OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

Evening Post, Volume LII, Issue 1170, 9 December 1896, Page 6

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

(Christchurch Press.) Ihe more the returns are examined, the j more cause there is for thankfulness. Mr. Seddon undoubtedly is left in office and starts with a working majority. It is a very small majority, however, compared with his majority in the last Parliament. . . . The majority for the purpose of jobs and misdeeds will be reduced to six. When Mr. Seddon wants to commit some of those high-handed acts of which he is fond, such, as seizing sinking funds, evading Disqualification Acts, refusing returns, lurking enquiries, and such like, he ■will find that the Opposition will have •a much tighter hold on him than last session. . . . Not only is the Opposition numerically stronger, it is in every way more powerful. It has at its command more debating power, more experience of public life, and more capacity in all respects. . . Altogether, the general election has greatly improved the outlook for the colony. If Mr. Seddon is to remain in power he will have to behave himself, and when he does anything he ought not to do there is an infinitely better chance of calling him to account than there has been for several years past. ' (Auckland Star.) The Government have a good working majority, and the fact that the Opposition is stronger and better organised will tend to facilitate the business of the House. A huge, unmanageable majority, such as that which the Government had in the last Parliament, is always a source of danger to the Government itself. It is not therefore to.be regretted jhat an Opposition has arisen once more from the wreckage wrought by the whirlwind of popular dififavour at the, last general election In its general characteristics the. new Parliuraent will not be very different, from the one that has lately passed away. Its talking power, notwithstanding the Misappfcarance of Mr. G. W. Russell, i_ increased 'oy the reappearance of. Messrs. Sfcobie Mackenzie, Fish, and George Fisher. . We doubt whether its public usefulness will Be proportionately greater. It is a, more Conservative Parliament, but still the Government have- a majority which. 'should enable them to carry through their, more important policy measure?. , (Timaru Hemld.) The returns for i'ae whole colony show conclusively that thr, re has been a substantial reaction, and that Seddcoism has received a blow which may .yet prove mortal. As far a* we can see .-„ present, the Government will meet the T^ouse with a majority, but a very much sir jailer one than was returned to support the^i a t the last general election. The Opposition, who for the last three years have carried on the fight in the face of tremend jus odds, will now find themselves more P'^jflly .matched with their opponents, j as far as numbers are concerned ; and. in de- , bating power, Parliamentary knowledge, an _ general ability, will have a very decided . . . It will be inrjwssible •for the Premier to ride rough-shod over Parliament as he has done in the past. (Taranaki News.) On Friday last onejof the biggest e'iection battles that has ever been fought i h New Zealand took place, and the result is exceedingly satisfactory. We say exceedingly satisfactory because a strong Opposition has been returned, and a strong Oj /position must mean more careful and pure r legislation than we have had in the pist. The Premier, in a speech delivered in "Wellington on Saturday night, claimed a great victory for the Government, 1/ut for. the life of us, we cannot see upon w'.at grounds his claim rests. In the last Parliament there was a numerically weak and thoroughly disjointed Opposition, and the Government had a powerfV.l following, prepared to vote as one man upon every question that had" the support of the Minisb.y. In the new Parliament the Opposition will be materially strengthened by, such gentlemen as the Hon. W. Rollestoa'. the Hon. G. F. Richardson, and Mr. jS^-obie Mackenzie, •while all the prominent Oppositionists (with the exception of Dr. NAwman) in tho last Parliament have been t& -elected. We expect good things from the tvaw Parliament. (Taranaki Herald.) As to the results o* the elections throughout the colony, there are one or two returns yet incomplete, but • when all are in it will be found that the G overmnent have a good working majority.' On the whole, the ptrtonntl of the He juio appears to be iome>

what improved b}* the removal of some of the weaker members of the late House and by ihe election of such experienced Parliamentarians as the Hon. W. Rolleston, the Hon. G. F. Richardson, and Mr. Scobie Mackenzie, all of whom will add very considerably to the debating power of the Opposition. (Egmont Settler.) The result of the general election must be eminently satisfactory to the Hon. the Premier, who occupies the unprecedented position of having after six years of office been sent back with practically an undiminished majority. Several seats have been lost, but by such small majorities that it cannot be said it is 1 a sign of the constituency having lost confidence in the Government, as, for instance, in New Plymouth, where the Liberal vote being divided let a Conservative in. Against these losses there have been considerable gains, as in the case of Egmont, Otaki, Wellington Suburbs, and Auckland, and other places.Mr. John Hutcheson's Executive Com- . mittee has passed the follow ing resolution :—: — "That this" committee desires to place on record its high appreciation of the selfsacrificing manner in which Mr. Charles Wilson conducted his late election campaign, ! and hopes that on some future occasion it ' may have the opportunity of placing him in the proud position of a member of Parliament for the City of Wellington." [BY TELEGBAPH.— PRESS ASSOCIATION] Waimate, Bth December. At an Executive meeting of the New i Zealand Workers' Union the Secretary was i instructed to write and congratulate the . Hon. Mr. Seddon on the success achieved by the Liberal Party at the recent election. . Congratulations were also ordered to be sent . to various members on their re-election. It , was also decided to congratulate the Weli iington branch of the Union for assisting to place its candidate, Mr. J. Hutcheson, at the head of the poll. Attckxand. This Day. The official returns for the City of Auckland as to the three successful candidates are —Hon. T. Thompson, 7192; Mr. J. J. Holland, 6298; Mr. W. Crowther, 6004; informal, 309.