THE POLITICAL SITUATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14699, 6 December 1909, Page 3

THE POLITICAL SITUATION

AX INTERESTING RESUME. THE RECENT GOVERNMENT ' DKFKATS. (From Ocr Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, December 5. New Zealand polities 'have suddenly )>ecomc interesting—more interesting than for many years.—and the present position is such thai- there is no telling what mav happM from day to day. Sir Joseph Ward has to a certain extent lost control of hid puily, and the whip at the critical moment fails to get recalcitrant members into ik- right lobby. The Opposition on the other hand is a solid phalanx and Mr Hardy, the genial whip of the party has a bed of roses in eoinuarison with the bed of thorns upon which Mr Laiiretition. the Government Whip, occasionally endeavoms to snatch a few moments' political repose. Recent doings and developments all point to the fact that it would he quite possible, in (he present temper of the House, to defeat the Government on sore amendment that should involve its resi»nalion. There is, however, no desire on°flie part of the Opposition party to put the Government out jf ollice at the present juncture. There are two or three reasons for this. For instance, the Opposition would very much prefer that the present Government should do its own administrative eleaning-up, and in addition there is the fact (hat though the Opposition mh-ht, with tho aid of the malcontents, succeed m defeating tha Government, it has not m its own ranks a sufficient majority to ensure the granting of supplies. Therefore, matters must go on pretty much as they have been going. A respective glance across (he political landscape at the present moment is not uninteresting. Two facts stand out promi-nontly-namely (1) that the Liberal AdminisliM.ion has received «, set-back in the country, and (2) that within the partv 'sell, as it is represented in Parliament, there are perceivable certain elements tending m the direction of disintegration io anyone who has been behind the scene.,. «> to speak, the latter fact might have Ueen easily mEortaincd. From private conversation with ceitain members of tho party, it has been specially emphasised (luring the pas t week 01 . u . o _ , n t))3 House jtvelf the Government has had to submst tamely to rebuffs such as no Liberal Government in New Zealand has experienced for maiiv vears in th's country. To begin with, the Government has been defeated three times at the instance of Mr Sidey, who objected to tho proposals in regard to local bodies' fiinkiuofunds. The first occasion was when a petition from the Dunedin City Council on the subject was, at the instance of die member for Dunedin South, referred back to tho committee that had adversely reported upon it. Next Mr' Sidey moveil to insert a clause in the State Guaranteed Advances Bill repealing the section of the act of last year, and though the Prime Minister fought against it the aJiiendm»nt was carried in opposition to his wishes •Subsequently, it will lj 0 remembered, the Prime Minister moved to recommit the, bill for the purpose of knocking out the objectionable Sidey clause, and again Q suffered defeat so far M this matter was concerned. This was the unkindest cut Ot all, but there was worse to follow. In the Consolidated Fund estimates there was an item of £400 for the salary of the Hop Mr ltceves (late High Commissioner for New Zealand) as financial adviser in London.

Incidentally, it may be remembered Here was some rather sharp criticism levelled at Mr Reeves and the London office! by members of the Liberal party. Mr Clark (Chalmers) said that two of his friends were at Home at the time Mi Reeves was High Commissioner. As they were in need of certain information relating to the Dominion, they both wired and wrote to Mr Reeves, but got no reply at ail. Mr_ Lute (Wellington Suburbs) referred to a visit which he paid to the office of tho High Commissioner some three or four years ago. He said that he was welt accredited, holding among other introductions a letter from the Right Hon. R. ,j. Seddon. He might also mention that he had met Mr Reeves in his official capacity. One of tho officials in the office informed turn that it would bo best for him to writo to the High Commissioner. He had replied that he would not adopt that course, but would return at noon next day and would expect, if nobody else had » prior claim, to see Mr Reeves, seeing, that he was a business man of New Zealand o£ long standing, that he was well accredited, and that he was the holder of a position on important local bodies, such as tho City Council, the Industrial Association, etc. As a lesult of the attitude he had taken up he was able lo see Mr Reeves, but his old friend Mr D. Robertson was not able to do so Mr Davey (Christchurch East) said he could produce evidence showing that some Christchurch residents were treated discourteously by Mr Reeves whilst Agentgeneral. An unfortunate part of the affair was that a young fellow who went Home in ill health died there. His friends wanted information relative to how the body could bo sent out to New Zealand and other matters, but though they tried hard the}- were never able- to 660 ill' Reeves. Messrs Poole and Russell, as already reported, also expressed the opinion that the High Commissioner's office w;n costing too much money. This was the question that resulted in the most humiliating of all tho recent defeats, for Mr Massey (Leader of the Opposition) moved to strike out the item, and he carried his amendment against the Pl'imo Minister by no fewer than 10 votes. It has been suggested that the whipping was bad, hut this is not borne out by the division—3s to 25,—which showed a fairly full House. The Ministerial followers who voted against the Government were Messrs Arnold, Clark, Davey, Glover, Hanan, Jcnningi, Luke, Poole, Russell, J C. Thomson, and Witty. Mr M'Laren (Independent Labour) and Mr Hogg (who can no longer be termed a Ministerialist) were also found in the opposite lobby to Sir Joseph Ward.

' The significance of this defeat lies in the lacl. that the amendment which tho House carried was moved by the Leader of the Opposition. There are very fow members in Parliament who can recollect a similar incident in the history of the Liberal Ad'ministration. I cannot myself recall one. In 1890 the item, Colonial Secretary's office £1755, was reduced by £1 on the motion of Mr Monk as -an iWniction to the Government that there should be a fnrtlie:- reduction of £50,000 in the Estimates. There had, however, been some arrangement before the vote was taken that the £50,000 reduction would be made. Mr Monk was a follower of the Atkinson Administration, then in power, and it is interesting to note that Mr Seddon, then m active opposition, voted against the reduction, while Mr Mitchcfcon- (Actiim Premier) voted for it.

Again ir the House yesterday mornini;, when the Prime Minister called tor 'a division to postpone the second reading of the Wellington Streets Bill, he was defeated by 11 votes, and tho second reading of the bill was carried against him. Finally, on Saturday morning, the Government was in danger of another defeat when the Hospitals Bill m ade its appearance from the Legislative Council, with clause iZ, regarding the friendlv societie=-. deleted. Indeed, i{ . certain defeat w«-, staring the Government in the face, but Mr tfowld*. who had moved that the House agiee to the amendments, saved the situation by talking (under the guise 'it a personal explanation) till 1 p. n ,!. when the_ Speaker left the chair, and no division could b-; taken on an amendment moved bv Mr Fisher.

Awkward as such defeats are, causing as they do a loss of prestige, lliev do not exhaust the troubles of The Government There are several very awkward subject that require to be fully discussed, such as the Police ' Commission and Timber Commission Reports, the Addington Workshops Commission report, and the result of the income Tax Department. Finally, there in the trouble over the land question. To have one's bill torn to pieces by one's own committee must at any time "be disconcerting, but to havo to obtain the

services of an Opposition number in order to get th; deleted policy clauses put hack again, must be particularly galling. From the foregoing brief resume of the. j position it will be seen that the Govern- i ment is indeed having a bad time of ft. (n addition to being harassed by a solid and active Opposition it is also l>eing seriously wounded in the house of its unstable friends. One other point, remains lo dealt with. .All talk of coalition is now at an end, absolutely. Whatever may have been possible in this connection at the time when Sir Joseph Ward was forming his Ministry out of somewhat unpromising mid hetsi'ojineous elements, nothing is now feasible. The two parties arc- ranged in opposing camps, and the political warfare must, go on along the old accepted and constitutional lines. There may be waverers in the Government ranks. There are certainly none in the Opposition phalanx. Tho position is 'interesting, There are Amnion's days and nights ahead, ami there is no Baying what a dav or an hour may bring forth. Referring to Ihe recent defeat on Mr Mnssey's motion, the Dominion .-ays: "There was a time when a direct refusal by tho House to grant supply in this way would hive precipitated a political crisis. In Great Britain Governments have gone out of oflice on more trifling defeats. Til this country, under conditions, it is difficult to conceive a situation in which the Government wculd consider itself jo slighted by Parliament as to feel tliat it must either resign or appeal to the country It is a matter for congratulation, however, that members are beginiiin« to exercise an independent judgment. Wo commented a few days ago on the fad that in matters of detail mine members were breaking away from the tyranny of the party whip, and we have" not the slightest doubt that members who reasonably exercise their right of individual opinion stand very inv.eh better with the country than thoe who follow slavishly at the heels of the Leader of the House.''