The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact Justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, SEPT. 3, 1892

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3151, 3 September 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact Justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, SEPT. 3, 1892

It is unfortunate for the Ministry that fe'ir George Grey, the man best able to judge of any in Australasia, has condemned their conduct in their relations with Lord Glasgow since his arrival in the colony, and of the actions taken by them previously in reference to his appointment. As regards the reiterated .statement of Mr Ballance that Lord Knutsford promised the AgentGeneral to consult the Government betoie making the appointment, there is no written document forthcoming bearing on the question, the public are therefore reduced to the unpleasant alternative of deciding as to whether Mr Ballance and the Agent-General are to be believed, or whether greater probability attaches to the contradictions of Lord Knutsford. As regards tho AgentGeneral, he never asserted that such a promise was made, but that lie implied from the answer given to him by the permanent Colonial Under-Secretary that the reference would be made." The answer to Mr Perceval's application as given by himself at the time was that, " Care would be taken to appoint a gentleman who would be acceptable to the people of New Zealand." The inexperience of Mr Perceval 110 doubt led him to put the interpretation upon this diplomatic reply which he subsequently cabled to the colony. The Agent-General evidently mads a mistake and there his culpability begins and ends. The mistake of making such an unconstitutional [■•■quest was that of the Government who introduced him. It is unfortunate for the reputation of the colony that Mr Ballance should have again put forth a statement based upon wrong premises. The promise cvas either made or was not made

and it is impossible to arrive at any other conclusion than that, to put the case very mildly, it is Mr Ballance who has made the mistake. We do not care to use stronger language. It must not be overlooked that if the promise was made, to have acted upon it would have been a departure from the customs of the Colonial Olßce and this is very strong evidence indeed against the Premier, and taken in conjuction with other circumstances, no reasonable man can refuse to accept it as I conclusive. This matter at this stage would not be worth commentin upon, were it not that the voracity of Mr Ballance is in the reverse side of the scale to that of Lord Knutsford. Notwithstanding our conviction in this respect.we are bound to accept the Premier's statement that the Government have not communicated the result of the division on what is termed the constitutional debate, but owing to the fact that the vote was taken on Mr O'Conor's amendment, that the Council be elective, the vote cannot be taken as indicative of the opinion of the House on the question of appointments, which is in dispute between His Excellency and Ministers. It is impossible, however, not to believe that a cablegram has reached London giving the impression that the division was taken on that question directly, otherwise it is inconceivable that au impression should have arisen that the Secretary for the Colonies would side with the Ministry in their constitutional and unprecedented proceedings. As Sir George Grey has pointed out, the proper course was f®r the Ministry to have resigned, and thus placed the Governor in the position to seek further advice, and if so advised, to dissolve Parliament in order that the voice of the people might be heard. Mr Seddon, owing to Sir George's opinion on the position considered that the liberties of the people are in danger. The frequency with which this string of the Ministerial fiddle is vibrated by each Minister in succession would be amusing, were it not that no matter how palpable the clap-trap, if only spoken often enough, it is calculated to mislead the unthinking and uneducated sections of the people. How an appeal to the constituencies oan endanger those liberties it is beyond our capacity to conceive. On theotherhand we can easily see how they might be endangered by placing in the hands of the Ministry of the day the powerto swamp the Council, which exists for the protection of the country against the possible and probable misdeeds of a majority of the Lower llou.je, elected, as was the present, when the passion of a large section was to the fore and reason relegated to a back seat. Ministers only contemplate the possibility that the liberties of the people may be subverted by the actions of the affluent and better educated sections of the community, whom they term Tories, which includes all who differ from their policv. Sir George Grey, whom they cannot call a Tory, as he has been their teacher, sees clearly that there is danger of a worse despotism than that of the educated and the wealthy. They at any rate see that their own prosperity depends largely upon that of the whole country, on the other hand the class which retains the present Ministry in power has shown a readiness to make the existences as intolerable as possible of those who have accumulated wealth in any shape. Sir George is the true Liberal and the occupants of the Ministerial benches have given strong evidence that they are little else than shoddy, which is a bad imitation of the material it substitutes.