THE New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY). FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1886.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 7681, 15 January 1886, Page 2

THE New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY).

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1886.

Vffltk Which are iiicor.pdrb.tcd the Wellington independent, established IS$6, and the New ISedlancUr.

To Me Ballance may at least be accorded the credit of having introduced some new points into hiß address at Wanganui on Wednesday bight, and j of having made, on the whole, the best Ministerial apoeth of the recess. Of course he> like his colleagues and the Opposition leader, was unable to resist the fatal temptation to bore the Colony with a rechauffe of last session’s not very creditable history. We give up all hope of ever getting'tid of that insufferable nuisance. Evidently we shall boW hive to submit to the same infliction whenever any meibhei- of the present Parliament opens his mouth. It is a dreadful pest, but we suppose it must be submitted to as a part of the inevitable* Mr-Ballance, however, spoke for Over two hours, so after spinning his dreary post-sessional yarn he still had a good deal of time left for present and future politics, and here he was heard to infinitely greater advantage than in his tiresome special pleadings vainly aimed at whitewashing that hopelessly unclean sepulchre of measures and policies. With Mr Ballance’a very plain and outspoken declaration in favour of Protection and of Imperial as against Australasian Federation we, do bot purpose to deal on this occasion. Those questions demand treating at much greater length than we can devote to them to-day. But there are two or three points on which it is necessary to touch at once. In the first place Mr Ballance’s very distinct announcement that he is an advocate for an early dissolution- of Parliament, at all .events before another session, will take some people a little by surprise, although in the forecast of the Ministerial policy which we published some weeks ago we pointed out that this course was very probable. It is quite natural that Ministers should feel disinclined to meet the same House again with the virtual certainty of an immediate defeat, and they have, in our opinion, a very strong claim for a dissolution, if they see fit to ask for it. They may fairly plead that in the present state of parties in the existing House there is no reasonable prospect of the work of the country being satisfactorily carried on. No party can command a majority, and no reconstruction of sides could bedevised which should give a safe forking majority to any Ministry thatmight be formed. The Government are entitled to urge the precedent of Victoria for a dissolution in such circumstances, and they may further contend that they were beaten last session on a specific policy—that of a Protectionist tariff, which they purpose re-introducing next session, and on which it is therefore desirable that the sense of the country should first be taken. There is thus abundant warrant for. an appeal to the constituencies irrespective of the great Yogelian policy of borrowing eight or ten millions and spending it rapidly on public works extension. That is a subject on which the country clearly must he consulted before it comes into operation, and the sooner the verdict of the public can be taken on the proposal the better. But here occurs a difficulty. Before Ministers cau submit that question to the constituencies they must first have agreed among themselves upon the proposal to be submitted. Mr Ballance confirms Mr Stout’s statement that no such agreement has yet been arrived at, and he fully endorses the Premier’s views as to the need of caution and moderation in fresh borrowing and spending. Plainly, thenj the real battle has yet to be first fought out in fhe Cabinet. We believe an early gathering of Ministers will take place to consider this momentous question, and that if Sir Julius Vogel’s colleagues decline to go as far as he desires to do in the way of rapid progress, he will retire from the Ministry and propound his scheme as an Opposition policy, and compel an appeal on that issue; If so, a remarkable reconstruction of parties must immediately ensue with results ' quite impossible as yet to foresee. It will be observed that another item of the policy which we foreshadowed some weeks back was definitely acknowledged by Mr Ballance. We mean the proposal to repurchase private properties for purposes of settlement. Apparently, then, the one question remaining to be settled between Sir Julius Vogel and his colleagues is the rate of borrowing and expenditure. Whether any compromise will be arrived at between the widely-divergent views depends very much, we fancy, on the nature of the information Sir Julius Vogel is able to glean through the assiduous inquiries he has for some time been carrying on as to the disposition of the Colony to go all the way with him in his bold and.extensive plans.