The Otago Witness.

Otago Witness, Issue 1586, 15 April 1882, Page 17

The Otago Witness.

WITH WEIGH IS INCORPORATED THB 'BOOTHBRH

MBBOUBT.'

SATURDAY, 15th APfilL, 1882.

The resignation of Mr Hall, the Premier, is; now an accomplished fact,; and accord? ingt to the usage whereby the Premier's, resignation oarries , with it that of '.the entire Cabinet, 1 the whole of the Ministers ■ have placed iheir, resignations in, his Excellency's hands. Rumours have not been, wanting here that a 'serious* dissension had arisen amongst member's of the Cabinet, thai Mr Hall's iliriess afforded ,a, lucky pretext for their, resignation, and that such resignation in reality meant the breakingup of the jO^bin'ei ; (| " 6* at ady rate that if ! its recoiistruo&on, were attempted,', the p&r-i l s6rnel would be very considerably altered. ,(E)iaEerence!3 on certain points' iib dohbt have> existed, as < must always ;,bpthe 'caße^rhen to be' cbnsidered by half-a-dozen pen of ,ip.dfe])ehdent minds "and differing idiosyn^ c«sie's,; ( 'but we' are '^ait^'^at^offißd^ti^t u there was nothing in, tne rqlatiojis.pubaisting between the members of the f Mi nißtry to fprbduce any disfuption'hadi !;« apt been unhappily brdu^hV abdut by th ) ienforced resignation of the Premier. It would no doubt' ha^e been the .natural and' quite 'proper , course for his Excellency to ask $ir Hall's advice as to whom he should send for in 'sijijjh an emergency, and< Mr Hall I would probably have named Major I* Atkinson or Mr Whitaper ; indeed, iour Wellington correspondent' asserts thalj.Mi 1 Hall did mate som'e^uch re;oo&mendation. We understand, howevehy hfe Exdellency ' has acted; enfejy , upW $s o%p[ yespwsibility^ 'G( insidering himself •• absolved nby » the cc jdarUy. carries .with it that of ,th»e qth,er. .memtiers Of the Cabinet — from acceptib'ff" any a^ce ! ,;jffpn> ,Hall 6r his colleagues, Sir ; ■ . Arthur uGojrdpn. ,has re^u^ted^Sif, QB'OR,Gii'GrREY' tdrmeet in Wellingion' anil give iiM vfMBv f MB : vibws as tdi,^ posaib^ of/ foiling a ( ! /Ministry from-'ithafc 'politician's side, o£i the House,. There is; something a. little 1 uiiusuai, though , pifjpj unpppj|ifitu.iipnal, in thi'rf course of action;" Thpugh it is inip'pssib'l.e'iipt jto'l'suspect Sir Art&ur 1 i'ofj teing influenced, partly by tis old, . friendship for Sir George, and. partly I by his known , dislike of , tb.e Native tpqlicy of Mr Bryce, he is acting within Bis rightsan oalling-ujpon the old; leader of* the Opposition 1 for his advice. Whether Sir George is capable of self- \ i abnegation enough to decline .forming another Administration;; with himself 'sis Premie, rjunaif^f to' >J>e seeri^.bu^ it ,is' tolerably (certain that he -will have ! 'the; chance offered to him fv( We 'need, •no* t; say that we , shoul4 view. wj.tti!dis : ' may, and that we believe the country at large would view with ' dismay, ; the .prospect of another Grey Ad- , rni^tration and ." the s possible ieverirt,.', Pf,i' l! ' a . l i^v9.,,,p;9licy v ;mifch, his./ beetii. eminently j successful : in promoting the I,'real1 ,' real welfare , of ' both' 'rajces.. /The cpuntry pw<3S,! ( niiicli'to, Mr, Hall> who at great personal selfsacrifice, has laboured hard and ' successfully. ,to .unite, a spmewhat , disorganised party, and to bring about a 1 sound state of affairs after a reign of reckless extravagance which under his predecessor nearly brought the Colony into very serious straits. He has 'the satisfaction of knowing that, having commenced with a deficiency of about p, million, he leayes office with a surplus in the Treasury of something like a 1 quarter-million, and a .greatlyreduced seale I ; cif ' expeMit'ure 1 . '.Ife came into office while the West ', Coast Natives were in a chronic state o£ discontent, and even rebellion.' > He leaves it when th^y' are in a state! "of tran-' quility, and with a hopeful outlook as regards the relations between ttie European colonists, and the Maoris, which ;we have not known for years. Had Mr Hall been able ; to 'meet Parliament he. .would, we . believe, have found himself supported -by a working majority of at least four or five, an 4 there was nothing in the q'utlook to cause him to quail, had he remained even in his ordinary state of health. His Ministry dies because he has nearly worked himself to death, aud we are sure that nine-tenths of the members of the House will feel regret at his retirement and its cause. Party differences cannot blind men to the honest, faithful service which has been performed by Mr Hall during his comparatively brief term of office, and he will, we trust, live to find that the fellow colonists whom he has served so well aro not ungrateful. From a party poiat of view his retire- ; m»nt in a serious blow, from which it will take Ms party some t^io to r§-