THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1895. THE MINISTRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2887, 29 October 1895, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1895. THE MINISTRY.

A few days ago the Timaru Herald said the Porirua asylum was to be rebuilt, that £12,000 had been sot aside in the Public Works Statement for that purpose, and that Mr A. L*. Bell had been dismissed from the Government service for suggesting that the services of the inspector of works who permitted the faulty construction of this building should be dispensed with. We pointed out that there was not a word of truth in this ; that the Porirua asylum was not to be rebuilt; that the £12,000 had been set aside for the Auckland auxiliary asylum ; that Mr A. D. Bell had not been dismissed; and we called upon the Herald to correct the blunder. Has it done so ? It has not, and consequently we can only conclude that it had deliberately and maliciously misrepresented facts with the view of bringing discredit on the Government. The Porirua Asylum has been erected during the existence of tho present Ministry ; the material used in the bricks wai not good, and cousequeuily the south-west wall soaked in the rain. That was all that was wrong with it, and this has now been remedied. The political opponents of the Government endeavored to lix on Mr Seddon the blame for this, by alleging that an incompetent inspector of works had been kept on because he was of the “right color,” despite the fact that the engineer in charge had recommendad his dismissal. Mr Seddon proved conclusively that this was wrong; that Mr Bell, the engineer who recommended the dismissal of the Inspector, was never in charge of tho works; that Mr Bell himself was not dismissed for doing so; and that the inspector, instead of being of the right color, was taken on on the recommendation of Mr George Fisher, M.H.R , who was a deadly opponent of the Government. Mr Seddou proved by documents which he laid on the table that every count in the indictment framed against him was absolutely untrue, and yet, though the Herald knows this as well as we do, it says that the asylum is to be rebuilt at a cost of £12,000, and that Mr 801 l was dismissed the service for warning the Government that the construction of the building was faulty. That was a most deliberate falsehood, published, no doubt, with the view of leading the public to believe that the workmanship was so bad that the asylum would have to be taken down and rebuilt, and that this was duo to the corrupt conduct of Mr Seddon in employing an incompetent inspector of works because he happened to be of tho “ right color.” This is neither fair, nor just, nor honest, but it is only on a par with the Herald’s general attitude towards the Government, and especially the Premier. Last Friday the Herald, in discussing the Liquor Bill, endeavored to show that Mr Seddou was not sincere on the temperance question, and that he would have been glad if tho Bill had not been passed. The Herald might very well have allowed the Christchurch Prohibitionists a monopoly of that line of attack. It was certainly playing it very low down to suggest such a thing. Where is tho evidence of insincerity 'I In the days of Sir William Fox Mr Seddou supported local option. When the Bill came back from the Council, mutilated out of recognition, he could there and then have had it rejected if he had desired to do so. Instead of that ho appointed managers to confer with the Council, and the result was a compromise. Surely there was no evidence of a desire to destroy tho Bill in such conduct as that ? If so, the great majority of tho temperance members of the House were insincere, for they voted with Mr Seddon, and must therefore be regarded as iutiucere. There was nothing whatsoever to prove insincerity on the part of the Premier. On the contrary, he acted quite ju harmony with the resolutions passed by all the temperance organisations of the colony, who demanded that the House should not agree to any compromise with the Council. We believe also that the Temperance Party have completely changed their opinions regarding Mr Seddon, and that it is there the shoe pinches. The Conservatives are afraid that Mr Seddou will secure the Prohibition vote next election, that this will return him again at the top of the poll, and that consequently their case is hopeless. This is at the bottom of it, and this is what prompted Sir Robert Stout in making the attack on the Premier. Sir Rober Stout made a very amusing admission. He said he would consort with all sorts and c .editions of men to gain hjs ends. This is not a very high moral ground tq stand on, bnt it is exactly the ground ou which Sir Robert Stout is standing at present. He has joined the Conservative Party to gain his own ends—that is, the Premiership. He is, however, only ruining himself, and his attack ou Mr Seddou cannot do him much good. VYe cannot believe that the Temporals Party will any longer doubt Mr Seddou’s sinewy, and that cquHcquontly they will not appreciate such atuidks f/,3 the Herald and Sir Robert Stout have made qpon him.