A CURIOUS POSITION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 27 April 1914, Page 6

A CURIOUS POSITION.

A GOVERNOR AND HIS PARLIA- " MLPNT.

It is not oferi that such interesting and important constitutions), questions Arise as have presented themselves in during the last few weeks, T>wing to the" deletion of * Liberal the • golomon Ministry was defeated by one vote On a no-confidence motion, and the Vernier asked for a dissolution. The Governor (Sir Ellison Macartney), £S -lie had a perfectly constitutional -Tight to do, refused to grant a dissolution. In fact, when there has already been an appeal to the people, as is the case in Tasmania, it is the duty of a Governor to try every means of furnishing himself with responsible advisers from the existing House before putting the country to the expense and trouble of another general election. Sir E. Macartney therefore followed the -usual and proper course hy sending for Mr Earle, Leader of the Labor Party. But he went further, and in asking Mr Earle whether he was prepared "to form a Ministry, laid down •certain conditions which, whether they are proper or not. are certainly not usual in such a case. These were — ■0) That an immediate dissolution of Parliament should take place. (2) That the newly-elected Parliament should be summoned before the end of May. (3) That in the event of the office of Attorney-General not being filled by a fully qualified lawyer in practice, \ the. Governor must reserve the right to retain legal advice from other sources. Mr Earle protested ■against these stipulations, but the Governor considered that they were within his rights, and Mr Earle formed a Ministry, at the same time putting on record his opinion that the -exaction of such conditions was contrary to the principle and practice of parliamentary government. In reply, the Governor defended his action on the ground that he was acting in the interests of the which are, of oour.se, the one thing that a Governor must consider when a dissolution is asked for. Bu.t the general opinion will be that Sir Ellison Macartney exceeded his powers when he made such -conditions^ or if he did not violate the strict letter of constitutional law, he violated its spirit. Having refused Mr Solomon a dissolution, it was surely his duty to give Mr Earle an unhampered opportunity of showing whether lie could carry on and not practically compel him to take what was refused to his opponent. The Governor's decision had an interesting sequel. Mr Earle at once laid the papers on the table of' the .House, and the House passed the following resolution, which was moved by « Liberal:—r That, in the opinion of the House, the action of the •Governor in imposing on Ministers, as a condition of appointment, an undertaking to agrea to a dissolution of Parliament, Whether the House approves of the policy of Ministers or not, is contrary to the well-established usage of responsible Government, and the House respectfully suggests to his Excellency that such action is undesirable, and that the Speaker be instructed to respectfully request his Excellency to forward this protest, with copies of the conditions, to the King, through the Secretary of State for the Colonies. This was passed with only one dissentient, and the matter is now in the hands of the Imperial Government. But in the meantime Mr Earle has got himself into a very awkward position. He accepted his Excellency's commission to form an Administration on the distinct understanding that there fihould be an immediate dissolution, but he is holding on to office and seeking to repudiate that understanding hy an appeal to the Imperial Government. That he did not approve of the ■conditions is surely beside the point. He was not obliged to accept the comxni&ion. He would have stood in a much stronger and more dignified position, we think, if he had refused to accept the conditions sought to be imposed, still making a protest against the action of the Governor and reserving to himself the liberty' of bringing it under the review of the Home Government. Both parties to the affair seem to us to have blundered.—Christchurch Press.