THE NEW MINISTRY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20586, 8 December 1928, Page 12

THE NEW MINISTRY.

It would serve no useful purpose to speculate closely concerning the per- j sonnel of the Ministry which Sir ' Joseph Ward will form now that the opportunity is afforded to him. The ■ Government which has just gone out i of office contained nine, active Ministers in the Lower House at the date j of the general election, and this number was amply sufficient to per- j form the ordinary administrative j duties of the country. ; Sir Joseph 1 Will'd .might, however, find himself embarrassed in his selection if he had only eight salaried offices to bestow on members of the representative Chamber. It will, at the best, be a , difficult matter for him .to choose ■ some of his colleagues since it will ; be necessary for him to offer certain portfolios to supporters who have had little or no . previous parliamentax-y | experience. Five . members of his party are plainly marked out for Cabinet rank. These are Sir Apiraxia Ngata, Messrs Wilford, Forbes, Veitch and Ransom. The four first-mentioned of these have enjoyed the confidence of their constituents*for many years, and Mr Veitch is the only one of,the four who has not previously held Ministerial office. Mr Ransom has been a member of Parliament for six years and, like Mr Veitch, was a very active opponent of the Reform Government. When Sir Joseph Ward has associated these members with, himself, there will be four representatives of the North Island and two-of the South Island in the Government. The North Island members do notj however, include any representative of the European electors of the Auckland provincial district, which supplies one-fourth of the total number of members of* the House of Representatives. It is simply impossible to ignore the claims of this large and progressive district 1o adequate representation in the Government, but the 7 only members of the United Party returned by it to the present Parliament who had previously occupied .seats in the House are Mr Murdoch and Mr Lye, each of them with a single term’s experience to his credit. These members are both representative of country seats, .and Sir Joseph Ward will certainly have io balance against their modest experience the advantage which would accrue to his Government from the inclusion in it of a member for ah Auckland city constituency. Moreover, none of the other metropolitan areas is represented^by any of the,members, whose names we have mentioned. Wellington and Christchurch have disqualified themselves from direct representation in the Government; by their omission to return any of the candidates who sought election in the interests of the United Party. Dunedin occupies a more favourable footing, however, and, though her sole' con-, tribntion to the United Party is -a member who has now entered Parlia--ment for the first, time, the. prospect of her representation in the Government must be strengthened by the fact that the other South Island members who will assuredly obtain Cabinet rank represent constituencies as , far apart as Htxrunxxi and Invercargill. It must be anticipated that the question of the representation of the Government in the Legislative Council is one that will be settled by the appointment of; one or two new members. ; In practice as well as in theory the Upper House is a non-party Chamber, But the fact that every member of it at the present time holds his seat by virtue of nomina- 1 tion by the Reform Government will justify Sir Joseph Ward in claiming the right to call 'tb the Council- the person or persons upon whom his choice falls as representative of the Government in it.