THE OTAGO DAIYL TIMES WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1908. THE MINISTRY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14386, 2 December 1908, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAIYL TIMES WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1908. THE MINISTRY.

Accompanied by the goo.il wishes of the people of the country in the government of which he has for many years taken a prominent part, Mi Hall-Jones will leave to-morrow for London, there to assume the important position of High Commissioner for the Dominion. Mr Hall-Jones makes no groat pretensions about his ability to perform successfully the duties 6f the office to which lie lias been appointed. That is however, characteristic of the man! Modesty is a vjrtue that is somewhat rare among politicians, but it has clung to Mr Hall-Jones, whose distinction it is that he has generally succeeded in agreeably disappointing the expectations that hare .been formed concerning- him. Mr Hall-Jones devoted himself untiringly and conscientiously to the discharge of the work of his department until ho had thoroughly mastered its details and until he had constituted himself an actual pillar of strength to the Government. And in more recent years lie afforded additional evidence of his capacity in the administration of other departments in which a. knowledge of business methods was requisite and in Ids temporary occupancy of the position of Prime Minister. As Mr HallJones has made adequate response to all the demands that have been,made upon him as a public man in the past, it is not unreasonable to believe, as the community in the mass does believe, that ho will not less satisfactorily fulfil all the requirements of his new position, which, as a matter of fact, he nominally assumed yesterday. He has not the exceptional literary gifts which Mr W. P. Reeves lias freely used to the d. .inct advantage of New Zealand. And he may be trusted not to make the mistake of endeavouring" to emulate his predecessor in a form of activity in which Mr Reeves stood facile princeps among the representatives of the colonies in Great Britain. . Nor, perhaps, will the. period of his sojourn in the Mother Country—for he promises himself tho pleasure of returning to, and re-settling in, New Zealand—be specially remarkable for any development of the social side of the functions of the High Commissioiicrship. But it may confidently be anticipated that in so far as it is possible for him to -promote the commercial and material 'interests of. the Dominion, he will neglect no opportunity and consider no exertion too heavy to accomplish ibis aim. We believe, in fact, that tho public will be thoroughly well served by Mr HallJones in London. That it is desirable that ho should have the assistance on bis staff of officials who have a more intimate knowledge of the conditions of life, tho resources, and the needs of New Zealand than any of tho public servants at tho present time in tho High Commissioner's department can pretend to have is, we third*, extremely likely. Mr Hall-Jones is, however, practical enough to recognise tliis, if it be the case, ar-1 to take steps to effect a remedy, In the meantime our purpose

is to associate ourselves with the citizens of Wellington, by whom he was entertained yesterday, in the expression of cordial wishes for his welfare in his new office. . It is an unenviable, task which tho departure of Mr Hall-Jouos and tho defeat of Mr M'Nab impose upon Sir Joseph Ward. Among the private members of the Legislaturethere'are few men of outstanding ability on tho Government sido.of the House. If tho capacity of the aspirants for office wero all that tho Prime Minister-had" to ecusider he might, indeed, have' littlo trouble in deciding upon the disposal of tho vacant portfolios. But sinco there are some fourteen or fifteen memthe party who imagine- that they have, upon one. ground or other, certain claims upon him, of. which they look for a recognition at a, timo like the present, the selection of fresh colleagues is a. matter calling'for the exercise of the wisest discrimination on his part. It'is .fortunate for him that the appointment of a successor to Mr Hall-Jones as Minister of. Railways—an office to which a higher salary is attached than is received by any of the other subordinate Ministers—need present no difficulty to him. The Minister of Railways must be a. member of the Lower House, and the very prominent placo which Mr Millar has taken in the Government; and the skill which he has shown in the handling of perplexing questions, clearly mark hini oi.it'as the Minister to whom this promotion should be offered. The portfolios of Lands and. Labour will, in these circumstances, remain to.be filled. It has been asserted that .there is no reason--why Sir Joseph Ward'should not ignore, geographical considerations intfie allotment of these portfolios. This is the counsel of perfection, As a practical politician, the Prime Minister | cannot fail to recognise that) since the colleagues whom, he loses both represented South, Island constituencies, one at least of the new Ministers must corns from the South Island,- and that, other tilings equal, | Canterbury, which would otherwise have no''member' in the Cabinet, should,supply this representative.; But there is another factor to which'Sir.Joseph. Ward must give due weight'in the appointment of a new Minister of' Lands. This consists in the feeling of the" country, as disclosed a.fc, the election, upon the land question. It is plain that the i.electors have sent to the House a very strong party in favour of the freehold tenure—a party which was reinforced' 1 yesterday by the election for the Bay of Plenty on the second ballot of Mr MaeDonatd, wlio, while a Government supporter, is a. leading official of the Farmers' Union. .And, although the Evening Post-Purges' that; "the.'PrimeMinister should, by- allotting the'portfolio of Lands to the. ablest leaseholder in his party, show -his continued adherence to the policy which cost Mr ,-M'Nab his seat, it is far more likely! that ho will offer—and it will probably be better tactics on his part to do so— the appointment to a staunch freeholder. This view of the matter would exclude members of the school of Mr Hogg and Mr Lanrenson, the appoint--.mont of either'of whom would,-we-fully bcl-'ovo, alienate a great deal of support from the Government.-..'My Thomas Mackenzie' would be entirely acceptable to the farming community as Minister of Lands, but the -'iinention of. his name has been received with such signs of disapproval by those ' who have been longer associated- with the party that it is-difficult, to believe that he will be appointed. L)deed, since tho heart of the problem of the land: question now lies in the North Island, where large tracts of land will have to be opened up in the next few years, there are; probably sound reasons why Mr M'Nab's successor should represent a North Island constituency. And, in this event, Mr-Hogg being disregarded as too .extreme, the choice before the Prime Minister is,limited to Mr Jenniugs, the < other claimants for office among the Government's supporters in the North Island being all city lawyers without any practical qualifications for the portfolio of Lands. Since Mr Jennings is a strong advocate of the freehold, which he'.would sell at the original value to lessees in outlying districts, his appointment would ,be a direct concession to the sentiment iof the country as expressed at .the ballot box. If the portfolio of Lands be allotted to the member Jor Taunia'runui' it will be 'reasonable to expect that the ' new Minister of Labour should hail from the south, and, if so, it will not be, surprising if Mr Davey should provo to be the appointee. Such an appointment would, we think, give fairly general satisfaction. While Mr Davey has been a firm advocate of the interests of the working classes he has never associated himself with the'" advanced " sectior of the House that iias lent its countenance to impracticable' schemes. He has been moderate and conciliatory in his views, and the practical service he rendered early last, year in assisting to effect a settlement-of the slaughtermen's strike in Canterbury furnished an indication, of his possession of tactfulness of an order that should commend him to the public as Minister of Labour if it should so happen that he receives the "appointment.