The Star. FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1891.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7182, 5 June 1891, Page 2

The Star. FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1891.

Mr M'Kenzie at Palmerston. Sir H. Atkinson was often described as the fighting chief of a Ministry. The Hon John Bal lance appears to be the chief of a Ministry well able to fight ; and amongst Mb colleagues there is, perhaps, no more doughty political combatant than the Minister for Lands, the Hon John M'Kenzie. Mr M'Kenzie has often, during the last ten years, shown himself able to give and to take hard knocks both in the House of Bepresentativea and in that combative community which inhabits the sister Province of Otago. In Otago a public man who cannot guard his head is apt to go to the wall right soon. Often has Mr M'Kenzie been attacked, often haa he retaliated, with vigour, on his assailants ; but never before has he had to face such an attack as that made upon him by the Conservative preas of the Colony during the laat two months. The yell of anger and calumny against him has gone up and been repeated from Auckland to Invercargill. The Minißter for Lands is, however, a strong man. Attacks which might have daunted a more timid spirit have, in his case, only served to put him on his mettle. As he has never been attacked with more ferocity, so he has never retorted with more force and energy than in his Monday speech at Palmerston. His reply is solid, sober and complete; devoid of trick or ornament, or any of the arts o£ rhetorical force. Hia speech is just the plain busi-ness-like utterance oE the man who eaya something because he has something to say. Mr M'Kenzie's Bketch of the forthcoming policy of tbe Government will satisfy the Liberal Party, and should reassure the minds of those who have been foolish enough to listen to the unpatriotic waitings and mournful predictions 0! the Opposition Press. While it pleases the Government's j friends, it should offend none but their extreme and irreconcilable enemies. These will b 8 irritated, not because the speech is bad, but because it is good; not because it is wild and empty, but because it ia fall and ' sensible. Mr M'Kenzie's emphatic declarations against further borrowing, and against an increase of the pnblio debt, or additions to tbe burden of taxation, |

come as a carious commentary upon that article by the Hon Me Fortescuc, lately noticed in the New Zealand Press. Mr Fortescue's elaborate libel upon the working classes of Australasia foretold that the election of twenty-four labour candidates in New Zealand would be inevitably, and immediately, followed by a scatter-caah financial policy, and the ruin of any credit remaining to the Colony. Mr M'Kenzie sturdily sets his heel upon this misleading nonsense. As he points out, this is no time for increasing our debts. We should think not indeed ; it is rather a time to do something to reduce them. Here we cordially agree with Mr M'Keuzio. He did not indicate in what direction this should be set about, but probably his words will be generally interpreted to intimate that the Treasurer proposes to do something to reduce tbat lump sum of four hundred thousand pounds of deficit which Sir Harry Atkinson funded in 1837, which he never made any effort to pay off, and upon which the taxpayers have been paying twenty thousand pounds a year interest ever since. Mr M'Kenzie glanced slightly at the effort which the Government proposes to make to reform the Upper House. He stated that it would be an honeit effort which might or might not be successful We believe that it will be successful. The Upper House dares not refuse reform. If it does, there are constitutional means by which reform can be forced through, means which we trust Mr Ballance will not hesitate to employ. One of the battles of the present Parliament is pretty certain to be a conflict between the two houses. The last act of the Atkinson Ministry was an endeavour to make the Upper House strong enough to muzzle the Liberal Party. When the moment comes we shall see whether the Lords will muzzle the Liberals or whether the Liberals will muzzle the Lords. When that time arrives the appearance of a few Unionist M.L.C.'s in the augußt Upper House might have a healthy and awakening effect upon the occupants of that sacred chamber.