The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 1909. MR. HOGG RETIRES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 537, 18 June 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 1909. MR. HOGG RETIRES.

ME.-HoGa, Miniatet for Labour and Minister for Roads and Bridges, has yielded to Cabinet pressll to and has tendered his resignation of office. : Probably those who'read,his remarkis to our rei>rbsentative, published .elsewhere, will hold the retired Minister in higher esteem than they have ever done before. Had he pleased ho could have clung to office, but it tvbuld have been at a sactificd of. the principles of a lifetime. He preferred to gb out of ofßcc. We disagree absolutflly with fchb views expressed by Mr, Hogo last Saturday When he assailed landowners ill an outrageous manner. His .views on a State .note issue are un* sound and dahgerous in the : extremci But as we pointed out a few days agoi and as he points out, in this issue, his views are not the views of to-cldy of yeß-' terday. His ideas on the land question havo boon voiced in and out of Parliament for years past. ' He has been one of the most bitter arid detertainbd opponents of tho freehold ill the Government party. When Sir Joseph Ward called Mit. Hotio to his Cabinet, he knew these things. Ho know Mit, Hoaa's opinions on all tho largo questions of tho hour. It was his business to know them —his plain and obvious duty—beforo ho invited Mn. Hoac to a scat on the Treasury benches. Why, then, has his wrath and the wrath of Cabinet- fallen on the unfortunate Minister when "he gives voice to opinions which he has cherished and openly advocated for so long? Mr. Hogg was probably thb most surprised man in Parliament when ho discovered tho storm his plain speaking had brought about h;s ettrs. We believe that'Mit. Hoaa's removal fi'otu Cabinet rank lias been a very good thing for tho Dominion. Holding the views he docs, and with his recklbsa bUiapokoantms, bo wta ii itahdiiig

menace to the country settler desirous of obtaining, a home which he could call his own. But the real blame for tho situation lies at the door of tho Prime Minister, who, knowing Mh; Hoaa so w'ell, yet dared, for reasons of political expediency) to call the member for Maßtcrton to the Cabinet.

It will bp.i noted from. Mr. Hogg's statement to our representative that his offence in the eyes of his colleagues was not on account of his extravagant attack on the freeholders of the country, but bccause of his views on the issue of State notes. This is very interesting— and instructive. If it means anything at all it means that Cabinet at least is not prepared to disown its late colleague's utterances on the land question. What then did Mr, Hogq say on this subject ? It is sufficient to call attention to the fact that he said that "the laiid qtiestidii was going to be brought Up again in a more formidable form than it had ever previously assumed," iiiat "there must be further land taxation, 1 ' and that "those who Were advocating the universal freehold weft) going to have a tax wifiosed that would make them work their properties, speculate less, and help labour more." Unless we afe to disbelieve tho statement of Mr. Soqq, and there is no reason to do anything of tho kind, Cabinet did not object to these views-r-theso threats hiiHed at the freehold farmers throughout the country. It ls no '® &at in the Ciabinet reconstruction consequent on the Prihb Minister s absence) the Hoi?. D. Bufiijo, H leaseholder, haS bcim platted In charge of the Lands Department. Moreover, Mr, T. _ Mackenzie, tka most pronounced freeholder in tho Mihistry, is still kept out of full Cabinet faßk, It is probable, I M m. ts promoted later t Probably tho most significant of the Cabinet rearrangements is,the bestowal on tho Hon. Ji Oaiuioll of the .oflico of Acting-Premier. Could anything, In the circumstances, be more.appropriate? The Prime Minister has compelled Parliament to close its doors and hang up the business Of the country until his return. Ho has set at defiance tke wisibes of tho great majority of tho people of the country in this matter. And ais a fitting climax to this remarkable situation he has chosen to act as head of the Government during his absence tho one man in the Cabinet who above all others can be relied on to do nothing. The motto of the Hon. the Native Minister has for years past been Taihoa. Sin Joseph Ward can safely .rely on his senior collcaguo to carry out a policy of laihoa in the months to come. It "is a fitting finale to the wretched farce in thn name of government which is being played at the expense of the whole country.