The Oamaru Mail SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1903.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8290, 19 September 1903, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1903.

The announcement .that Mr Chamberlain has resigned from -the Imperial Cabinet, and that the King has, with me concurrence of the Prime Minister, accepteu. ttie resignation, will come as a surprise to the 'Empire generally, and a by no means agreeable surprise, too. .The country had been prepared for changes in the Cabinet, but not for such a crisis as has arisen. The discussion which has taken place upon the fircal question ever since tMr Chamberlain. startled the nation by his strong pronouncement in favor of a preferential tariff within' tile Empire has shown there was such a wide divergence of opinion. upon the subject within the Cabinet that a reconstruction was inevitable. Mr Balfour, who has throughout professed sympathy with Mr Chamberlain's views, has endeavored in vaiifto bridge the chasm which separated 'Mr Chamberlain from other members of the 'Cabinet, including the Duke of Devonshire, 'Lord George 'Hamilton; and Mr Ritchie. The pamphlet which lie recently issued as a preliminary to a forthcoming great speech upon the all-engrossing subject was clearly intended as a note of compromise.<So far as it can be said to embody a policy, !Mr IBalfour's pamphlet seems to propose something that is really indefinable by any term hitherto known in relation to the fiscal question—something that is neither Freetrade nor Protection, nor even Fair Trade. Jt sought to propitiate the Freetrade element by declaring for the "spirit of Freetrade," and to meet Mr Chamberlain by inauguratj ing an elastic Customs system that would j enable a policy of reprisals. Into the merits I of such a policy it is unnecessary to enter • j but it may just be remarked that- a policy of reprisals would be fraught with considerable danger of completely alienating other Powers without possessing the merit of Mr i (Chamberlain's statesmanlike proposal for a preferential tariff within the Empire. A policy c-f retaliation would give offence without securing any substantial compensatory advantages; preference within the Empire would confer a great good, and cou2d notas we have seen from the discussion abroad', be viewed by other nations as an unfriendly act. It is not surprising that Mr ChamberJam, who has been thoroughly in earnestupon the subject, should nave declined to accept such a worse than useless proposal in substitution for his bold scheme. His retirement from the Cabinet, many of whose members were not in sympathy with him, should not, therefore, cause more than the momentary surprise occasioned by its suddenness. Be has, indeed, taken the course most- compatible with the. Innervation of his dignity, and the course which will, we believe, tend to -the earlier realisation of his great policy. Freed from the ties and cares of office, he will be able to devote his whole energies to the clearing away of the cobwebs of tradition and the mists of misrepresentation, misconception, and misreprestandinc, and so bring the nation to a clearer perception of the true nature of his proposal. Up to the present tiie people's minds have been distracted from a close examination of the proposal and an appreciation of all it means the raising of the shibboleth of Protection, by recalling the condition under the corn laws sixty years ago. and by the promulgation of the cry of dear'bread. 'iPrejuch'ce and not reason lias been appealed to. with the inevitable result of the prevalence of ignorance and misconception. As a perfectly free agent, Mr Chamberlain will be able to enter into the conflict untrammelled by'any Cabinet obligations and limitations', and the cause of preferential trade will be profited .as a consequence. resignation is a loss to the .Empire, and must undoubtedly -weaken the' Ministry, -of which he lias certainly been the strongest member. But we believe that his absence from office will not be of long duration, and that lie will return as Premier with a substantial 'backing ■<n the country and in the House. As he •was the Minister who saved t.hA TVlinistrv from defeat over the muddling of the South African -war in its earlier stages, so he will be the moist active agent in bringing about its.downfall. ■/; -

•The Honse,-.of Eeipresentatives devoted the preater-mrtofcThurKday'* sittintr to amending their own Standing Orders with a view to expediting business: As we/have many tim.es,-shown, there■ was much need for reform, but- whether the changes w.ide will imurove the condition of things to nnv material extent fcrn.aiiLS to be seen. The Pr-*-Tniflr jwisely dropped the proposed new Ordp.r in reference t-n th" rlostire, and frankly admitted that he did so because of representations that had been made to him-. Whether rightly or wroncrlv. the fret, is that there was a, widespread feeling' that tiho adoption of the closure was tended of an-amend-ing Licensing Bill vejy much in the? inter-

ests of the trade, and had the proposal been persevered with it would have met, with a stubborn and uncompromising resistance from the Temperance party, who would have had the aid of the Opposition. Moreover, the Ministerial caucus let it be plainly known that the party would not give a solid support to the proposal. The closure is, indeed, <a dangerous weapon to place in the hands of a compact dominant party. As a means of checking deliberate waste of time, it would certainly be effective, and might occasionally be of 6ome value' to the oountry; bufc experience has shown in other lands that it gives a power that is capable of abuse, and that it may be made an instrument for bUrking reasonable discussion. If members were guided by the good sense which -dictates moderation,' there should be no need for any such power to be placed in the hands of a majority, and it is more consonant with tho dignity of Parliament that there should be freedom of ' speech, . even though at- times that freedom is abused by resort to obstructive tactics. One reform that was effected was the adoption of the Premier's proposal that Ministers shall give written replies to all .questions on Wednesdays. As we pointed out the other day, the exercise of tne right of inter- - rogating Ministers has been availed of tosuch an extent as to become a fruitful cause of waste of time, and it was necessary that some chanige should be made. The has induced the House to adopt a sensible method, and the proposed publication in. Hansard of answers tendered in writing should satisfy those who desire to have their assiduity in attending to the little wants of their constituents duly recorded. We are not disposed to think that anything will be gained by extending the time up to which now business mav be entered upon from, midnight to 12.30. The half-hour-ex-tension. will in practice, we believe, be found to bo merely a half-hour given over to talk indulged in with the view of preventing new business coming on. There will, we fear, be .more talk without- any gain in the progress of business. If members devote reasonable attention to the business of the" House, midnight is quite late enough I;® sit, and if they will" pereist in frittering away time they must be taught that the session may be extended until the work is finished. 'lt will be noted that the Premier has succeeded to some extent in getting effect given to his recently-expressed desire to see the galleries cleared earlier in the evening, for that willbe the effect of the resolve to take the supper adjournment hn-lf-an-hour earlier than has -been the custom hitherto. Mr 'Seddon is of opinion—and a good many people agree with him—that much of the talking done in the evening is induced, by a desire to orate, before an admiring: audiencs, and that if there were no audience speeches would be briefer if not fewer. It will be interesting to note whether or not the alteration produces the anticipated result. Most of all will it be interesting to note whether the reforms effected in the Standing Orders will lead to any reformation amongst members of the House.