THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 148, 23 June 1906, Page 5

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

♦ THE WESTLAND SEAT. MR. T. SEDDON TO STAND. Our intimation that Mr. T. E. Y. Seddon, second son of the late Premier, would stand for the vacant seat, is now officially confirmed. A large number of West Coasters assembled at the Ministerial residence in Molesworthstreet lost night, and expressed their pleasure at the decision that had been come to, and promised Mr. Seddon their support in hi& candidatuie. Mr. T. Seddon is himself a West boaster, having been born at Kuinara in 1884; he will bo twenty-two years of age next month. He is a law student at Victoria College, and a clerk m the oflice of Messrs. Findlay and Dalziell, solicitors. In connection with this contest the Greymouth correspondent of the Christchurch Press, writing before the announcement was made" said:— "lt goes without saying that if he (Mr. T. Seddon) consents to be nominated, he would be returned for the people of Westland would be delighted to have an opportunity of placing his father's mantle upon his shoulders. It is, however, almost certain that hi would not have a walk-over. Mr. Michel has given an assurance that he will contest the seat against all comers. He ia Mayor of Hokitika, and is very popular. " Discussing the new Ministry, the Christchurch Press says: — "The re-ar-rangement of portfolios necessitated by Mr. Seddon's death indicates once again the immense burden he took upon his broad shoulders. Tho six portfolios he held, have had >to be divided among three of his former colleagues, Mr. HallJones haying had to take four of them, in addition to his own. His duties are, of course, far too heavy for any one man to' carry on with satisfaction to himself or to the country, but hampered as he is by Sir Joseph Ward's absence, and by the weakness of his Ministry, he could do no legs than he haa done. Fortunately, the period of suspense will not last long, and with Sir Joseph Ward's return there should be such reconstruction of > the Ministry as will permit of a more equal division of the work than has obtained for a number of, years." The Wanganui Chronicle is strongly opposed to the House adjourning pending the arrival of Sir Joseph Ward, "There must," it says, "be a consider- ; able number of minor Bills, with' the j oontenta of which Ministers are familiar, ready for presentation to members, and these with the many private Bills which are bound to be forthcoming, and with which the House ought to be able to deal, should provide ample material to keep the House usefully employed until Sir Joseph Ward is ready to enter the arena. . . , And there is another reason why an adjournment should not be made. Mr. Hall-Jones is entitled to some consideration. The reins of power have been placed in his hands. He is at the moment the Premier of New Zealand. He is the man in possession, and if he is so self-sacrificing and chivalrous as to be willing to step out in favour of another Minister, he is at least entitled to be treated witib. respect during his tenancy of the office. And what sort of respect would it be to tell him iJiat he is incapable of carrying on the business of Parliament upon lines which are familiar to him, and which will have to be travelled by his successor — for a brief period of five or six weeks? We can see no reason at all for the postponement of the business of Parliament, and we shall be surprised if the Premier decides to follow a course which would be both costly to the country and damaging to his own eelf-re-tspect." With regard to the generally recognised necessity for eventually reconstructing the Government, the Wellington correspondent of the Christchurch Presa writes :— "lt will perhaps be remembered that at a caucus of the party last session the question of reconstruction was discussed. I learn that it was Lot only discussed, but very warmly discussed. Mr. J. A. Millar and Mr. Roderick M'Kenzie, who were among the more independent men in the Ministerial ranks, bearded the lion in. his den on this very vexed question of reconstruction, and for some two hours the Premier fought the caucus on the matter. He said he was v the best judge of the men who' were most fitted, from their loyalty to him, to assist him in carrying out his policy. The incompetence of certain Ministers was, on the other hand, urged by the men with backbone. Eventually the matter was put to the vote — a show of hands — and the Premier carried his point, but only by four votes. Mr. Seddon had, however, asked his followers to let him go through that session with his present team, and at the beginning of the next Parliament they could reconsider the question, if they were still dissatisfied with the Ministry. His colleagues had heard the discussion that had taken place, and they would no doubt do the right thing. Mr. Seddon, as wo all know, weathered that storm, and came back with a bigger majority than ever. Tho malcontents, however, it appears, did not let the matter drop, and subsequently several of them wrote to him I urging more strongly than ever the need for reconstruction. He replied that he had given the matter his serious consideration, and he felt sure they would be satisfied when Parliament met. What he meant to do probably no one knows. In view of the present tension, these facts, upon which you can absolutely rely, make ♦ interesting reading." ChrLstchurch Truth says ; — "We look forward to Sir Jos-sph Ward's regime with confidence. He will no doubt surround himself with the strong men of the Liberal Party. He will pursue, we believe^ a Liberal policy, and he will carry into law, we imagine, the wishes of his departed chief. The country just now is under the shadow, the heavy shadow, of its bereavement, but there is no need for despair. No mortal, even the greatest, is indispensable. Kings and rulers die, and the world goes on. New men, perhaps not 6o worthy or so able — wo cannot always tell — take their places, and civilisation marches on undeterred. We do not expect to find Sir Joseph Ward a Heaven-sent leader of the democracy. That he probably is not. But at least he is an able administrator and a liberal-minded man, and he should be given his chance.

The neglect of the authorities to post the arrival of tlhe Rotomahana at Lyttelton on tho telegraph board yesterday morning was the cause of considerable concern to people who had relatives and friends on board the vessel. As a means of making good their ncglecb in the early part of the day, the vessel's arriral was posted on the board twice during the evening. The first of the series of free lectures arranged under the auspices of the City Council will be given in the Concert Room of the Town Hall nest Tuesday evening by the Rev. W. Tudor Jones, Ph.D., F.R.G.S. The subject is one of interest : "What shall we read and how shall we .read Hi"-