Lake Comity Press. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY. The trust that's given thee guard, and to thyself be Just. Arrowtown: March 12, 1896.

Lake County Press, Issue 699, 12 March 1896, Page 2

Lake Comity Press . PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY. The trust that's given thee guard, and to thyself be Just. Arrowtown: March 12, 1896.

It is now a little over twelve months

since we assumed conPolitioal. trol of the Lake Codntt Press, and during that time we have not thought it necessary to avow ourselves as out and out supporters of the Seddon Government and its measures ; nor, on the other hand, have we thought it wise and prudent to case our sympathies with those members of the House who form the present Opposition,, and who, we regret to say, are never tired of abusing the present Ministry and the substantial majority at its back in the House. It was not from any dread of arousing party feeling locally that we had decided upon this neutral position in the past, but because we have seen in the measures propounded by Mr Seddon and his Ministry much to be commended and something to be condemned. In spite of all the abuse that has been heaped upon the devoted heads of Messrs Seddon, Ward,. Reeves, and M'Kenzie during the past five years,, there is no gainsaying the fact that they during their term of office,, have done their level best to introduce measures which would eventually prove-to be of lasting benefit to the inhabitants of the colony as a whole,, and to the poorer classes of the community in particularThe member for Wakatipu, when asked during bis recent visit to the district, what he thought of John M‘Kenzie’s land administration, generally, replied as follows;—“ Well, the Land for Settlement Bill and the cutting up of large estates is one of those measures that ought not to be condemned until it has had a fair trial. Personally, I think it will turn out right in the end, and that it will prove a lasting benefit both to the small settlers and the colony as a whole, but a great deal depends upon the settlers themselves. Nothing could be fairer than the distribution of sections by ballot, but it very often happens

that the lucky drawer turn* out to be a person totally unfitted for the position of a struggling farmer, and small blame to the Minister for Lands, if, after a very short sojourn on his section the unsuitable tenant throws up his holding and is again numbered with the unemployed of the colony.” This is the fair and honest opinion of a straightforward and impartial member of the House (Mr W. Fraser) yrho sits on the Opposition benches, but : who, unlike many of his brother members, is willing to concede honor where honor is due. Again, we think nothing could be fairer for the working man than the co-operative system on public works. If the system has been abused in some instances, and imperfectly carried out in others, it does not follow that the fault lies, at the Minister’s doorj nor do we believe that Premier Seddon has used his influence so that the working men in certain provinces should have an advantage over their fellow-workers in other- parts of the colony. If the co-operative workers , have in. some cases, earned a high rate of wages,, much higher than the system warranted, and in other instancesa much lower wage than the basis laid down, the fault is attachable alone to the engineer who estimated the work to be executed, and not to any uncalled for meddling on the part of the Government.

From an editorial of our contemporary, the Wakatip Mail, of date February 2.Bth, dealing with the re-con-struction of the Ministry, we extract the following:-—“Mr Hall-Jones, the member-for Timaru, has been- allotted the portfolio of Justice with the salary and perquisites appertaining to the office. How a labor member comes to have a double-barrelled name is somewhat a mystery,, but so it is, and this estimable carpenter and joiner has brought his political pigs to a very excellent market, and now has the administration of one of the most important departments of the State,, for which work his qualifications-are about as suitable as they would be for the post of Astronomer Royal!” In the above spicey little reference to Mr Hall-Jones’s appointment, our contemporary acts as the Opposition, mouthpiece with no uncertain sound. But there are two sides to every question. Mr M‘Nah, speaking at Wyndham the week before last, referred to the new Minister for Justice in something like the following complimentary terms:.— “Ofthe new men who have recently joined the Ministry, Mr Hal I-Jones is by far the best. He is a man of tact with a thorough knowledge of Parliamentary procedure* and has not a single enemy on. either side of. the House. He is bound-to prove a great source of strength to the Government.” Considering that Mr M‘Nab- has proved himself in. the House to be a young member of sound sense and modera■tion, with decided opinions of his own, and'no. blind follower of his chief, we attach considerable- importance to his : views concerning recent Ministerial appointments. We do not think it necessary where a fault is lacking to endeavor to make one, as certain sections of the press throughout the colony are in the habit of doing. We do not : wish to hold up the Sad don Ministry as models of perfection, but they are as good as many of their predecessors, and perhaps equal to any party tae electors, may think fit to send back to Parliament next November, with a substantial majority to- support them, in : measures professed to be for the entire salvation, o£ New Zealand: and. its people..