the Canadian Dominion would certainly be rejected. Still- the Major may be right in holding that this is no reason for resisting the Australasian federation per se and that the aversion of New Zealand might be removed by limiting the powers of the Federal Council absolutely to matters relating to external policy. Were thiß agreed to, the idea of requiring that all measures passed by that Council being inoperative until sanctioned by the several colonial Legislatures would be untenable. This, however, is the theory the present ministry adhere to, and it is here therefore that, on this question, Major Atkinson and they will join issue. With regard to their internal policy Major Atkinson feels himself constrained on all its main ■ features to offer an unmistakeable opposition to the ministry. In the matter of finance this was to be expected, as the principles advocated by the member for Egmont are totally different from those acted on by Sir Julius Yogel. It is not however on the financial portion of their policy that the Opposition party will be asked by its Chief to take their most hostile stand, but rather on their Local Government proposals, their Native policy, and the Land Settlement question generally. The Local Government Scheme, in so far as it has been foreshadowed by Sir Julius Yogel is simply a revival in a limited form of the old Provincial System ; the tendency of their projected Native Land measure will be to create an extensive Native landlordism : while the small farm proposal of the Lands' Minister will result in the introduction and maintenance in the colony of a large number of impoverished Bettlerß. These as well as other objections which may be taken to the more outstanding parts of the Government policy, will fo*m the grounds on which Major Atkinson will aßk the Opposition to bajje their resistance. What the strength of the Opposition may be cannot yet be estimated. But 'Major Atkinson's old party was both numerous and compact and if to this party Sir George Grey and his immediate followers unite themselves, as there seems some likelihood of their doing, it will require all-the ingenuity and vigour of the Government to hold their own. Their greatest danger, however, lies in the incongruous mixture of the Eadical and Conservative elements comprised in the Cabinet itself, and the consequent want of thorough harmony on the leading questions the Cabinet has to deal with. With wisdom and tact however, the risk thus run may be avoided.