A SHADOW CABINET

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 20 November 1928, Page 7

A SHADOW CABINET

PORTFOLIOS IN WARD MINISTRY CHOICE OP MEW DISCIPLES

Throughout tlie country it is believed Hint Sir Joseph Wnrd will be given an opportunity to form a .Ministry alter tho inevitable resignation of Mr Coates from the office of Prime Minister. The interest moused by this possibility is the keenest that has been associated in. tho formation of a Cabinet Ministry for many years. The political battleground is slilf thick with the mtiolco of the campaign, and a discussion upon Cabinet possibilities necessarily is enveloped in tho mist of conjecture (comments tho Auckland "San"). In leading the United Party into the House, wit'lj.every probability of occupying the Treasury benches, Sir Joseph Ward is the first prospective Prime Minister in New Zealand's political history to hi! absolutely untrammelled in the, choice of his twelve administrative apostles. Pri.ir to the election the United Parly strength in Parliament was insufficient to form a Cabinet of any sort; its eleven membe.'s held aloft the tattered banner of -the former Liberal Party. Now it has returned with. 26 seals — sufficient to form a Ministry, but insufficient to carry on a Government without tin assistance and goodwill of one other party. It would be ahsurd, and hardly short of polil.ic.il suicide, for Sir Joseph Ward to select his new Cabinet with regard only to the qualifications of this old parly remnant. Group allegiance in the past is in itself insufficient to earn for them positions m the new chosen group, nor rue they selected for their individual merit.-; alone. The interests of territory must be considered._ It is usual, when Cabinet Ministers are being appointed, to divide the Dominion into four, or even eight, parts, and distribute as evenly as possible the members of the Government—with regard always to their individual qualifications for the jobs they are to fill. Sir Joseph Ward has a reasonably vide field of new material upon which to work, and in addition to the rank and file of his own party, he. must woo the Independents, and possibly the sole representative of tho Country Party. Out of the mist of political uncertainty, the prophet sees but dimly the personnel of Sir Jossph's favoured- disciples. It is a phantom Cabinet—a shallow cast by the party tangle and by the people's indefinite mandate. It has been suggested already that Mr H. Atmore, Independent member for Nelson, who has had more experience in Parliament than most of the United Party, will he certain to team in with Sir Joseph Ward. Will he team without a place in the Ward Ministry?

WILL THEY GO OVER? Presumably Sir Charles Slatham, Independent member for Dunedin Central, will again occupy the Speakers chair. Then there is Mr W. J. Poison, Independent for Stratford, a recognised.authority upon land and rural finance*—a man who. at the State's expense, toured the world and studied agriculture and rural credit.

If he is to become a member of the United Parly, will he do so in a spirit of political goodfellowship, and with a gesture of personal friendship, or will the portfolio of Agriculture have to be dangled before his eyes to entice him over?

This, of course, only after Sir Joseph himself had accepted the responsibility for the Prime Ministership, with either the Ministry of Finance or PostmasterGeneralship. Thousands of things said and done before the election must be wiped off the slate for ever, but Mr A. J. SUllworthy, member for Eden, and Mr J. B. Donald, member for Auckland East, will not forget their statements on the hustings that they both were members of the United shadow Cabinet at the parly conference in Wellington. The former's study of education abroad might be considered by Sir Joseph, and the business knowledge of Mr Donald must have familiarised him with the operation of customs tariffs and protective duties. HOT TIME AHEAD Colonel McDonald, Wairarapa, as a live and active Minister for Defence, probably, would give the "brass hats" the hottest time they have had since the "cease .fire'' sounded in the Great War. The obvious qualifications of Sir Apirana Ngato for handling native problems would assure hrm for administering Maori and Samoan affairs, as well as the Cook Islands. Mr Hansom, Pahiatua, deputy-leader of the party, could not be overlooked for his knowledge of the country's internal affairs, while Mr G. \V. Forbes, Hurimui, once leader of the Nationalist group, must be given an important portfolio, possibly Lands. Always a champion of the railwaymen, and a railwayman himself, Mr W. A. Veitch, Ylfangaimi, has studied the systems closely. Mr T. M. Wilford, lliilt! also once leader of the party, would almost automatically step into the portfolio of Justice and AttorneyGeneral. As Leader of the Legislative Council, Sir John Eindlay would represent the United Government with distinction. This day truly is the day of opportunity for the young New Zealand politician.