The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, NOV. 22, 1877.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 5229, 22 November 1877, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, NOV. 22, 1877.

It may be said with a great deal of: certainty that no' session of the General Assembly has been so barren of results as the present. So far, indeed, almost nothing has been done in the way of practical legislation ; four long months have been wasted in personal invective and the struggle for place and power. The raison d’etre of Parliament is generally supposed to be for advising the Grown and its. Ministers as to the best method in which the government of the country is to be carried on; and; for providing the necessary funds for that purpose. But the carrying- on of the Queen’s Government seems to be entirely lost sight of by many honourable members, except in so far as that, government is to be carried out by their personal instrumentality. Matters, however, have, now reached such a pass that if the existing administration does, not find itself in a : position to carry its i essential proposals through the House of Eepresehtatives, •or if , a vote of want of v confidence should ‘be carried against it, it will be leutitled to expect that' his Excellency will exercise in its favour the prerjoga- 7 tiye. of dissolving Parliament. <- A modern constitutional writer sayh; “of "late yeatfs the most frequent cause of <( dissolution has been the peculiar Icon- “ dition of the- House of Commons. “After the death of Sir Eobertpeel “ that House was divided into aeyeral “ factions .. enlisted under separate “ leaders and following different guides/ “ None of these sections was of itself “able to undertake the government, “while their mutual differences and “ mutual jealousies prevented their “combination in support of any ad- “ ministration. But although they “ were , thus incapable of separately; “ forming a Ministry, or of concurring “in support of any Ministry that “might have been otherwise formed, “ their opposition to the existing admin- “ istration always furnished a common U“' * ‘

“ ground of action. Though destitute of “ constructive power, they, were abundantly powerful for the purposes-of “ .destruction. They could collectively “ thwart, the measures and impede the “ business, which any one of them might “propose.” We think this quotation . accurately deacribea tbe stand of affairs . in this Colony during, this session of our Parliament, and, if .the present Ministry fail to carry on the gpvernment. it iis in strict accordance with precedent'that a dissolution-’ should take place on the general grounds set out above. ->•, « “ ‘There-appear: 40--;be;'-flome people who think that the proper course to pursue would be to call pnMajorAtunson to form a new administration in the event of Sir George Grey being defeated, and if we may judge from tbe persistence and virulence with which Major Atkinson himself attempts to turn nut the present occupants of the ministerial benches, he thinks that their expulsion, would be followed by bis own return to power. : But we submit that this gentleman ,bas had bis turn. He has been tried and found wanting/ both as a party leaded and a Minister. It is perfectly certain that be could command no majority if ip, office. Of- course it is. extremely unlikely that, he would attempt to take back with him some of the more obnoxious members of his late administration; but if we reflect that be has been once already this session ejected from office, that he has failed in one attempt to oust Sir George Grey, that bis notorious illtemper and want ofjudgment are such as to entirely unfit him for a Parliamentary leader, and that therefore, if be succeeded in carrying a vote of want of confidence by a trifling majority, he would be sure immediately to find himself once more ip a minority, we cannot see that ia any substantial ground forgiving him a second' trial this session. Such a proceeding would lead to ’ nothing : but further waste of tune, and a putting off for a week or two the inevitable dissolution. - When both party’s leaders have been | tried and when each has.failed, then it « seems only common fairness that the one actually in office should be allowed - the advantage of fais official position i in an appeal to the constituencies, and » that he''should not be ousted merely i to transfer that advantage to hie I opponent. s' On broad constitutional grounds we

think it may be shown that, if a diasolutioo is inevitable, it ought .to. be granted to the present Ministry. ;‘Ac* cording to Sir Robert Feel, a defeated Ministry may reasonably ask for - a dissolution if tbero be grounds for supposing that the House does not fairly represent the constituencies, and if it has a strong moral - conviction.. “ that after the dissolution it would be “ enabled to administer the affairs of “ the country through the support of “ a party sufficiently powerful to carry “ its measures.” We cannot but think it a fair criterion of the prospect# parties in a general election, that Sir George Grey and his followers are quite willing to submit themselves and their claims to the verdict of the constituencies, whilst his f opponent! have certainly not shown themselves anxious to do so. And we think these latter gentlemen are discreet in their day and Nearly all of them were elected as Abolitionists, and the almost complete failure of the system of local governfment provided by the late Ministry has seriously lessened the popularity of the authors of that policy. Moreover, some of these Abolitionist gentlemen were Abolitionists and nothing else, and have speedily degenerated intp blind followers of Major Atkinson when other questions of policy catoi to be discussed. The 'political of some of them will, for the present! at any rate, have ended ,when the existing Parliament has been dissolved. Further, Major Atkinson has never been able to originate a policy., His notion of governing the country, consisted, in advising us to rest and be thankful. He was willing to catch at any idea that might be thrown out, in dehate, only the subject referred to was always; to be dealt- with next session. These facts cannot have escaped the notice of an|yhddy, and would not he without their due weight at au election!. And if the prospects of the gallant Major .are .not likely , to be improved by a general election‘ whilst those of his opponent are likely to be so there dsin be no sort of douht as to wbjdh |of them ought to be in power if the House of Representatives is dissolved. i .