The Prime-Ministership

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 292, 11 December 1935, Page 6

The Prime-Ministership

History of the Office

When the National Government fell on November 27 last, it was taken for granted that Mr Savage would become Prime Minister of New Zealand. There was speculation as to what members of his party would occupy other ministerial positions, but as to who would be Prime Minister there was no doubt.

Unlike many other offices of State, the Prime-Ministersnip is hut a comparatively modern one. To-day, it is the highest position to which a citizen of our Empire can attain. As Prime Minister, a statesman exerts great authority, not fundamentally because of the rights of his office, hut from the influence of the character and abilities that have brought him to that post.

The first Prime Minister of history was Sir Robert Walpole, who took office as First Lord of the Treasury, in Great Britain on April 3, 1721. It will thus be seen that the office originated from the ‘‘Mother of Parliaments,” 214 years ago, in the reign of King George I. The office was not created by act; it was a fruit of evolution. For & quarter of a century prior to this, Parliament had been supreme in Britain, but there was no Prime Minister.

Indeed, not until the office had been in vogue for almost 200 years was it given formal recognition. the official position of Prime Minister of Great Britain was defined in tho scale of procedure; he takes tho place of the former Lord Treasurer, after tho Lord Chancellor and before tho Lord President of the Council. He is thus, officially, the second, not the first, lay subject of the realm.

To comprehend Government without a Prime Minister, it is useful to look at the House of Commons prior to 1721. Seven years before that date, King George I. came to occupy tho throne of England. Tho Whigs were then in power in tho Commons. The administration was in the hands of four chief Minsters of State, though no one of them was defintely a first, or prime, minister. Walpole was one of the four, and owing to his great ability and capacity for work he gradually became the most important member. The importance of leading ministers was further enhanced by tho ’condition of the Royal House. The Hanoverian King knew no English and did not tako an active part in the administration, as his predecessors had done. Responsibility and power devolved more and more upon the ministry. From this it was but a step, that the leading member of the ministry should become an acknowledged Prime Minister. That the actual step was taken, when it was, came from two circumstances in combination: upon the Throne was a foreign king exceedingly dependent upon Parliament; amongst his chief ministers was a man of such outstanding ability that he naturally assumed leadership and so automatically became a prime or first minister. That man was Robert Walpole. He reigned as Prime Minister for twentyone years and this long reign undoubtedly gave a sense of permance to the new office, so that its continuance was assured.

“A Prime Minister is so, by virtue of

the fact that he was the first to receive the summons of the Sovereign, and it was on his invitation that others have joined him,” says Lord Courtney. In our Dominion, the Governor-Gen-eral acts for the Sovereign; he is the King’s representative. Lord Rosebery said: “Tho Prime Ministers’ power is mainly personal, the power of individual influence.” Reflection confirms this statement. Mr Savage is constitutionally but the member for Auckland West, ho possesses but the voting strength of any other member, yet his power, indefinable though it may be, is very real. Tho designation of Prime Minister has become stereotyped, but its attributes still remain vague and expansible or the reverse. One pccupant of the position may bo almost a ‘ 1 constitutional dictator;” another merely a chairman of committee. In Lord Esher’s words: “Ho is tho supreme coordinating authority, a function which is perhaps the most important of his high office.” In practical politics, a Prime Minister’s post is a dual one: he is on the one hand responsible for tho impartial administration of affairs of State, and on the other he is tho leader, almost invariably, of the strongest political party in tho House. Upon occasions his duties involvo a clash of interests, the interests of party at times conflict with tho true interests of tho State. It is largely in the hands of tho Prime Minister to determine what course his ministry should follow.

“Men in a great place,” said Bacon, “are thrice servants-—servants of the State, servants of fame, and servants of business.” “Whosoever in a Stato knows how wisely to form the manners of men and rule them at homo and in war with excellent institutes, him in the first place, above others, I should esteem worthy of honour. ’ ’ —Milton.

During the eighty-one years covering New Zealand’s political history, there have been 22 Prime Ministers. Of these, some reigned for but short periods and have left but small mark. Of others, their attainments varied greatly. Certain names are outstanding, the more recent ones, naturally, being best remembered. As to what place they will be accorded finally will become clearer as the years pass on. Distance lends perspective—a man and his acts present their true proportions after the passage of years.