The Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1883.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1282, 8 June 1883, Page 2

The Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1883.

Parliament is summoned for the despatch of business on the 14th instant, i and on that date the House will be. formerly opened. Although we are thus within a. week of the opening, scarcely anything seems to be known concerning the Ministerial programme. The only member of the Government who has ventured at all to take the public into the Ministerial confidence is the Hon. Major Atkinson, who, speaking the other day at Patea, indicated a few of the measures which it is intended to introduce during the coming session, but even he seems to have spoken with extreme caution, I fearful apparantly, of saying more on the subject than the exigencies of the moment absolutely necessitated. Speculation is rather active just how in trying to account for this singnlar reticenoe as to the Ministerial programme, and a very great diversity of opinion is current on the subject. Here is the view of the Wellington correspondent of the Nelson Mail :-- A good deal of surprise seems to have been excited by the purely non-sensa-tional character of the Ministerial programme. I may mention that the opinion in " well informed quarters " is that the Government having taken steps to ascertain pretty closely the present relative strength of parties, have arrived at the oonclusion that they were so strong as not to need any ad captandum or sensational policy either to render their position secure in the present session or to found an appeal to the country upon incase of defeat . A careful counting of "noses" seems to indicate that Ministers have a tolerably sure majority of ten at least, and probably more; so it is thought that the coming session will be more profitably spent in completing last year's programme so far as left unfinished, and getting things generally in order, so as to leave a clear field next year for some advanced proposal in anticipation of the general election, which must then take place. This version is not, of course, official, but I have reason to believe it is a tolerably accurate view of the situation. This, it will be admitted, is an exceedingly blunt, if not strictly Parliamentary way of putting it. In this view party measures count for nothing, or are altogether subordinate to party allegiance. The Government have counted the " nobs," 1 and find they have a clear majority of ten, and being in that blissful state of | security will proceed to do or not do just what they please, quite regardless of the needs of the country, or of even the majority of the House. It was, we think, the Colonial Treasurer who, a week or two ago, urged that representatives must go to the House to support men, not measures, and in the "foreshadowing" which the correspondent in question furnishes we have an apt illustration of how this principle works out in practice. A Government make-weight, when seeking a seat, is commissioned to make all sorts of extravagant and absurd ad captandum promises of railways, roads, and bridges here, there, and everywhere, but once elected he is to support men and not measures, and Always vote at his party's call, And never think of thinking of himself at all. The Mail in referring to this matter makes the following pungent remarks : — " Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs that the Government do not propose to introduce any ad captandum .measures in the ensuing session because they consider themselves so strong that there will be no occasion to endeavor by such means to secure any more support than they already have. The natural inference from this is that some of the measures passed of late years were not brought down because such legislation was required for the welfare of the people but for the purpose of maintaining the Ministerial majority in the House. Freely translated, * ad captandum measures '—such for instance as the Re presentation Bill— may be interpreted as meaning measures to catch votes, and whether these are introduced or not depends entirely upon the state of parties in the House, If evenly divided, Bills of a startling character may be expected from the Treasury benches, if the Government have a decided majority, extraordinary legislation is not to be looked for. This is what responsible Government has come to. A shaky Ministry forces upon the people measures that are not

asked for, and not wanted. The same Ministry, when sure of a working majority, considers that a " sensational policy " may safely be held over until a more convenient season. Our correspondent takes care to impress upon us . that his version is not to be accepted as ' official,' but he believes it to be ' a tolerably accurate view of the situation.' Probably it is, and if our version is equally accurate we have not much to boast about in New Zealand in the matter of political morality."