ESTABLISHED 1866. THE Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1912. MALCONTENT MR MILLAR.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 118, 16 May 1912, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. THE Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1912. MALCONTENT MR MILLAR.

. Mir J. A. Milter's recently expressed opinion that the Mackenaie Ministry could ;not possibly comrairxl a majority." Avhen Parliament re assembles .'has; .prompted, in certain quarters,- th© suggestion that wit j bhp Member, for Dunodin West t'-e wish was father to the thought. Lndoubtedly Mr Millar had some o.iu.se for dissatisfaction ;at his claims to the Prime Ministership being disregarded by the party of which he hw9 so long been, a: prominent and very ablw member.... -Such .dissatisfaction was only natural. But if a man be really devoted1 ■'to the interests of his party; tho purely personal factor must nut be put to th© front to the exclusion of the general welfare of the political causie for .which that party stand* in th© Parliament aaul with^ the counti-y. W© tar© extremely loth to believe that Mr Millar, sore as h© may have bosn andi mi;.y istili be, over his exclusion from <the Brim© "-Ministership, won id carry his .personal resentment 3O far sis to vote with Mr Massey andl -his followers .in ;th© np-oonfid©nc© moti-jn which is inevitable when the Hoxso meets. T0..-.act in such a way would be, so Mr E^anan told aai interviev/^r iat Oamaru' ifii© other d!ay, to act a*• [ "no tru© Liberal should act," ancl would be equivalent' to "political suicide." We.'ar© not prepared to go so fxir as that; but we certainly fail to see how Mr .Millar could justify his assisting1 ix> tiirn th© Mackenai© Ministry out •to put n Massey.-Allnn Miniistiy in. ''Mr Millar is ia strong man, and h© holds a, strong position in Dunedin, where his exclusion-—t<,nd that of any other Ota go Member— from the. Ministry has caused very serious •annpyarice. Mr 'Millar's co'uiniitte© has given him ia perfectly froo hand'; but .we question very mu-^h whether the/jgreat majority of Ota £50 Libeiiials, much as they may r©sent th-i cuirious./favoritism shown ..to.Canterbury, would go so. far ia®.to .applaud Mr Millar were he to throw over tho. party with which he has so long iieen associated, and lielp to play tha Massey gam©. Mr Hanan.. says the Ministry "will pull through i>ll right." Mr Ha ; nan jiriay ,be right! and, irocbgriisi'iig in: him >a\ very abje riian, w© certainly liop© he is right But we are by no means cur© that tli° 'Mackenzie'/. Ministry, asi at. pres-sr.t, constituted, will-pull through. Thac is a question which can be settled only when Paaiiameiiit reassembles. IntVe mecoitim© Ministers are quietly 'gom;? on with their work, and ar©, it is •generally understood), creating a good iriipression throughout the 'country.' Ev©n if thoy Jjiave to go out they .»n console themselves with the know ledg© tfet th©y have .-proved1' thxt there ar© jusi as good fish in tl!o Liberal sea :.]%& ©ver cam© out of it, and thai, despite the clean sweep o: th© Ward: Ministi-y, a Liberal'A'l--ministrtition^capable -of doing excellent work for the country could be formed out of the rank-and-fil© of +lio party. Mr MiKipkenzi© a.nd Mr '"Myer-s hiay© both "made good" in a way which mustvho^ as gratifying to thei.' political. ,M©rius as it 'must- be.'dis-: appointing tVi/he,Opposition'; and s»l though their cblleagu©3 may not b©-io much ,in th© limelight, ther© is r-o reason, to believe .that they ore in :?nv way less capable and industrious than the gentlemen whose -portfolios!'they, have assumed. By. the time Parliumetit meets, Mr Millai' miay have lo:-:t .2 little 'of.'jtheV personal ill-feeiin;s which seems to have instigated some of his recent, public utterances, hinl may—and wd; trust will—be prepared to join oordiiilly with his-party''lll meeting and . fighting its 'polltied foes. .