Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY. JUNE 30, 1893. AN ADDITIONAL MINISTER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 3013, 30 June 1893, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY. JUNE 30, 1893. AN ADDITIONAL MINISTER.

—♦ ■ Sir Patrick Buckley is the only member of the Executive in the Legis lative Council, and upon him has devolved hitherto the introduction and' charge of every Government measure in the Upper House. This entailed upon the hon gentleman a very large amount of work, for he had to make himself conversant with the provisions of every measure introduced, and be able to supply all information that may be asked from him as representative of the Government, In this he was not always thoroughly up to the line. In the House of Representatives the Bills introduced by Government are taken charge of by the Ministers to whose departments they belong, and as there are six Ministers in the Lower House, there is a comfortable division of labor that prevents any single Minister from being very seriously overworked. But this not being the case in the Upper House compels Sir Patrick to be subjected to a very considerable amount of millhorse work—in fact, to use a homely expressiou, his nose is kept on the grindstone of the Government mill from the first sitting of the Upper House to its last in the session. Naturally, he began to get tired of the' monotony of tiis, and he cannot be blamed much foi asking that another horse should be put in harness with him, or rather tha 1; one should be provided to enable Lim to once in, a j way get out of collar. He has on several occasions hinted that an assistant would be desirable, and now we hear that one is to be appointed, But all the appointments of a party nature are attended with more or less difficulty and delicacy, and care must be exercised by the selector in going through the crovd of eligibles—or who consider themselves in that category—not to tread on the toes of those he passes i by. TJe hon. gentleman who may be appointed will b«, of course, a member of the Executive, as Government will take p<wer to make him such, although no salaty may follow the appointment. An additional member of the Cabinet was certainly wanted for duty in the Upper House, but Auckland puts forward another reason altogether—viz , that her interests, and the interests of the North Island generally, faa^e been very much overlooked, {or the reason that the South Island hss supplied i most of the leading men in the Cabinet. Those southern men ha\e devoted th«ir beat attention to the wants of the South Island, to the neglect of the north, and this neglect ttie great northern province resents. "Virile Mr McKenzie has been busyiag himself with finding land :n the South Island for settlement, he is charged with letting the North severely alone, while hundreds of thousands of acres were availaole there for the purpose he seems so arxious to serve One writer says that the price paid for Cheviot would hare made roads sufficient to. open up hundreds of thousands of North Island acres for settlement. It is this kind of jealousy that makes selection difficult. But Richard of Kumara is a gentleman who has never been guilty of sticking at trifles, andijf it becomes necessary to take heroic iaeasures in making the appointment intended, those heroic measures will b>, taken. The names of Messrs Williim Montgomery and W. C. Walkei, have been ~mentioaed with others, as likely to be chosen j but the others were very soon dropped, and low the choice lies, apparently, betweeni the two names 'above mentioned. It would be difficult to find better than either in the House. Of Mr Walker's abilities it is unnecessary to speak amongst those who so long formed his constituency when he sat in the Lower Hoase, and of Mr Montgomery it is imly necessary to remind our readers that on moie than one occasion he Mas looked upon as a probable Premie^ Doubtless it is from that short leet that the selection will be made, and neither are North Island men in the Auckland sense. Meanwhile the Native portfolio is vacant —one held by A North Island member, but representing a goldfields constituency. Who is (to supply Mr Cadman's vacant place? Speculation is rife as to the answer) and while it has been stated that Sir Robert Stout was offered and refused the position, it has been further stated that the most eligible and most likely successor to Mr Oadman is Mr Thcjmas Thompson, an Auckland member, j In any case it seems natural that the; portfolio should be given to a Northern member, but that he shou ]d be Veil up in the Native land question should be made a sine qua non. \