MR. HINE'S CHARGES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 947, 14 October 1910, Page 4

MR. HINE'S CHARGES.

It. is not certain, but it is-. ex : tremely likely, that the House will adopt the recommendation by the Committee'■ appointed to investigate Me. Hine's charges that the charges "be referred to a fip.val Commission, consisting! of two '.' Judges of 'the Supreme Court." _That the House, will stultify, itself if it is a very 'unfortunate fact, and it is an open question whether those who opposed the reference of the charges to :a■: Parliamentary Committee should not take the stand that the decision of the House should riot be altered because, the Minister finds it convenient to perform, a somersault.. It is such a nice question that we would not dogmatise upon it, but it will be" clear to; most people, ,we--think, that there.is no, possible ground - upon which those members who. violently; attacked on September .29.the; reference of . ; .the matter to the Judges can now.support that.course. ■ For, by.doing so, they,,.will >not only assist..in making the House stultify itself, but will be voting also for what they have declared to' be a thing utterly wrong in; principle. Those . who , .voted against the reference to. a' Committee, on the other hand, have a perfect rig_ht to .'reverse their votes if they think that'the : safeguarding of the principle , that: the House's _ decisions . shall be made to stand is of more importance than the prevention of a possible defect'in.the manner of the inquiry.- We'incline to think/ -ourselves," that While a" RoyalCommission, with adequate powers of: investigation and stricted order of reference, is the preferable mode v of inquiry, the advantages of this method, are not great enough to outweigh the. evil of another, quick upsetting of a, House decision. Every 'condonation of such a reversal of opinion is a fresh pre-, mium. - upon. reckless and unprincipled action by the House, and it was long', ago ..time that the' House was forced to understand that it dishonours 1 itself by : decisions '.that are' not. based on firmness a'hd honesfrcon-, viction. ; ':.'-,- ..-■ ■ -.:./..-,;' .'■■■■'.

As for thV Prime Minister, .-we', said yesterday nearly all that, was necessary to show in, its full ignominy, the character of his volte face. There. is.'! no occasion to. say , it, all over again, but we must call attention to the want of candour apparent in his'(Contributions to the discussion :at,jyesterday's meeting ; of. the Committee. -It is 'a small, matter, perhaps, that he. actually advanced, as a reason why a Commission, 'of Judges was preferable to a .Parliamentary/Committee, the possibility thcifc "the.: 'actions' of .dead men might, be reflected upon'." ..Yet it has its significance'as part, and parcel of his caser-a case that led him 'to'make the notoriously incorrect.assertion that,:ifc. was not until "the last moment'' that the-, offer .was made to give the'namesif the Prime Minister would agree to refer the charges to two Supreme ,• Court; Judges. .A further warning to; the advocates of a:full and thorough "investigation lie's in the Prime /Minister's vague/ talk of., "other charges" and his refusal to formulate them—which is exactly what^he so rashly;, alleged 'was,the ,■' position' taken up .by the member for Strat-. ford. All of these,, however, are considerations of secondary importance. The main point to be attended-to now -is the order of'.Teferenee, . the scope of the inquiry,, ;jn the event of the Commission, being set, up,.',-The House, in referring the matter .to the Committee, implicitly-, ordered, that all barriers' should be taken down, and it will betray the public interest,in a most serious manner if it does hot keep'its control over that part of the business. It must. not th'irik of handing it over to the Government; which can ;make the reference as narrow as it chooses. The House can insist on drafting the order of reference,-but the best method of dealing with the'matter is that .suggested ,by Mr... Allen, namely, the passing of a special Act for the. guidance 1 of the Judges if ;the Commission bo decided upon. Such a measure would enable the House to define the scope of the inquiry, in open debate. Finally, it is extremely important that there shall be no delay. The Prime Minister has seen fit to run away to Otago,. apparently to show the Lawrence-Roxburgh railway agitators that he can_ surrender to pressure from any'point of the compass, and we can therefore judge how little he appreciates the imports anceof expedition in this grave affair, The public of to-day is, not the public of: five' years,. or three years, or even six months, ago,- and it will take a serious-view of anything that'looks like an attempt to waste time in nrohhig the charges to '» bottom; The House-must do its part at once. It must not begin by waiting for the Prime Minister's return from the South, but must come to some ■ material decision today By doing so, it will place the remaining responsibility _ upon the Government, and, we shall then all know exactly where we are.