The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1902. AN EXTRAORDINARY POLITICAL CRISIS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10667, 11 June 1902, Page 2

The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1902. AN EXTRAORDINARY POLITICAL CRISIS.

Th» resignation of State Premier Peacock, of Victoria, whioh of course car-, tied with it that of his colleagues, has been followed by the formation of a new Cabinet, whose names appeared in our. telegraphio new* yesterday. The history of the break-up of the Peacock Miniitry contains some rather peculiar, items. A correspondent,' -writing to a Westralian paper on the subject last month, said:— "Muoh to the surprise of the Premier, Mr Peacock, he received to-day the joint resignation of all hi* colleagues, except Mr Trenwith. The document was prepared, at the suggestion of Mr W. McCulloch, - last December, in order to allow the Premier, Mr Peacock, k free hand, if he so desired, in forming a, coalition Government. The document remained in the keeping of Mr McCullooh until his departure, a few days ago, 'when he handed'it over to Mr Wynne, the SolicitorGeneral. The resignation, ■ for some reason which has never been explained, , was to take effect fnpu May. Ist, and, therefore, Ho-day Mr Wynne, without .consulting hi* colleagues, simply forwarded the document to Mr Peacock. Owing to the change in the position of public affairs since the document was : tignad. the piwpaiM maignatian tv I generally regarded -at abandoned, hence I the lAurrectlon of the document to-day proved an unexpected event. The matter was discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet to-night, and at the conclusion 1 of the sitting Mr Peacock was questioned as to what had been done, but he declined to answer any direct questions. He, however, said it was well known that his colleagues had all along been willing to give him an absolutely free hand in reconstructing the Cabinet if he thought fit to do so, and he intended to take time fully to consider the turn events had taken.' It was unlikely that any definite' announcement would be made until Tuesday/ It is rarely that the other members of a Government are willing to retire in order to allow their chief to call fresh men to his Cabinet in order to allow of a coalition' Ministry being formed, as most holders of portfolios cKng tenaciously to the office till the last "possible moment. 'The Peacocg., Cabinet was from the' first a weak one, and coming as" it did after that of Sir George Turner, .for whom Mr peacock was a poor substitute, .it is scarcely to be wondered at that the former' had but a 'short and stormy existence. It lacked a financier of Sir George Turner's ability, and was utterly unable to grapple with tne problems it had to attempt the successful solution of, and generally failed to display the necessary administrative ability required at so critical a political jnnoture. ' Judging by the past, we do not think Mr Irvine, who succeeded in forming a new Cabinet, will 'be more successful in the management of Victoria's affairs than his predecessor, or that the Irvine Ministry will be any improvement on that led by Mr Peacock, as none of the new Cabinet are men of even ordinary political ability. Two of its membersSir Matthew Davies and Mr Bent — were prominent "boomsters", ten years ago, and. haoL to retire from the political arena for a time to regain their financial equilibrium, whioh they seem to have done. None of the, other members of the Irvine Cabinet are men of any special note, and it seems to us that the Ministry is one of the weakest Victoria has ever entrusted its political affairs to. There was one member of the Peacock Cabinet who declined to resign with his other colleagues,' viz., Mr Trenwith, a Labour member, who since his elevation to Ministerial rank and emoluments has been very reticent on Labour matters, and not too energetic in the performance of his Ministerial duties, evidently thinking that as the holder of a portfolio and the recipient of a good salary it behoved him to go slow and draw his salary ,a« long as pofaiblo, The people of Victoria have naturally come to the conclusion that now the main political, affairs of the Com-i monwealth are in {he hands of the Federal Parliament, it is time the cost of the State legislatures were proportionately reduced, but the professional politicians strenuously object to this being carried out, as they fear the loss of honorarium and other pickings which go to make up a member's income. The financial strain on the different States' Governments at the present is far too heavy for their resources, and it is only a matter of time for the whole of them to find it necessary to cut down their expenses drastically; otherwise 'they will get into djre straits, and be compelled to live within thsir means and make provision for the liquidation of thstr back debt*. Jfe one seems as yet to poMHI tit* requisite courage to face th» qutstiott vi pMpoie aix »B«*tiv# remedy, aajthc, Utter means a free and untrammelled use of the pvuning-Jcnif* in each of the States composing' the Australian Commonwealth, a thing that is always unpopular, but sometimes absolutely necessary. The doings of the Irvine Ministry in Victoria during the next few months will be watched with much interest all over Australia, but somehow we do not expect much in the way of reform from such a Cabinet, judging by its personnel, as it does not contain a single ' person possessing •itfur the ability or the courage to bring about the •economical reforms necessary for the safaty of <*»* gfete's financial affairs.