The Dominion. THUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1910. DEEPER DEPTHS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 946, 13 October 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. THUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1910. DEEPER DEPTHS.

When Parliament and the country succeed in overcoming : their mirth at the ridiculous figure cut by the Prime Minister in performing his latest volte face over the :Hine charges they will no doubt perceive that there is a serious side to the situation. .The weakness and vacillation of the head of the Government have 'been so emphatically demonstrated during the present session that it is riot surprising that the confidence of .his followers-in and out of Parliament has been dangerously shaken.. We are not concerned overmuch with the embarrassment and humiliation to which they have been,and are likely to continue to be,.subjected,", owing to the... timidity, and se'eretiveriess of their" political chief.' Most of them have given him such slavish :. support that. ■■ they thoroughly well deserve \ the . cbntempt which he shows for their feelings and the disregard he so. openly' displays forjtheir desires and opinions.' He ifools them just as he- attempts to fool the. country .as.to his intentions and motives, arid; Cabinet itself appears to be equally in the dark./ How else can the. desperate. ■; endeavours :of Messrs. Millar ..and' Mackenzie .to prove that a Select Committee was the only proper tribunal -to which to rofer the Hine charges be explained ? Would they arid the other followers of ■Sir Joseph- Ward who. laboured so \ heavily . with precedent arid au-thprity.-.to support ; the. proposal of their chief—jwquld they have committed ; theiriseivesi so, deeply /and irrevocably, had , they knownthat'the Prime Minister -was.merely fooling. Parliament and that his secret opin-; ibn was' that the charges should be submitted to two' Supreme .Court Judges? - ;Were . they.. fooling the - House arid the country, or were they, merely the victim's of. the -Prime Minister's, secretiyeness > or .vacil-'. lation? .■"■(-.;'.../'.'" '■:''■.'. . . : ; : "'■■:■'..■■•'

But what /.of. Sir'. Joseph Ward himself-? j! How .'is he-, to. account for. his change of -front 1 '•; Of course he ■will:not be/likely to admit that he has./changed his views in.-! any .respect. ' Probably ._ he; will Endeavour to persuade Parliament that the re : yelation/.of. Mk. HiNe's .charges has in some way altered the 'situation. Indeed, reading between the Mines'..of his remarks at the/sitting of theSe- : lect Committee yesterday, this would seem to.be his intention.\ Yet what ' did /he say when .the - ' question ; was before the House and when he and his followers were so ■strenuously/ oppos'ing'the proposal to place the inquiry l ■in.'the hands of two-Judges of the Supreme.'.Court l, .ln the course'of his: speeches; on .-'that':-•.".occasion' 'he would not entertain for a moment the idea that any tribunal', ; w.as ,-• more suited to conduct the inquiry than aSelect Cornmittee of the. House of Representatives. On one occasion he said:- .'■; •■.-''.;'■;'■','''.//;./..;/.v : :'-, :,: '

In proposing.. that the matter "be. re-, ferred. to the Lands I-did not at the - time look up in thepast, but.l have since'done I find that in. nearly. 20 cases'the. practice i of; ■the House in yeajs past—in-fact, from the beginning of this ,Parliament—has been, that where any imputation .'of /wrongdoing, against any member has-been the subject of discussion 'in Parliament, the; matter, has been referred, .to: I, a; Speoial Committee.;: -.-■' .- : : -■.-)/'. ■~.':'■" .)' ;.'';'"//-,'

At another stage/he /said: ';'■ : ; /'•'■'.''_'. •■' .„ It is our duty'to investigate, the. matter: with , a vkw to seeing what;further, legislation may 1 be- necessary -id-.'.ensure that /this . [land purchaso] important 'branch of the.public serviceshall be carried oil without. having: those officially connected with-it aspersed, by innuendo or otherwise—and. that -.without - foundation'.: For this reason it seems important-that., this matter should go' to : a Special Committee. v : '/ ■'■'/ •:"' ; " : '• ■ ■.;.-.-. '■■ ■;.... Again he made direct appeal as fpl- : lows:- '". .; ■".■ '. .' .':■'_■ :'•'■,- " /'/-^:/,;.;; I am o£ the opinion that the [Special]. Committee can obtain.the fullest information, ''all; of which will , -, be 'put on , record and all the evidence concerning 'which' will bo available; and we can. ascertain, whether'there is any member of the present ' House or-.'of a .'former'. House who. has acted' corruptly in; connection with , the 'public affairs' of .this country, 01 . whether there is. any justification in any. way.whatever for that general'imputation existing against ■ members of; Parliament generafly._ •■ ; '; ,; : -. .',;'- ;;■,/; : ■■ ./

These extracts!, from /Sin v. .Joseph Ward's speeches sliow' plainly enough that on September 29, when, moving to set up a>Special- Committee to investigate, the-. HINE ''-charges,''; -the Prime MiNiSTER wished members •to., believe that it was tfie proper course to pursue' and that the' Committee could and would carry out the.investigation in , , a thorough and satisfactory manner. But : he went even further than this. He stated that the course he proposed ."had never been diverted from" in New Zealand. Here are his exact words taken, as" is the case with the-extracts quoted above, from_ Hanmrd, No. 28, of the present' session:.. ''■,'■

I have shown that in the Commonwealth Parliament they have bgybnd-ail question set up a- Special Committee to inquire into a number of charges made against members of Parliament who were not named. And I want hero to , say, in connection with abont 18 or 19 former 'cases'of the kind in this country, that in every' instance a Special Committee has been appointed to hear the charges made against a member or members of Parliament, and that procedure has never been diverted from so far as this country is concerned. ... ,; . . ,'

Perhaps it is superfluous, but wo add one further quotation, arid it is the last sentence but one in Sir Joseph Ward's speech in reply just pripr to the division being 'taken. It is as follows: .-■' . ■ ■

I believe that'the . Committee I have proposed is a good one, and can- investigate fully and thoroughly everything in tho matter as set out in my motion. ' Now the Prime Minister informs this Committee of his own choice— a Committee which was set up at his own instance and on his assurance and that of his Ministers that it was tho proper tribunal and could do all that was required—that his intention all along was that the Committee should not oonduct tho iu- -.'• •*■

quiry. Addressing the Committee yesterday he. said : '

In submitting this matter to a committee, I had iu'view the moment we got the charges to ask that this matter should, by 'commission, be referred to two Judges of the Supremo Court, I want to take that course now. While I believe a committee of members is ,tho right body to select, still I recognise that it'may be opeir to the imputation in cases of the kiud which are now. on record that a committee consisting of members of Parliament may not go exhaustively into the matter, and may not give an unprejudiced report.

What possible value can be attached to the utterances in Parliament of a PniME Minister who gives assurances one clay and coolly changes his mind the next! How long will members tolerate a Prime Minister who induces Parliament to pledge itself to-day_and finding that this does not suit his plans proposes a few days later that it shall stultify'itself by swallowing its former decision and reversing its vote? We do not propose to again discuss which of the two tribunals is the better fitted to conduct the inquiry. Though opposed on general principles to the Supremo Court Judges being everlastingly dragged into Royal Commissions, ;we .think, in the special circumstances of, the. present case, that the Judges would provide an eminently more satisfactory Court of Inquiry thana Parliamentary Committee. But we view with grave suspicion the Prime Minister's sudden' change, of front. It is. now .two months since Mr.. Hike first -made his charges in Parliament and it was. only- 'after long and ! persistent agitation"that the' Prime. Minister could be:moved to action. Now that the charges are before the Committeeand all is at last ready for investigation, Sir Joseph Ward prpposes a course which must inevitably mean further delay.. ;.This in itself is-sus-; picious. But in addition it has to be borne in mind that should the inquiry be referred to a Koyal •Commission, an order of reference will have to be drawn up by 'the Government. -On the terms of that order of reference-.agrea|.i.deal may ;depend.: Those arc questions, However, quite outside, the scope of bur. present. argument.: Our purpose' has been to show .how 'impossible''--it' is, owing to the ' .weakness and ■ yacil-. lation'of .the head of v the Ministry,'■ to have . any ,confidence in the promises and'professions of the Government of the, day. ■ How-much of the... chopping and 'changing that is" going- on is due to weakness and lack of principle, and. how much to political trickery we. cannot pretend to say. It" , -'is very, certain,.':however,, that the Government' is covering itself, and' its followers with ridicule 'and contempt. ! >v-.'. ■'./(.- - ; - ':'■':'■