THE PREMIERSHIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13202, 13 June 1906, Page 5

THE PREMIERSHIP.

MB. HALL-JONES SENT FOR. ASKED TO FORM A CABINET. • [r.T TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.^ Wellington, Tuesday. The Hon. W. Hall-Jon<?s, Minister • for Public Works and Acting-Premier, was sent for by the Governor this evening and nsk»d to form a Cabinet. He requested to be allowed to defer his answer until alter the funeral. [»r TELEGRAPH. —m>S ASSOCIATION".] Wellington*. Tuesday. Mr. Hall-Jones, in an interview, said that the present, arrangement of ntfolios would exist for the present, and there was not likely to be any alteration between now' and the meeting of Parliament, He pays a glowing tribute to his late chief, whose great breadth of mind and beauty of ideals, he said, embraced every consideration for the uplifting amd betterment of humanity anH to the building and strengthening of the Empire. THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION. SOME INTERESTING OPINIONS. ■ The Hon. J. A. Tole, an ex-Minister, in speaking to a Hkrai.i> representative yesterday. said : —" The Ministry dies with the demise of the Premier. It seems to me • tha' it will bo necessary for the ActingPremier to formally notify the Governor of the death of the Premiei. " His Excellency would then, I presume, send for Mr. HallJones who would then constitute a Ministry from the old Ministers, and thus carry on until the return' of Sir Joseph Ward. The temporary Ministry would then resign, and Sir Joseph Ward would be called upon to form a new Cabinet." " *- " Could the ! Ministry bo reconstructed now. with Sir Joseph Ward as Premier'/" " I do not see why this could not be done, and M.. Hall-Jones reappointed Acting" Premier until Sir Joseph's arrival, but, of course, the latter would not be actually Premier until he is sworn in."

The Hon. E. Mitchelson, another exMinister, expressed his views as follows: —" I consider the Ministry is absolutely dead. The death of the Premier renders it so. When n Premier resigns, no member of Cabinet resigns—they are already out. of existence officially. The presentMinistry are simply holding office until their # successors are appointed. The position now is that, the Governor must send for some person to*form a, Ministry. Parliament cannot meet without a Ministry. It must be formed. The Governor could, if lie chose, # send for MsCf'Mussey. but the latter, knowing the strength of tho parties in the House, would, of course, recommend that the Hon. Hall-Jones or the Hon. Jas. Carroll be consulted. The latter • is the senior New Zealand Minister, senior even, to Sir Joseph Ward, because ho- has been continuously in office. for the longest- period. As far as I can forecast, 'firstly Mr. Carroll would'be sent for, and failing him undertaking the task. -Mr. Hall-Jones would be sent for. The Government' would he formed, and would meet the House. Then it would adjourn, perhaps until Sir Joseph Ward returns, when the Acting-Premier would retire. If the Ministers are prepared with their measures, Parliament can go on at' once, but everybody knows that Mr. Seddon was the ' Government. Probably nobody else will be in a position to bring forward any Bills, though Mr. Hall-Jones and Mr. Pitt may hav» thoroughly grasped all the Bills in preparation." ■/

Mr. F. E. Baume made the - following j ; statement:—"Although*l have not had ! time to go thoroughly into the matter, I | •have looked into one or two authorities, j and I am of opinion that from a constitu- i tional point of view the .death of the Prime Minister does not of itself entail the dissolution of the Ministry. The Prime Minister is simply a Minister of the Crown primus inter pares. . He has not even, power of himself to dismiss a colleague. As Sir Wm: Anson in his 'Law and Cus- , tom of the Constitution' says: ' When we I say that a Prime Minister can dismiss a colleague we mean no more thau this, that »- strong Premier can say to the King " He I or I must go."' The ultimate test of a Prime 1 Minister or a subordinate is: Can the Government get on without him? Jt is constitutional usage, however, whenever a Prime Minister resigns and his resignation involves the resignation of his Ministry. Jt must, be always remembered that the power of appointing a Minister or dismissing him is in the hands of the King, or. in New Zealand, of the - Governor. It seems, to me that..while His. Excellency the Governor will most likely confer with the Acting-Premier, the Hon. Hall-Jpnes, as to what course should be pursued, it would be perfectly competent for Mr. HallJones, under the peculiar circumstances of this case to advise him that until Sir Joseph : Ward's return he i's prepared to carry on tlie business of the. country with his present colleagues." [»JT TELEGRAPH. —OWN OORRESFQ I>K.NTS. ] Christchurch, Tuesday. On the question of the constitutional difficulty involved in respect of the succession to the Premiership, due to the fact of Sir Joseph Ward's absence in England, the Hon. C. C. Bowen, in a conversation with a press - representative, said there was no doubt that the Ministry was at an end. The Governor would have to send for some one to form a new Ministry, and the question was as 4 o which member of the Ministry he would send for. He would naturally send for the most prominent man belonging to the dominant party at the time. There . was no precedent in New. Zealand covering the present ca.se. A Government would have to be appointed straight away, as the House could . not meet, on June 27 without a Government. He would say that the. duty of the Governor would be to send for whoever he thought was leader of the dominant party', and whoever he 'asked to act would be for the timn being in office. Mr. Bowen added that if Mr. Hall-Jones was sent for there might be "understandings" when Parliament met; there was no knowing what the House Would say to the . Government. • r