THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 144, 19 June 1906, Page 5

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

» "THE 'TAIL' MUST GO." TROUBLE AHEAD. II appears to be the general impression amongst the members at present in Wellington that an adjournment of tbe Houae will be necessary after voting supplies and the transaction of formal but necessary business. There will be some opposition to that proposal among a certain section of members, who urge that after a brief adjournment, it would be better to go straight on and do as much as possible of the business of the session before Sir Joseph Ward's return. It must not be forgotten, however, that the late Mr. Seddon's well- : known tendency to take the sole command naturally meant that the other members of his Ministiy are now at a disadvantage as to the position of things. Further, several members think that it would not be fair to the Hon. W. HallJones to insist; that under the peculiar circumstances he should have forced upon him the responsibility of taking command of the House when he does not intend (as they believe) to make his Premiership a permanency, and that no Government should be aiiked to face tjhe House when it is a matter of common knowledge that circumstances have prevented them arriving at a:i agreement as to tho programme and policy which are to be pursued. Every one knows tihat nothing definite in that respect will be arranged till Sir Joseph Ward returns, and they do not think that his future prospects as Premier should be in the 6lighttest degree jeopardised by anything which may happen through the presence on the Treasury benches of a Cabinet which is Tecognised as only temporary, and not created by the man who is expected to take the reins of office a - few weeks hence. Judging, therefore, from expressions of opinion, it would seem to be fairly certain that the House will adjourn till Sir Joseph Ward' can survey the situation and airange accordingly. The next question is, "What will he do? Who will be in the next) Cabinet?" In this connection it is interesting to notice how freely qertain members are expressing themselves. It has always been a matter of common knowledge among those who moved in political circles tfhat the party as a whole only' "tolerated" (to use their own expression) certain members of the Cabinet, but were content to refrain from open revolt because of the influence exerted by Mr. Seddon. Now they are free from that influence, and the result is what might have been expected. "You. would be surprised," remarked one member, "at tQie influence which Mr. Seddon exerted over his party in the House. It is something like what I imagine schoolboys must feel when they are in the presence of tho schoolmaster. When he was in the House we felt tfe&t we were subservient to his wishes, and when he was tempprarily absent we felt the removal of the restraint, but as soon as he returned we were schoolboys again and did what he desired." Such a remark, coming from a man. elected by the people to represent them, sounded strange, but it was uttered with such evident sincerity that there could be no I doubt of its truth. What will happen, then, now that the "schoolmaster" has gone? The question was answered very plainly. Only_ one Premier could carry on with" a Ministry containing a "tail" such as that which is now in ofuce, and the "tail" will have to go. We \vere\ quite content,_eaid an ol^ member, to put our feelings on one side, and let Mr. Seddon retain the present^ Cabinet, because we knew that he himself was all-sufficient. But that sort of tiling cannot go on in -future, and I for one will not support Sir Joseph Ward unless he chooses a Ministry which is of a very much greater average ability than the present." That is the keynote. Tho Government, supporters will support Sir Joseph Ward, if he assumes the Premiership, but only on condition that the "one man" system inaugurated by Mr. Se'ddon is done away with, and "responsible" men associated with him in the task of government. The general opinion appears to be that if Sir Joseph Ward select* capable men to fill the various portfolios, and throws over some' of the present occupants of Ministerial office, he can carry on without much difficulty, because very few members would welcome a dissolution, and moat of them would be willing to go ' out of their political way to prevent such a thing happening. But on one point there seems to be a consensus of opinion. The "tail" must go. , There ia, however, still another phase of the situation which has to be taken into consideration. A section of members has, it appears, made up its mind that it will- not wa;t until Sir Joseph Ward's return, but will endeavour to force Mr. Hall-Jones to reconstruct the Ministry at once, and carry on the business of the country without any adjournment.. This, course i 9, apparently, to be taken for two reasons — one that they do not approve 'of Sir Joseph Ward as. a leader who would go as far as they (the Progressives, as they call themselves) would desire ; and the other, that they wish to Bee carried out with the least possible delay the reconstruction of the Ministry, which had been refused for so many years by the late Mr. Seddon. Those reasons combined have induced the belief that to get what they want they must act quickly, and it I is freely stated that if Mr. Hall-Jones 1 does not agree -to form a new Ministry of his own and go on with business straight away, they will move a motion of want of confidence in the Ministry as at present constituted. There I is already, it is stated, a solid body of nineteen who would support such a I motion, and they have great hopes of I winning a~ number of others over to their eide. An to which of the mem- ! bers of the present Cabinet should -be thrown overboard, the- Progressives appear to be even more sweeping in .their demands than the rest of the House, oW if they had their way, the present Premier and the Hon. A. Pitt (with the Colonial Treasurership kept vacant for Sir Joseph Ward) would- be the only onea left. . Evidently the "tail" is in for a bad time. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr. W. F. Massey) arrived in Wellington from the north last night to attend the funeral of his late political antagonist. Mr. Massey was approached by a Post representative this morning as to his views on the political situation, but declined to say anything. Perhaps, he said, he would have something to say later.