The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1879.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 1482, 21 June 1879, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1879.

These is naturally just now a good deal of speculation- as to. the probable programme of the Government upon the meeting of Parliament, and rumors which at another time would attract no attention, are eagerly seized upon by newsmongers and converted into quasi authoritative disclosures. Many of these are so palpably absurd that they show, on the face of them, that they are invented by people who not only are not behind the scenes, but who are entirely void of ordinary knowledge of Parliamentary affairs. Many of these political canards, which dispose m the most off-hand way of leading measures, and decide beforehand the fate of powerful parties, are, we have reason to believe, made up by reporters of newspapers, or more often perhaps, by those dilapidated unfortunates who form the pariahs of the Fourth Estate, and who hang about newspaper offices m the hope of getting some sort of employment. We have often smiled at communications which we have received from persons of this class, conveying startling items of political intelligence, and mentioning familiarly that " Grey " was going to do this, " Fox " had decided to do that, or " the Assembly " was to do something else ; the only basis for the whole fiction being, perhaps, a casual remark of some public man, overheard and purposely distorted by the "literary gent." There is an amusing instance of this kind of thing on record, where a telegram was sent from Wellington and published elsewhere, to the effect that some important Government' Bill was likely to be carried, but - that " our House" -was determined to throw it out. " Our House " turned ont to be the Legislative Council, from one o£,the

clerks of which, the sender of the telegram had obtained a few days' employment as a reporter. We were comically reminded of this recently, by reading a special correspondent's telegram from Wellington, which stated positively that Parliament would be dissolved after three weeks' session, that the Opposition would not move a vote of want of confidence, but would try to defeat the Government on one of their Bills, and that both sides would assist to pass the Representation Bill. This grotesquely nonsensical telegram has gone the round of the papei'3 now, and we dare say a good many people have attached a great deal of weight to it. Anyone who knows anything at all of the matters to which it refers, of course, will see at a glance that it is nothing more than a piece of rubbish, concocted by some such trustworthy authority as we have described. The prediction about both sides passing the Representation Bill shows the absurdity of the whole thing. There never was, and there probably never will be, a Representation Bill passed without a long and bitter struggle. There is, m fact, no description, of measure -which endangers a Ministry so much as this. It is bound to offend somebody, because somebody will be unseated by it ; and somebody's district will' be up m arms ; and somebody's friends, both m the House and out of the House, will be -furious. Then the distribution of new seats among the various distinct political sections of the colony, causes more dissatisfaction. If Canterbury gets fair play, Auckland must be thrown m the shade, and Taranaki and Nelson nearly snuffed out ; and if Otago does not get enough to maintain her predominance, then all the " brither Scots" will put on their ■war paint. Then there are the goldfields, with their special claims, and the jealousy between the towns and the country. In short, a Representation Bill is about the last kind of Bill that is likely to be the subject of general conciliation and co-operation. Ordinary observers of political matters would be inclined to expect, on the contrary, a very tough fight over the Representation Bill, whatever may be done about other measures. The dissolution, m fact, depends very much upon the character of the Representation Bill, and nobody knows what intrigues and side issues may be involved m the question of the dissolution. The special correspondent settles it most pleasantly that the Opposition will not attack the Government on the Address, as if he had just come from a confidential interview with the forty or fifty different Members who, without any understanding among themselves, have severally expressed Opposition views. Nobody, not the Premier nor any one of his leading opponents, can foretell m the least what the Opposition may do. Their action will no doubt be influenced very much by the contents of the Governor's Speech. If they chose, though, to take a different course, and, ignoring the Speech altogether, brought the Government to book on their administration, they would have a remarkable precedent m the course adopted by Sir George Grey m 1876. On the first day of that session he moved the suspension of the Standing Orders, and defeated the Government on the Piako swamp question. Sir Julius Yogel was a hundred times a better politician than Sir George Grey ; yet he was taken completely by Burprise, and the programme which he had sketched out for the session, was knocked all to pieces before the House had sat forty-eight hours. On the present occasion we do not believe the Government have any definite programme, beyond two or three Bills which Mr Stout may have m hand. We believe that they are going to meet Parliament blindly, and trust to the chapter of accidents to pull them through. They have not been together for months, and at this moment there are only three of them m Wellington, two of whom, we understand, are not on speaking terms. In less than three weeks from to-day, Parliament will be m session. The Ministry will then have an opportunity to arrange their campaign ; but by that time the Opposition will be m Wellington too, and will have far better opportunities, not being overwhelmed with official work, for arranging a campaign than the Ministry. The Governor's speech will no doubt give the Opposition their cue. It will either show the hand of the Ministry, or else show- that they have nothing m their hand; and their opponents, we may be sure, will be quick to act on either indication. Whatever the Opposition may do as a party, moreover, every Member and every section of Members, will have some grievance to ventilate, and will take steps to ventilate it, quite irrespectively of the Ministerial programme. The news-factors have left out of their latest fictions, all mention of the loan ; and it is observable that the Ministerial oracles have recently dropped that subject, as if the Government had abandoned the project. Whether they have done so or not, however, the question of Finance will certainly demand lengthy and careful consideration, and will effectually disturb any dreams that they may now indulge m, of a quiet three weeks' session succeeded by a dissolution. They cannot dissolve without money; and they cannot get money without appropriations.