HIE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3713, 12 May 1925, Page 33

HIE POLITICAL SITUATION.

TIIE CONSTITUTIONAL PROCEDURE. POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS. WELLINGTON, May 10. When a British Prime Minister dies the King has no adviser, and the Executive ceases to exist. Therefore it now behoves the King’s representative in New Zealand to send for someone else and to ask his advice in regard to the carrying on of the Government of the country. Wnom the Governor-General will send for is known only to himself. It is most likely that he will send for Sir Francis Bell, who has been acting as Prime Minister in Mr Massey’s absences from New Zealand and during his last illness. Now that Mr Massey has passed awav Sir Francis Bell is the only member of the late Cabinet left who has been continuously in office with Mr Massey. Fir Heaton Rhodes is the only other Minister who was a member of the first Massey Cabinet, but, in 1915, during the war he magnanimously tendered his resignation in order to facilitate the formation of a National Ministry, and went on service to Gallipoli and England as New Zealand Red Cross Commissioner. He rejoined the Massey Cabinet later, upon the disruption of the National Government. While we do not know whom his Excellency the Governor-General will send for, nor what advice the man sent for will tender his Excellency, nor whether his Excellency will accept the advice tendered, the probability is that he will send for Sir Francis Bell, and accept his advice regarding the formation of a new Executive. Under :hese circumstances, it is possible that Fir Francis Bell might agree to act as Prime Minister and carry on temporarily witn the remaining members of the late Executive. There can be no objection to such procedure, and Sir Francis has well earned the honour of having his name placed on the roll of New Zealand Prime Ministers. None will begrudge him that honour. He has displayed a Temarkabte ability and insight irj the sphere of legisla five enactment and Executive administra tion, and a capacity for work—work that has not brought him into the limelight of politics-second only to that of the late Chief, whom he has so well served. But, while it is necessary to at once fill the vacancy caused by the death of

the Prime Minister, there should be no indecent haste displayed in calling the party together, to decide for itself as it eventually must, who is to be the leader who will assume the Teins of Government. There are, of course, precedents for the holding of the Premiership by a member of the Upper House, but at this laie da lilt is scarcely to be expected that a democracy would tolerate such a situation i for any length of time. The question will then presently arise as to who will be the new Leader of the Reform Party, and Prime Minister o! New Zealand. The general opinion seems to be that the choice must be made from one of three members ot the party— Messrs Coates, M‘Leod, and Stewart. Throughout the country the feeling will most probably be largely in favour of Mr Coates. He has been in Parliament since 1911, and a Minister of the Crown since September 3, 1919. He has an honourable war record, as witness his Military Cross with its bar—a coveted distinction He is a man of unusual physical and men tal powers, with a capacity for strenuous and sustained work as great as was Mr Massey’s. In addition it has been proved that lie has administrative ability of a very high order. His administration of the* Post and Telegraph Department has been such a success that that department may now be said to be running itself on sound lines. He has achieved equal, if not greater success in the administration of the Public Works Department, and is the only one out of a long series of administra tors who is likely to place the Railway Department on a solid business footing. It may be considered by some that it is a handicap that he is no orator, but in these modern days oratory is becoming less and less a necessary attribute of statesmanship. Whether Mr Coates is sufficiently a political tactician as to weather the storms which must inevitably rise on any .political sea remains to be seen. He has not the political instinct developed to such an extent as it is in some othei members of the late Ministry, but he has a transparent honesty and an engaging frankness that will go a long way towards making up for this deficiency—if ?t is a deficiency. For the rest he ha-s troops of friends in every calling and is in the prime of life at 47. He is so engrossed with his present work that he would most probably much prefer to see someone else in the position of Prime Minister, but if asked by the party to assume the reins of power he would not doubt do so, retaining the Portfolio of Railways, and perhaps also Pub? ; '* Works. The Hon. Mr M’Leod is an older man by some six years than Mr Coates, and has qualities that go to make a successful Minister of the Crown, and perhaps a leader. He has ability, natural shrewdness, and a keen political sense. He has also more than average ability as a de bater, and is not afraid of hard work. In the position of Minister of Lands he appears to be the right man in the right place, for he has gained the confidence of the country people, and already has done good work in the administration of the difficult Department of Soldier Settlement. He lias not so long a parliamentary and Ministerial experience as Mr Coates. He entered the Cabinet less than a year ago, yet has already amply justified the judgment of the Prime Minister who put him there. Of Mr Downie Stewart one might say & good deal that would redound to his credit. He is perhaps the keenest debater in the House of Representatives, with a knowledge of history and literature and economics that enables him to draw deductions and to enforce his points, as, perhaps, no other man in the Parliament car.. And withal he has the saving grace c*f humour as a natural and a priceless , m heritance. Like Mr Coates, he has a courageous war record. The war left him almost at death’s door and physically crippled, but his courage, his tenacity, and his bright mind have enabled him to triumph over these disabilities in a way that has been a surprise to his many friends and a marvel to those who do not know him so intimately. Of late years he has been a keen student of Finance a portfolio he has held temporarily, and in that department he would be an tble coadjutor of Mr Coates, one of his cV.sest friends, should the latter assume the Prime Ministership. But, as stated, it is for the party to settle this very important question It should be settled and the new Executive foimed before Parliament meets, presumably about the usual time. Under tne circumstances the session cannot be a very lengthy one. The country will not expect from it much legislation, especially in view of the fact that the time for the General Election is so close at hand. Eventually, and the sooner the better, the new Government must ascertain whether it win ba given a mandate from the country. The Cabinet will be to some extent a new Cabinet, for, apart from the fact that it will have a new head, it must also have a new tail. One new appointment will be necessary to fill the vacancy caused by Mr Massey’s death, and a second vacancy will occur on the retirement of Sir Heaton Rhodes at the expiry of the present Parliament. As to whether or not the Reform Party will maintain or even improve its position or lose it altogether is for the electors to decide, and it is, perhaps, too early to make any prediction. It has this much in its favour, that tho forces arrayed against it, while united about terminating its existence, are disunited as to which will reign in its stead. There is, however, always the possibility that the two minor parties, if they win a majority of the seats, may come together, in which case we would have a Cabinet tinged with Red. At present theTe seems little possibility of unity between the Reform and Liberal parties.