THE SITUATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8468, 20 January 1891, Page 5

THE SITUATION.

PROBABILITIES OF THE SESSION.

SIR H. ATKINSON'S POSITION.

THE TWO SPEAKERSHIPS. [ [BY TELEGRAPH. correspondent.] Welling res, Monday. The Premier arrived from tit 11.I 1 . juth yesterday by the Penguin. A meeting ? r Ministers was held in the course of the evening at his house in Bowen-streefc. The Times gives this morning the following account of the rumours afloat upon the arrival of Sir H. Atkinson to this effect, that the Ministers would resign forthwith, and the political struggle was about to commence :— Sir John Hall and Mr. Rolleston having arrived with the Premier in the Penguin, the rumour was fed with additional fuel. Whon the Cabinet met in the evening, at Sir H. Atkiuson's house, there were a few people who knew of the meeting, and they were greatly exercised about the turn of events. There were wiseacres who went so far as to say that tne Premier had resigned; that Mr. Rolleston had been sworn in by the Governor as his successor, and that the whole programme would burst upon an astonished world in the morning. Mr. Rolleston's presence in Wellington brings to the front the question of the Speakership of the Lower House. It is an open secret that efforts have been made to secure a majority to support Major Steward's nomination, but they ha ?e not been successful, a great many of that side of the House preferring Mr. Rolleston. Several Oppositionists, indeed, hold the opinion that Mr. Rolleston's is the best appoint,ment that can be made. He himself is loyal to his own party, and therefore ready to leave himself entirely in the hands of the party. If they prefer that he should be nominated for the Speakership, he will give way to their opinion ; if they would like him to lead, he will lead. The weight of his party is in favour of giving him the Speakership, for the simple reason that they feel that there is not in the House another with anything approaching his qualifications. Still the nomination of Mr. Rolleston to the Speakership is, we believe, the probable choice of his party, with the consent of the present Opposition. If appointed, his first session will probably be not by any means brief. Mr. Ballance, after he is sent for, will have to show the House that he deserves ite confidence. He will require time to prepare a policy. He will get a reasonable time. After that time has elapsed the policy will have to be judged, and in the judging of it there will be, perhaps, as fine an opportunity for a prolonged political struggle as New Zealand has ever seen."

I send you this quotation because it confirms what I have already paid, and something more which I have to say, that the political arrangement of which you are informed, will be the result of party agreement; that if Sir H. Atkinson goes to the Speaker's chair, if the Ministers resign within the next few days, and if Mr. Ballance is sent for, the whole of the coming events proceed from party exigencies, and will not be merely personal objects or predilections. The singularity of the position is likely to arise from the fact that the Atkinson Government will go out, and Mr. Ballance's Government will come with the present, for the good of all concerned.

Thero was a rumour current to-day, that the Premier had actually resigned, and that the Ministers would resign on Wednesday, but this was found to be premature. As a matter of constitutional practice the Premier and Ministers must go together. The first cannot go without the other. The Post refers to this rumour in the following terms " Dame Rumour spread pretty freely this afternoon a report that the Ministry had actually tendered their resignation to His Excellency. Though in this instance she was rather premature it is now beyond a doubt that the present Government will not meet the House. Their resignation will be tendered some time within the next two or three days, probably to morrow. That they will recommend the calling of several erstwhile supporters to the Legislative Council is also certain."

In a leader the Post adheres to its views upon the constitutional aspect of the proposed elevation of Sir H. Atkinson to the chair of the Legislative Council. It says : The position of the Premier in respect to his desire to annex to his personal use the Speakership of the Council, appears to us a very simple one. Sir Harry is a member of the House of Representatives. He cannot divest himself of that position until Friday next at the earliest. While a member of the House of Representatives the Disqualification Act renders him ineligible for the appointment to the Legislative Council. To become the Speaker of the Council he must first be called to that body. He cannot, as Premier, advise the Government to make an illegal appointment. The moment he ceases to be a member of the House of Representatives, he must vacate his office as Premier, and the Governor is no longer entitled to receive his advice on any subject whatever. The moment he ceases to be Premier, the Ministry is dissolved into its original elements. The Governor cannot constitutionally make an appointment to the Speakershipof the Council except upon the advice of responsible Ministers. The present Ministry can't legally advise Sir Harry Atkinson'sappointment. This we take as the position in a nutshell. It is now said that Sir Harry Atkinson will attempt to geb over the difficulties by resigning and inducing the Governor to constitute a bogus and temporary Ministry under Mr. Mitchelson, the sole policy and duty of which Ministry would be to confer the Speakership on him. We cannot believe that the Governor would lend himself to any such utterly discreditable and unconstitutional intrigue. He would forfeit all public confidence and respect if he did. If Sir H. Atkinson resigns the Premiership, it will be because he admits he is in a minority in Parliament, and can retain office no longer. When he resigns it is clearly the constitutional duty of the Governor to send for the leader of the Opposition forthwith. The formation of an interim Ministry, as proposed, would be a scandalous outrage on public decency and constitutional practice. As Sir H. Atkinson must be provided for, he had better trust to the generosity of the Opposition to recognise the tact, and confer upon him the billet he wants.

The whole of the above abstracts should be read by the light of the information which I have already wired to you, because they may supply some further explanation of the extremely curious political position that has come about. As I have already paid, no legal or constitutional impediment will be allowed to exist to Sir H. Atkinson's taking the Speaker's chair in the Legislative Council. It will take place in due form, and in accordance with Parliamentary usage and precedent, so, at least, it is said. All sorts of opinions prevail as to the personnel of the new Government, the probable duration of the session, and the nature of the topics and the character of the discussions which will occupy the House during the session. The Times this morning has a reference to the probability of a new retrenchment party in the following terms : —It is stated that a movement is on foot in Auckland to get up a party in Parliament devoted to economy in the administration of public affairs. In this information, forwarded by the Press Association, we have, we suppose, another way of saying that the skinflint section is not dead. They went away a party within a party : they are coming back ready to be again a party within a party. They stopped the whole business of Parliament because the Government was too weak to assert itself, and the Opposition not strong enough to resist the temptation of worrying the Government. If there was anything more in the alliance between them and Mr. Ballance at the end of last session their proper place in the beginning of the present session is with Mr. Ballance. If they are logical, they will simplify the political situation ; but as they never have been logical, the situation will nerer be simplified until both sides combine to neutralise their sinister influence. The other question that mainly occupies attention here is the list of the names of members to be called to the Legislative Council. I am not sure that the list already given is quite correct. Of course Ministers will not say a word as to what they intend. Any question put to them on the subject must be concealed in an unfathomable

depth of circumlocution. I only know that many are much surprised at the turn things have taken. So far as I have hitherto ventured to prognosticate the probable features of the first days of the coming session and one or two days before it, everything happening just now goes to prove that I have not been greatly in error. The well-known faces of some of the old members are seen once more on Lambton Quay, Many members, old and new, have ticketed their seats in the House of Representatives. Most of the veteran legislators have secured their old places. Of the Wellington representatives, Mr. Duthie takes the position formerly occupied by the late Mr. Turnbull, alongside of the "no" lobby, and underneath the public gallery. His colleague, Mr. Kennedy McDonald, will sit at bne opposite side of the same lobby. Mr. Fisher will occupy the seat he held last year beside the main gangway, and Dr. Newman and Mr. J. G. Wilson will recline on their well-known bench underneath the Speaker's gallery. Mr. Kerr's prominent seat on the front Opposition cross-bench will know him no more, but Mr. Seddon will be there as of yore, with another goldfields' member, Mr. R. H. Reeves, as his companion. Sir John Hall withdraws to Mr. R. C. Bruce's old retreat underneath the Hansard gallery, and Mr. W. P. Reeves replaces Mr. Walker immediately behind the leader of the Opposition. [by telegraph.—press association.] Wellington, Monday. Ministers persist in keeping their own counsel, and though the Parliament Buildings to-day swarmed with spec ; correspondents and reporters, the same answer was returned to all, that nothing would be made known. Naturally rumours of all kinds are afloat as to what the Government intend to do. That which finds most general credence Is that the Ministry have already, or will in a day or two, resign, to be immediately reformed under Mr. Mitchelson, who will en appoint Sir H. Atkinson to the Speakership of the Council, and meet the House on Friday. The appointments to the Council so much talked of are all settled, but it is believed that the number has been reduced from the ten or a dozen names freely talked of a few days ago, to a smaller number. Messrs. Fulton and Ormond are the only two certainties known to bo nominated ; all others are merely conjectures. It is still supposed that Mr. Rolleston will be the Government nominee for the Speakership ot the Lower House, and Ministers admit if he does not stand Major Steward is almost certain to be elected, in fact it seems doubtful, failing Mr. Rolleston, whether the Government will bring forward a candidate at all. It is expected that His Excellency the Governor will roturn here on Friday.