THE H.B. TRIBUNE. SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1912. THE FALL OF THE MINISTRY.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 173, 6 July 1912, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE. SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1912. THE FALL OF THE MINISTRY.

It is impossible not to feel genuine sympathy with the Hon. T. Mackenzie in the crushing defeat which overtook him during the early hours of this morning. Old Parliamentary hands looked upon the debate as likely to last at least ten days or a fortnight unless a snap division could be taken. Given the opportunity to carry the debate through to its conclusion, most people thought that Mr. Massey would win upon a narrow majority. It was idle, even for tlip most prejudiced of the Ministerial journals to hold that the Government could survive, but it is safe to say that few papers expected or prophesied such a complete rout of the Ministry. That Mr. Mackenzie knew this was coming appears fairly plain from his recent utterances. The circular sent out to the Party was really in the nature of a forlorn appeal for loyalty and help. But it fell upon the barren ground of part;.- discontent; it appealed to men who could clearly see that their duty to the country lay the other way. Moreover, wc may perhaps be permitted io say that there were many members in the House who preferred a coalition to a dissolution, and men who would prefer to face either rather than nurse patiently their private wrongs. -Mr. Mackenzie spoke frankly, manfully and with the dignity of courage when he made open recognition of what was to come. He met iris failure m a way that thoroughly merited the applause which followed his speech, and he will have the satisfaction of knowing that he has fought his fight and "taken his gruel” in a way that has made his memory warm with, men on both of the House. His task was impossible from the outset, it was only the off-shoct of Ward jugglery and was bound to failure, but after accepting the leadership, Mr. Mackenzie did well. He lived up to the old axiom which runs : "Life cion t consist of holdin good cards, but in playin a pore arid well. Mr. Mackenzie played pluckily and well, but the revulsion of feeling among the people was such as to make his defeat—or rather the defeat of his heterogeneous party—inevitable. Under happier circumstances Mr. Mackenzie might do excellent work, and we have no hesitation whatever- in saying that we share with him his regret at severing his connection with the Agricultural Department. He has done excellent service to the farmers of this country, and it would be indeed poor spirit to deny him this pr. -.'.e at such a time of bitter disappointment. It will be seen from the division list published elsewhere that, the Government was beaten ij.idh be i wo methods-- by tin- men who boldly realised their responsibili

ties and voted with Reform and by those less courageous members who “stayed away.” The men who have thus shown their desire to help the establishment of stable Government deserve hearty commendation. They have done the right thing in giving the country the assurance that responsible Government must and will be carried on. But in this connection we desire to except the Hon. R. McKenzie. If the spirit which is displayed in his remarks is the real spirit which moved him to desert his guns, then we may take it without fear of contradiction, that his presence will not be welcomed by cither party. There are reasons, we believe, which cause the Hon. “Roddy” to speakwith distressing plainness regarding his inner feelings, but upon the occasion of a historic debate he might at least have endeavoured to keep his remarks somewhere within the limits commensurate with the high position he held in Parliament. He has shown to the whole country that his sole reason for abstaining from voting was his chagrin at not being selected to a position of ornament in the New Government. He had no right to expect it, and had done nothing to earn it, and his bitter display last night has done his future chances irreparable injury. However, in the new position raised, Mr. McKenzie’s bad taste can well be forgotten. The division means much for this country. It means that after 22 years of office the “Liberal” party has at last been defeated. It means, if the Reform partv - live up to their pledges, that the country will enjoy a period of clean, wholesome administration, when our finances may be brought within the border-line of sanity and the country

given an opportunity to recover froir its deluge of ill-considered legisla tion. The. future, of course, holds many probabilities. Mr. Masse} will, naturally, be called upon to form a Ministry and the next test will be on his side. There appears every reason to believe that Mr. Massey can form a stable Government and face the House, with a definite programme.. In the ordinary course of events there should not be a dissolution. The majority given him in the no-confi-dence motion division should not be lessened as the session progresses. In fact the rumours of coalition in the field may be taken as an indication that before long the Reform party will be strengthened by further reinforcements from the “Liberal” side. This would be the best possible thing that could happen in the interests of the country, as it would assure the moderate Liberals full and adequate representation of their policy. A new Radical party may be expected to grow from the ashes of the Liberal wreck, but it will be left to the entremists to follow its’ chequered career. In conclusion we desire to heartily congratulate Air. W. F. Massey upon his victory. He has fought with bulldog pertinacity for nearly 20 years and deserves his final win. We also wish to repeat our pleasure at the excellent spirit in which Mr. T. Mackenzie accepted his reverse.