THE Manawatu Times THE WRITING ON THE WALL.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 150, 27 July 1881, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times

THE WRITING ON THE WALL.

" Wards am tkiiigs, and a drop «f Ink falling U(cfl daw musn a thought, prodows that whiok makes WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 1881.

The Balthazzab who occupies the most prominent pla.ce upon the Treasury Benches has had 9, vision j b,ut he requires no Daniel to expound tfxe meaning of it. The waiting upon the wall is not of such a mystic character a,s either to puazle or mislead, and th,e august personage for whom it is intended, has an intuitive pr-em % Qnisiqn. $a,t it will not be long ere The M-fl-i ana at his 'ate. <£he Perron on his throne. The hours of the Hall Ministry ace numbered, notwithstanding the desperate efCorts ma.de by th« various Government organs tq "• bl u fE " the hon. member for Cliye, He is \rar^ea by th,ose inpu.thpieces of th,e Ministry that shquld the vote of the House of Representative be adverse ta the Treasurer's Local Scheme, the Premier will recommend, that Mr. ObMOltd be sent fqc by the Governor, and fiey prophesy that m such case that gentleman would be unable to •.nstruct a Cabinet which would lf r -;t for a l nth, and that the lapse of that time would see the Hall Ministry back m office again, Wronger than ever. The threat is, as we ta,ve seen, backed up by two assertions which f q supposed to. have a, deterrent effect, but notwithstanding the high source f pocq whence they emanate, w^e beg respectfully tQ question th,e tr.i^th of either ope Qr- the pther, The shunning, shifting policy of the preseut oocupanfcs of the Treasury Beuches have disgusted tbeir frieuds and alienated their- veiy warmest supporters. Did we say poJi^y? Well, we' 'must; apologise for the s,lip, for such, a thiug as a policy they never possessed. Upon their first accession to office they laid before the country the very programme — pure and simple — which had been submitted by their predecessors, and the same tactics have beeu continued sessiou after Session since then. The withering taunt which Benjamin Eisbaeli hurled at Sip Bqbeut Peel for abolishing the Corn Laws he had so long defended, spying that " the Topics stole the Whigs' olothes whpe tl^ey were bathing,' 1 pould with teUjng foßce be levelled at nr.esant Cqnserva,tiye Ministry ,- They appear tq have neither ideaUty nor. originality, although they have they have the happy knack qf snapping up qtb,eß men's pu.tt^ng them into a sort of shape e\,n& then presenting th,em to. the. country as their qwn. The yer-y measure wh,ich. will be the means of consigning them to the. limbo. q| ohspqrity, was quite an afterthought, as not one of the Ministers m their pre -sessional orations deemed it of ! au.flic_i«!it imnortaucq to be once al- 1

luded to. Th« Premier whea addressmghis constituents at Leoaton, observed a religious silence regarding the now so important measure ; fttt.d it i*. a most noteworthy fact übat i 'BJSpeecli — which is supposed fco be a precis oil the Ministerial programme for the Session —it was conspicuous by its absence. It no.t ui^fcil ' the member for the Thames— and after him other hpn, members— had signified his intention to intro luce a Bill for Local Grovernm.ent, that it dawned upon the inteL? ligenee pf the bon. Treasurer that the country needed any such reform. Since their accession to power the ticket of the Ministry has been " That's oup programme, gentlemen j but if you d.o.n't like it, we aie quite prepared to take it back, aud remodel it to suit the ta.ste of the majority. Our rraxiin is 'men, not measures,' and so long as we a.re allowed to retain the reins of power, we are prepared, to. bo.w, to the will of the greatest number."- Those were their seutiinents, and it cannot be denied that hitherto they have most unselfishly ignored their own i opinions when an expulsion from office was the alternative of a refusal to do so. The amount o,f leeks swallowed individually and collectively by the members oi the Cabinet was calculated to cause a Rcarcity of tlat Cambrian esculent, and to cause it to be placed pretty high m the market quotations. "Unfortunately, however, for a continuance of their i meek ■übmission and self -abnegation, i the tenor of Mr. Ormowd's expressed dissatisfaction was of such a positive condemnatory charac'ar as to leave not a loo.p-hple for escape, and they were forced to accept the result as the die whioh was to seal their fate for weal or woe. It will be recollected that the Grey Government was expelled from power, not fqr the measures which they put before the country, but upon the score of mal-admistrations, or perhaps it Wqu'4 b-P ffore correct to say, wnntdf administration.. Their political program jas was accepted aad endorsed by tbfe wb,ole country, but the person iel pi tfie Cabinet, and the *a.tern,al by-' which it wa.,B torn.,, wa,s the rack upon which it split. Hoy different the action of their successors. They cevtrinly effected a retrenchment, but m a, manner happily w.itho,ut precedent. A pistol, m the shape of a ten per. cent, reduction was held, at the head of every unfortunate civil servant, with the demand, " Your, money, orypur pla.ee." And for conduct copied from the liigh.waycn.en. of old, s,nd a retrenchment wrung from, the victims at th.c risk of forfeiting bread for the^r kittle ones; Messrs./ Hau and Co. take credit. The country has been governed, by Commissions, and those who have bean m charge of the Ship of State have received their sailing orders from a succession of Caucuses. " The writing is qn the wallj" an 4if one were to judge fro,m the Speech of the Premier en Friday night, which was thoroughly Y^ledicfcpryjt m, his own min4 lie ha,s accepted \h& inevitable, although like a u qVownjng m^ he will struggle whilf. there is a stra.w left to snatch at, Nq device j» considered too mean to be resorted to, . .d no matcer how false may be an issue, it is n,o barrier if qnly retention of office can be secured by it, The ! test little dodge is to want hon. members, and through them the country, that shoald they be de-i fe^ted^ th^ißep retention Bill w"l not pasi this, session, but m making such an assertion thay a,re reckoning with, out theiv host, for su r pp.qsing the Premier advises adißso.lu.cjqn, they cannot go to the country until supplies* be granted, and the Opposition are determined that unless the Representation Bill comes before the itouse, the auppliea will not be forthcoming. As everything m connection with the present political situation possesses a particular interest for the public, we have appended the following interesting chit-chat regarding the chances of the contending parties, which, is from the special correspondent ol the " Hawkes Bay Herald :" I have been famished this afternoon by pleading mem. r of the Opposition wiih Lhe following sketch of the " political silaatiDQ " .- it at pro jut exists :—r " Li/Qiois of lhe most coufjicting l^ind c about the Hoasa with reZercnce Mi 1 , Osmond's motioQ. r^he Government p.ro» fess to have a ina^ority, yet they decKne to jvllqw th,e ae'oa to be cl . 'j.he discussion this a£ w opened by Mr. Satton, folioweii by Captain Kussell and Mr. yeytftQiir, »H of wliom are Goyernmbat sup-poi-.'^ra, and tue ini6]e-.:ce isdin^n by oqttide s that thg Qoyerument vrould not talk on the question if su i e oE a majorii/. Today bnve biea 1 ived from two members, both of wh.om w e said a doubtful, and for whom pai s nr- c reluied by the Grov.erour t, to the e Sect that tuey would vo with the Opp itipn. JiA:. Sheehan informs me that Le h received a : 'egram froo? one doabtful m>-m'oev directing Mm to si a. the f;.'.t m the H ia. that he intandfl voting agiinst the Government. At the present time the Opposition if they receive pi'opey pnirs, aQcepfc a raajoritv of five. If the Government do not agree to give ihera prirs the debate Will stand adjourned till the p^' pie arrive. Several m«mbers of tin Government party ; c sa.id to be angry with Ministers fo±" refusing to give pairs, and will vole ,r tie adjournment o,f ttye de';ale un'"l Tu' ay Not a single m.an of th,o9j who prom: to vote agaiust the Govemmfint |eft ifte Opposition. Two who aye m t i Hqnße, aa>l wiiose votes are claimvd by the Government, have r/ven distinct pledges that they will vote f r Mr. Ormond'd ametidm-'tit. My informant for good re. ns d 'Hne3 to name them. lam inform iaat the Opposition b-.'; not for the " t seven verrs ] =v\ . compact as at the pvscnt tio\e, and that personal and public differences L velbeensunkj also, that of a lyge majority who will vot.' against the Government more < than half have made a personal or party Baeiiflcoi ie do so, Ibc intention of the

Opposition is to bring about an election on the Government propo «ls, tbev believe '>' be simply the establishment of S : r Julius Vojel's scheme oh a small scale ; ia fact Sir Julius Vogel's scheme seen, through a telescope reversed. It means, from the Opposition point of view, that the Gove iment promi what Mr, Oliver used to pvomi:^ about his railways, that they will keep ihe q teslie i of local finance steadily m view. The bills of the lo.cal bodies for public works will be receivei by the Government, but will not discounted ; ouly put m for collection, Th.c best test of the feeling of lbe FJojse, my informant farther states, isthat the erratic m«mfeer for the Thames has instucled Mr. Shrimski who is an licehEsd aicljoneer, to offer all the portfolios by auction on Saturday -evening next .at Bellamy's. Thei-e is clan, m the conditions of sale that any man who bi'ls for the first portfolio can take the lot 5.% the same price. Severrl members of the present Government and of their parfcv have, I hea?, applied to Mr, Sheehau to know whether ot not he will guarantee the title, and he has rep'ied that it is a sale of damaged goods and is being Bold for the benefit of whom ifc may concern. At any rate, apart from joking on the part of ray informant, the Hawke'ißay people may look, forward ?o & ape,edy tion. v . The latest with refei-enoe to the division, is that the Miniifci-y c^n reckon with certainly on 40 votes, and the Opposition also on 40, leaving 7 doubt, il. The Opposition relied on Bunny and Weston voting with them, out bQth to-night sa.id they -inu-nded yoting against Mr. Ormond's amendment. I h,ave JKgt heard that Mr. Satinders also intends tojgo with the Government. If so it will make a difference of six vo.tss, m the calculations of the Opposition.