The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY OCTOBER 6,1887.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7989, 6 October 1887, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY OCTOBER 6,1887.

The members will not settle down to work for at least a fortnight. Thiß is very evident from, the disorganised state of parties in Wellington. The Vogel party seems to be the strongest* for it appears he has twenty-five supporters, against Major Atkinson's fifteen. In disoussing the present position of parties in the House, the Post, whioh has proved itself in the past to be the best informed journal in the colony on political matters, says :— "Sir Julius Vogel's following may be looked upon as the only organised and united party in the new House at present. The rejection of Sir Robert Stout with his fads on subjects of education and land nationalisation, and the ejection from office of Mr. Ballance' with his native land policy and extreme views on Protection, will tend to strengthen Sir Julius Vogel's nand, and to draw towards him several of the new members who found in the views of the two Ministers we have named their chief objeotion to tho present Ministry. There are, we believe, several new members who will be prepared to support Sir Julius Vogel when he is dissociated from Sir R, Stout and Mr. Ballance's native lana policy, who wp^uld have voted against the Ministry as a whole. It is very frequently the improbable, which happens in politics, but so far as we can pee at present there little or no chance of any of the former leaders being able from their own supporters only to form a Ministry whioh could retain, its position long enough even to propound a policy. It is probable that some of them may make the attempt, as Major Atkinson made it three years <ago in the formation of what was termed 'the Canine Ministry,' but the result of tbat attempt, a political existence of a few hours, is not an encouraging precedent. The only hope of r reall/ strong and stable Ministry seems to as to rest in a possible coalition of two of the old leaders representing different parties, and them forming a Ministry, not of worn-out politioal hacks, but of young and hitherto untried men selected fairly from the different parties or sections of parties. If Sir Julius Vogel and Major Atkinson would unite they could choose colleagues acceptable to the House and country from such men as Messrs. Allen, Beetham, Bruce, Fergus, Guinnes, Lgughrey, Macarfchur, Soobie McKenzie, Menteath, Pereival, G. F. Richardson, Russell, Samuel, • Walker, Withy, and Major Atkinson." The other Wellington papers are so bitter against Sir Julias tbat they appear blind to everything else but the re-formation of the " Continuous Ministry," and make all manner of assertions about what Vogel is doing, which have an untruthful aspect on the face of them.

The power of tying up property by will bo that it cannot be dealt with by the inheritors is not now permitted in New Zealand, and very rightly so too. By " The Settled Lands Act 1886 " power is given to dispose of land under certain conditions. A very interesting case under this Act has recently been brought before the Supreme Court at Auckland. It appears that one of the early settlers in Auckland, a William Potter, made provision in his will leaving bis land to his grandchildren after his own children, although some of these were at the time only infants. His own children could only have the income, while the second generation were to have the increased value. It is now, however, the law by ,the Act above mentioned, that land cannot be tied up if. the person having a life interest desires otherwise. When a person having an interest in land with a reversion to his children, 7 or some other person, no matter how remote, desires it, the Supreme Court has power on tbe application of tbe tenant for life to allow him to sell the land, leaving to tbe reversioner not the land with its unearned increment, but tbe value of it at tbe time of sale, tbe land in the meantime being made profitable for the living. The oase brought before the Supreme Court in Auckland is one eminently in point. The land, some 32 acres, says an Auckland paper, bas been purchased by the Tramway Company for the sum of £4000. They intend to lay down a' cinder track for bicycle races, and to make the ground in every way suitable for Athletic sports. They will extend the rails from Newmarket, so as to take people right out to Epsom. It iias been supremely ridiculous on the part of. many persons sending gushing letters and telegrams to the late Premier sympathising with him on his defeat, and also by members who have been returned offering to resign in his favour. The next best thing to winning an election is to losa one with dignity, and, as a contemporary Bays, that, unfortunately, is what Sir Robert Stout has shown biuißelf to be singularly lacking in whilst in office, and still more whilst engaged in the electoral contest. It tis a, pity for his own sake that.his friends and admirers have not allowed him to display a little of it in retiring. There is a paper in Dunedin (the Herald) whose writers seem to have lost all control over themselves, and are in paroxysms of anger over. Sir Robert's defeat. The proprietors have offered a prize " for the best sixteen lines of verso dealing with the defeat of Sir Robert Stout for Dunedin East." Tbe prize has been awarded to a Mr. Julius Arnold, who openß his poem with the wordB — " The bjow has fallen ! and we stand aghast To see the foe thus conquer in tbe field," The paper publishes a whole column of rubbish of this kind; and tbe only poem(?) "that' cori tains a grain of sense in it is the last. This one is written by Marion Skene, who finishes up her sixteen lines with : 11A knighthood from his Queen his honors closed, Alas, alas I 'tis sad to tell, From that time forth his fortunes fell." There con be no doubt about it but tbat the colony will be all the better for the absence of Stout and Rolleston, with their ridiculous fads, from the House. These two, during the time they wore in office, did more injury to the colony than several years of good praoticol government will be able to rectify.