THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES ASTONISHED.

Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 42, 18 August 1884, Page 2

THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES ASTONISHED.

« It appears incomprehensible to our morning contemporary that we should, in reviewing the position of the Ministry, have stated the facts fairly and truthfully, without personal feeling or party bias. Our contemporary can neither understand nor appreciate suoh conduot, and we are not surprised, for evidently the New Zealand Times is in the habit of jndgir? others by itself. This is very evidont from its speculations as to whether or not we have thrown over Sir Julius Vogel, and the conclusion which is arrived at as to the "'true explanation" of what it is pleased to term our " shilly-shally-ing." The whole tone of onr contemporary's article, we are sorry to say, discloses an amount of "moral turpitude" (that is the fashionable phrase now) whioh fully explains the principles on whioh that journal is conducted. V\ edo not consider it necessary or desirable, even in party interests, to ignore, distort, or suppress plain facts. We do not look at or represent facts from any other " standpoint " than that of truth; and however " ardent an admirer " we may be of any person or party, wa should indeed be sorry to let our admiration affeot our judgment or lead us to wilful misrepresentation. Aa to whether we have thrown Sir Julius Vogel over or not, we will

relieve our contemporary's anxiety by saying at once that we have never in any way com- t mitted ourselves to an approval of whatever 1 policy he may please to propound^ Wo have <J freely recognised his great abilities and his v past servioes. Wo have approved of most of I the principles he has urged in his public t addresses since he came back to the colony, i and we have hailed with pleasure the pros- £ pect of his once more devoting his energies t and talents to the service of the colony at a I time when we beljeve both are urgently re- i quired. Our admiration for Sir Julius Vogel € personally does not, however, necessarily i extend to all by whom he may choose to surround himself, nor does our approval of £ much that he has advanced by any means n pledge us to approve of all he may put forward. " Sworn to no l>arty, of no sect are we." We are simply prepared to give Sir ± Julius Vogel and his Ministry, as we would (jive any other leader or Ministry, absolutely fair play, jndging them impartially on their merits. This is preoisely what our contemporary and those from whose ' 'standpoint "all i things in its columns are viewed are evidently 1 not prepared to do. Thus an attempt is t made to show that the quotations which we ] published on Saturday, giving Major Atkin- '. son's and Mr. Hall's opinions in 1879 as to t the constitutional right of a Ministry to have i the oppounnity of bringing down its policy, f do not apply to the present case, as the new < Ministry will have all they are entitled to in ] the Governor's speech. The argument is scarcely worth notice, for nothing beyond a ¦ mere indication of policy can be so given, j The opportunity is no greater, not so great indeed, as that whioh Major Atkinson and Mr. Hall had of making Ministerial statements. What they contended for was, however, most distinctly the right to place their measures before the oountry, to look into the state of the public finances, and to inform the House and the country of the result of their investigations. The same rights, 1 neither more nor less, can properly be i claimed for the present Ministry, and time < will show whether Major Atkinson is pre- : pared to do as he would be done by. :