Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. FRIDAY. JULY 8, 1887. Hon J. Ballance.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2090, 8 July 1887, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. FRIDAY. JULY 8, 1887. Hon J. Ballance.

In consideration of the (by courtesy) present Ministry it may be regarded, for all practical purposes, as composed of three gentlemen only—Messrs Vogel, Stout, and Ballancc. The remaining members of that Ministry are doubtless' in existence—somewhere —and if they went on an Antarctic Exploring Expedition to-morrow, and stayed on it, they would, in a political sense, " never be missed” The personalities of the three gentlemen named not only overshadow but blot out the balance of their meeker associates, who may be indeed very talented men, but have never been permitted any opportunity of demonstrating the same. Of the somewhat dictatorial triumvirate there is no doubt Sir Julius Vogel is the real leader and master, mind. He has forgotten more of the practical science and art of politics than his companions ever knew or are likely to know ; and although ho has not been very loquacious during the past session he has on more than one occasion emphatically reminded Messrs Stout and Ballance that he is, and they are not, ruler of the roast—notably when ho publicly took the conduct of the West Coast Setb^®o“ t Reserves Amendment Bill out of Mr hands, telling him in round terms thai) ~ lc V 8 * “ luakmg a mess of it,” But with Sir J nliu * Vogel we have here nothing to do. His po'", f '' 1 cal sun has set, nor will wo pause to enquire whether it is the people or his colleagues only who have forsaken him in his darkness. All attent/ou is nowcentred on those twin suns, Messrs Stout and Ballancc, who are hanging ’twist wind and water on the political horizon, undetermined whether to rise in glory or go out with a splutter. Both of these are clever men—with a difference. Mr Ballancc is a clover man of this world ; bir Kobert, a clever man of some other sphere—which, it is difficult to say. Sir Robert btout, nathless all his undoubted abilities as a lawyer, is, as a politician, impracticable. He is ever away, up in the clouds; every attack on his policy he construes into a personal attack upon 1 himself; there is no reserve of power in 1 him; his self consciousness and vanity i are so overwhelming that they do not permit him to discern more than one man in the world— himself. But Mr 1 Ballauce studies men and manners. Mr ! Ballauce, in his treatment of his fellows, 1 U the phrase he excusable, *' goes slow- * amt counts the stones” uu route. Irish- ] men in power, who '.or us Lance Cor- ' poiais ol a Cuvab'y Troop or Ministers of I i btato, generally cultivate the tuuviter inn

moclo. Mr Ballance is an Irishman and suave to a degree. He recognises there are quite a number of different men in the world in addition to himself. He willingly offends no one and makes friends if only with promises and fair words. He is emphatically a capable man, shrewd, energetic, and a hard wo -ker. But having said thus much in his favor, little more in the same direction can truly be said. He, in common with his colleague, Sir Robert Stout, is an ardent, excitable and unrestrainable disciple of the bbahd-new. Moreover, if we may coin a word, he is to his back bone a hobbyist. Only show Mr Ballance something which has, or he thinks has, the smack of novelty about it—from a patent padlock to a perpetual lease, from Protection to a pudding on a new plan, and straight he will snatch the reins of his fresh hobby-horse, leap on its back and gallop to the—well, we really would not like to say where he would aut rrallop to. And, when thus mounted, woe betide any unfortunate who gels in Mr Ballauce’s way, for most assuredly, if possible, he will ride over him—if that is not practicable, he will ride under him. All this was clearly evinced in his treatment of his Village Homestead Settlemom Scheme. That this scheme contains the germ of a grand idea ia indisputable; that Mr Ballance invented it is absurd. But he thought he was the inventor ; it was something novel at any rate; the “ unomployed ” cry in the large cities was harassing the Government and Mr Ballance thought he had found a temporary panacea for that calam.ty. He brought out his scheme—a modest bantling. The House voted him a modest sum v :rewith to carry it out. So far, good ;Mr Ballauce had his foot only in the stirrup. Immediately however, j that he smelt money, and tasted in anticipation a lease of irresponsible power, he vaulted on Pegasus, reached down his hand and lifted that dark horseman, Mr John Lundon, to his crupper—where Mr Lundon has sat, like altra eura, ever since—gave his hobby its head, and—the lot bolted. £5,000 was voted. What eared Mr Ballance for votes ? The thing “ grew upon him ; ” he owned that in the House. What he has spent over the scheme may be discovered ; the liabilities he has incurred perhaps no man living knoweth. That the scheme has partially succeeded in those settlements where the conditions of outside employment, &c., were favorable, is true ; that it has been an utter failure elsewhere is equally true ; that the scheme afforded any real relief to the “ unemployed ” for whose benefit it was ostensibly devised has been proved an absurdity. To arrive at any thorough knowledge of the scheme in its entirety has not been possible. Mi- Ballance used every artifice to delay the production of the returns demanded by the Opposition, and when these returns were unwillingly laid upon the table they resembled a crude and chaotic haystack more than anything else, and Mr Ballauce was himself so excited that nothing could bo extracted from him save an hysterical declaration that his scheme was the best, the very best that had ever been heard of in the history of the Universe. This much, however,the Minister of Lauds has conclusively demonstrated, viz., that as a servant, with a strong, firm hand over him, he is a useful painstaking official, but that as a master or uncontrolled Minister he degenerated into an irre* sponsible and exciteable bashaw who, in pursuit of novelties, fame and chimeras, will pour away the peoples’ money as water is poured. Mr Ballance would make an excellent head of a department; as a Minister he is a fiasco.