The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1915. THE NATIONAL CABINET.

Southland Times, Issue 17486, 29 July 1915, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1915. THE NATIONAL CABINET.

The proposals made by the Government with a view to the formation of a National Cabinet to hold office for the period of the war have been modified from time to time since negotiations between the party leaders were begun soon after Parliament met, but in what may be regarded as their final form they were considered by the Opposition at a Caucus held yesterday morning. Later in the day the Government party met, and it was announced that the reply received from the Opposition was a refusal of the Government's terms, and the Chief Whip intimated that it was improbable that negotiations would be carried further. It may be accepted, therefore, that the proposal which the Opposition has now rejected embodied the fullest concessions that the Government was prepared to make, and that the suggested constitution of the Coalition Cabinet did not meet with the approval of the majority of the Opposition. In the absence of information as to what the final proposal was it is impossible to offer any opinion on its rejection by the Opposition, but we hope it will be found that the scheme failed because the two parties could not agree as to the representation to which each, was entitled in the Cabinet, and not because a majority of the Opposition were opposed to a coalition on any terms. A difference of opinion as to representation we can understand and make allowances for. We can understand the claim made on behalf of the Opposition that being practically equal in strength to the Government party, it should have the right to nominate an equal number of Ministers, and we can understand the contention that the Government, being in possession and able to carry on should the scheme fall through, has a right to a majority of at least one in the Cabinet. We can understand the failure of the parties for some such reason to finjcl an acceptable working basis for a National Cabinet, but in the unprecedented position in which we find ourselves as part of the Empire, we cannot imagine any party rejecting a coalition scheme merely because it is averse, on general principles, to cooperation with the other side. It is not conceivable that the National Cabinet scheme failed for any reason so inadequate. And though it is quite easy to understand that the Opposition might honestly regard as inequitable terms which the Government might regard as just, or even as generous, it is none the less to be regretted that neither party was prepared to carry concession far enough to ensure the success of the proposal. New Zealand ought to have a representative Government and a united Legislature during the war crisis, and the failure to reach an agreement provides another illustration of the cramping effect of the party system upon Parliament. There is something wrong with a House of Representatives which cannot find a way of setting up a National Cabinet at a time like this. Now that the scheme has fallen through the future has to be considered, and it is almost certain that the Cabinet will be to some extent remodelled. Mr Fisher's successor has to be appointed, and some permanent arrangement has to be made for the portfolios of Education and Finance, temporarily taken over by the Prime Minister and Sir Francis Bell. No doubt Mr PI. D. Guthrie, Chief Government Whip, will join the Cabinet, and it is possible, in view of the greatly increased work which the war has thrown upon the Executive, that the number of Ministers will he increased. It is fortunate for Mr Massey that he has a very loyal and solid party, and his readjustments will be made without friction. It is now desirable, of course, that the functions and powers of the Secret Defence Committee should be increased, for that Committee should at least serve to keep war questions clear of party warfare, and it will give the Government the opportunity of placing the Leader of the Opposition and his lieutenants as well as the chairman of the Labour Party in possession of much confidential information which the Government cannot disclose to the House or the country, but which is necessary to a full understanding of what is being done. The Secret Defence Committee is now the country’s best hope of unity and harmony within the House, and it is to be hoped that its usefulness will be extended, and that the House will accept its reports and recommendations as embodying the conclusions of the best men in the House, and the only men who have the fullest available information before them.