The Waikato Times. Omne solum forti patria." TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1872.

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 69, 8 October 1872, Page 2

The Waikato Times. Omne solum forti patria." TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1872.

O.N'CK more the Imsiiic-i.-) of the cnmtry is at a sl.uid-.-t.ill. The Staiford. Ministry has been defeated, aijil nothing ean be done till another is formed oi , pos-iblv mil il ;i general I'lvl ion has changed tin , personnel of t!ie Ilon-jf.- suilirieiitly to give cither one party or the; other u working majority. The Governor has refused to grant ;i dissolution, and Uie only ground-* on which, bv precedent, he is justified in doing so, is the oxiritowc of it probability that u Ministry can be jijciiH'iJ by conlition, as it ir> abundantly clear that nelher one party nor the other, of themselves, can f/i-in a Ministry that could curry on the business of tiie country. There is one other means : We feel emfidenl that if the Hon. Mr Waterhonse was sent ['<>:• and consented to form a Ministry, that he would be able to enlist in the service of the country some of the most able men on cither side of the House. We sincerely hope that he will consent to undertake the (hity, as a dissolution would give the Stafford partv power lor three months t<; carry out the policy of Mr Gillies, which we have previously pointed out would be m> nous to the country districts, or at any rate such of them as are just rising from the state of stagnation in which a eoucatenu!ion of circumstances has kept them lbr the last two or three years It is customary for the out-going Minister to reeommeirl that the leader of the opposition should be "sent lbr." M.r Vogel holds that position now that Mr I'Ox has delared his intention of not taking office, but allowing that he can. form a sufficiently strong ministry to carry ou tho business of the country, we should be sorry to see him at tho head of a government. We arc prepared to allow that Mr Vogel is a man of considerable ability, but his temperament is such that unchecked lie is unfit to hold any ministerial office. In the words of Mr Stafford, he requires ballast As a colleague of cither Mr. Stafford or Mr Watcrhouse, a bettor man coidd not be found, but if left to his own resources his spccula-

tire and volatile disposition would lead him to do

unwise tilings ; lie requires at. his elbow a cool calculating .slafesnii'u to temper Iris actions. Neither we nor tin) country liave forgotten his contracts; we nlhule more particularly to those v. ifch Messrs Brogden and Mr Webb. The first was signed by him iu England on belialf of the colony, and has since had to be considerably modified. The mail contract was entered into on the strength' of the probability that (he other Australian colonies Avould assist us to defray the much too heavy cost for a colony situated as that of New Zealand. We have before explained that it it not on remote probabilities that a Ministry is justified in involving a country in responsibilities which she is incapable to bear. Giving fall weight to Mr Yogel's ability, we would rather that his services were lost to the colony than that he should be a member of a Ministry the other members of which were not of siiiftcient ability to see when he was goino , too fast, and possessed of sufficient firmness to check his onward march when necessary. We have been, and are, at a loss to understand what could have induced Mr Stafford to throw in his lot with such a motley following. It would have been, much more to his credit, had lie candidly acknowledged: that lie was un:>.b!e to form a stable Ministry, and uieuded Ui.-; Kx<vllem:y [■■■ ■■.'.'■■■■ '■>. :-•■.• • •-■;•• -■•■" •--•■ her of the House. It is true that he has not been in power for some time, yet power is not a new thing (o him to be grappled at as eagerly as a drowning man at a straw. lie taunted the opposite party with want of discipline. If he was justified in taking oifice at all. there must have been little shon of a mutiny in his own ranks. We trust that Mr Waterhouse- will come to the assistance of the colony, otherwise there is no alternative buC for the G-overnor to dissolve the House, and a general election costs a large sum of money for which much better employment could be found, and in addition leaves a Ministry in pow?r for three months is which the countrv has little or no confidence.