The Press. TUESDAY. JANUARY 27. 1891.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7771, 27 January 1891, Page 4

The Press. TUESDAY. JANUARY 27. 1891.

So Major Steward is the Speaker selected by the Ballancb party. What will the country think of the appointment! A Legislature is personated in its Speaker; and it will be said that it is represented as well as it deserves to be. In choosing a .Speaker it accepts him for. good and all as in every respect worthy to represent the honour and dignity of the House. The majority, therefore, which elected Major Stswabd must not be surprised if it finds |tse!f judged by his past as to the esteem in which it deserves to be held. What will that estimate be when we Weill an incident in Major Steward's past career? It has hitherto been: understood that the Speaker, like Gjesar's wife, should be above suspicion. But what are the facta In connectionwith the present appoint

mehfct a few y%ars ago a damaging report upon a transaction in which Major Stswah» had been engaged was presented *e> the Legislature. Tbe case we are referring to ia shortly as follows: —It appears at full length in the Hansard of the time, and it is from the pages of that journal that we draw what we have to say. In 1885 tbe District Railways Purchasing Bill nas before the Legislature. Among the Companies which were anxious to obtain the benefit of its provisions was the Waimate Railway Company. The Bill as originally passed through Committee did not include this railway in its schedule. Mr. Steward, as member for Waimate, exerted himself with his accustomed energy to get the Bill recommitted and the name of this rail* way inserted. He succeeded, The Bill so modified eventually became law. Now begins the story. Before i the session actually dosed he received a letter from the Seoretary of the Waimate Company, of which the following is an extract:—" In the event " of yourself and effecting this j " sale on favorable terms, the Directors " would, of course, treat it as a matter "of business. You may remember " my speaking of this to you before. ?' I perfectly remember what was said "by mc. Although the loss to the " Company will be a heavy one, " this would not preclude their seeing " and acknowledging your and ——V " valuable services." Seven days after the receipt of this letter Major Steward addressed another to the Hon. Robert Campbell which contains the following:— "As I had some two "years ago instructions from the " Duntroon-Hakateramea Company as " well as tbe Waimate to sell their de- " bentures, and as I think I can now " succeed in both cases I have written. . . " asking instructions. Of course lam " taking tbe matter up entirely as a " busineaß transaction, and if I sue- " ceed, shall look for the usual broker " age or commission. . . . i have

" influence in two different quarters, •• which will enable mc, I think, to get " a better price than anyone else could." Almost immediately after the session closed Major Steward communicated with Sir Julius Vogbl in his capacity of Chairman of the New Zealand Insurance Association, which at that time was dissociated from the Government. He did not show Sir Julius the letter which he had received from the Secretary of the Waimate Company* the above blank in which we may here explain contained the name of Sir Julius himself. Tbe result was that Sir Julius purchased the shares of both Companies on the part, not of the Insurance Association, but of the Government, and Major Steward received, on account of his services in effecting the sale of these shares and of those of another Company, a com-; mission of £1035. The above matter having been mentioned in the House it was referred to a Committee in the usual way to inquire into and report upon. We may say in the beginning that the names of the proposed Committee were shown to. Major Steward before being moved in the House, and were accepted by him. The Committee reported several resolutions, of whioh the main ones are as follows:—

i "I. That, while the evidence adduced does not warrant your Committee in reporting that Mr Steward was directly Influenced, by any pecuniary consideration in his efforts to Becare- the pasiing" or" tne District Railways Purchasing Bill through the; House, they are nevertheless unable to conclude other than that he considered that in,-all probability he would be able to bring about the sale to the Government or Insurance Association of the Waimate and, possibly; the Duntroon and Haka teramea railway debentures, and thus seoure the receipt by him of a large commission on the transactions.

"2. That Mr Steward, in conducting the negotiations, presumably attached importance to his influence as a member of Parliament, as in his letter to the Hon. E. Campbell, of date 23th September, 1886, soliciting that gentleman's 1 assistance in obtaining authority to sell the Duntroon and railway debentures, he says, .'1 -haweviafluence in two different quarters which will enable mc, I think, to get. a better, price than anyone else could.*'

. V 4. That your Committee are of opinion that, while Mr Steward has avoided any technical breach of the Disqualification Act, they unanimously regard the transactions referred to as calculated seriously to reflect upon and impugn the integrity of any member of Parliament engaged therein, and to give rise, as has baen the ease in this instance, to public scandal. " 6. That it may fairly be assumed that, had the Government dealt directly with the Companies, the amount of the commission might have been saved to the colony.

"6. That it is greatly to b« regretted that neither Mr Steward nor Sir Julius Vogel, as appears by their respective evidence, recognises any Impropriety in a member of Parliament acting as a paid agent in making a sale to the Government."

On this report coming before the House no formal motion was mads for its adoption or otherwise; but Sir Robert Stou?, the Premier and leader Of the House, took action. He sought to pat the case on behalf of one of his followers in the most favorable light. He did not think, ho said, " after "hearing the explanation of the "honorable member for "Waimate, he " was conscious of doing any wrong, " but that his whole conduct in rt>

" ference to the . matter . had been

" a straightforward one' in every " respebtj and I" believe . that " the House will say so. At " the same time I think what the "House should look at is this:—We " know that, especially in democratic *' communities like this, we ought to " guard againstchargesbeingevon urged " against any member of this House of V having used his position to further 41 either his own interests or the in-

" teresta of clients or constituents, ami " that we ought not todo that by means " of amending the Disqualification Act, " for X think it would be better to do

• it by laying down by resolution some " principle for the guidance of this " House and of members ia general in " dealing with matters of this charao- " ter. ... I therefore move this

•'resolution; 'That with reference to

" ' the report of the District Bailway " * Committee, while it appears *•' that there were no corrupt "'motives on the part of !« * Major Steward, whose action in " the matter has been open and Ul straightforward, this House desires .*' *to exprsasaits opinion that members " ' of the legislature should aot apt "• as agents in negotiations or any "' transactions fa which the Go-

"' yernment js directly <w iuai«Mractly a party, either m * " X buyer ot seller.'» This motion

was agreed to without a debate. The matter came ut> igain afterwards upon a question by Sir Gbokgb Gret, the answer to which not being accepted as satisfactory, the adjournment of the House was moved, and a general debate followed, , In the. cour#e of it Major Stbward spoke in his own- defence. Wo have read through that speech, as well as others made by that gentleman, and we regret to find that it does not seem ever to have occurred to him that the transaction we have above described was one in which it was essentially improper for him to be engaged. He admitted it is true that he may have inadvertently placed himself in a false position from the time the transaction became oue between himself and the Government, But jt was, he said, an error of judgment merely, and he did not feel that there waft anything done by him which reflected upon his " character or upon "the honor of the House." It is tbiß inability on Major Stjswabd's part to see any impropriety in the proceedings which, in our opinion, so completely disqualifies him for the position he has been called upon to occupy. Let us accept his assuranoe that he was actuated throughout by no corrupt motives. This in no way alters the character of the transaction itself. It was one calculated to give rise to public scandal; and we cannot but regret that Mr. Ballance's majority has committed the initial mistake of condoning an impropriety by electing Major Steward to one of the most honorable offices in the colony. Hitherto the colony has been proud of the House and of its Speakers. It was generally hoped that the present House would, in the seleotion of its Speakor, have shown its determination to keep up the high character which the New Zealand Parliament has hitherto enjoyed; and had party feeling not warped the judgment of the majority, a gentleman would have beeu appointed to the chair who would have been eminently acceptable to all. We do not assert, we repeat, that Major Steward entered upon the transaction we have just described with corrupt motives. But even hia apologist, Sir Robert Stout, had to admit in effect that he had made a serious slip; and in ordinary life are we not all responsible for such slips 1 It is the condonation of that trans* action which makes us fear that Mr. Ballanoe intends to consider the interests of his party rather than the interests of . the State. Had he risen to the occasion aud, throwing aside all party considerations, induced his followers to elect the most fitting person to the position, wo would have been the first to give him every credit for his unselfish a>id patriotic action.