X.—The Three Leaders: A Study.

Mr Hall's great misfortune is that he is a weak man—his weakness is his doom. He fears to do, and he fears to leave undone; he wishes to lead the House, and he doesn't dare. He wishes to show fight, and fears the upshot. Grey, when a Premier, calmly, grandly ignored the people's wishes. Mr Hall is worried by any single voter in any remote district of the colony, for if the voter asks his member, the member asks the Premier, and the latter is at once on the horns of a dilemma, whether to do or not to do. Sir George might easily rehearse a well-known scene in Milton by addressing Mr Hall, "'Whereto with speedy words' the arch-fiend replied, 'Fallen cherub! to be weak is miserable, doing or suffering.'" Mr Hall would gain much in popularity it he would copy a jaunty popular English Premier, who would often say, in reply to petitioners, "I'll be d—d if I do."

Mr Hall's mistake arises from a for-getfulness of Euclid's axiom that "a part is less than the whole"—at all events, in this world of ours, whatever it may be in other orbs described by Shadworth Hodson, where two and two do not make four, but three or five. A clamorous unit addressing Mr Hall by post or wire is more to him than the silent thousands.

In all but honest work and proper supervision of his colleagues, Sir George admirably filled the roleof Premier. Wherever page 20 he went, he was the "great man." His face and presence attracted everyone, his oratory, his burning appeals to the people thrilled the thronging crowds which assembled everywhere. To many, it is no exaggeration to say, he appeared like a new Messiah—a heavensent man, whose mission was to bring glad tidings to all the poor and needy in the land. In the dark ages in France arose a curious custom. There was always a king for show and another for work. The show king was surrounded by pomp and magnificence, and by homage-rendering crowds; but he was only a king of ceremonies; he never interfered with the government of the people. This was always carried out by the working king, to whom little attention was paid. If Sir George Grey had been wise he would have acted always as the show king, and would have played the part to perfection; but here he halted, and tried to be both show king and working king. If he had chosen a steady working king, his colleagues would not have been allowed to act so wantonly. As it was, each Minister did exactly what seemed to be good in his own eyes.

In one thing Sir George Grey and Mr Hall have agreed, viz., that it was not incompatible with their pride to retain office by any means, notwithstanding that they and their Governments were in a minority. Mr Pitt, in the year 1784, retained office as Prime Minister spite of the fact that several votes of want of confidence were carried against him. But of late years no English Premier has held, or would ever dream of retaining, office when in the minority; and to both Sir George and Mr Hall is due the discredit of introducing such bad precedents into the history of parliamentary procedure in this colony. Mr Weld should have been to them a bright example in this particular. The struggles whereby the Grey Government and afterwards the Hall Ministry retained their positions must ever appear to the student of high-class politics moat discreditable and unworthy proceedings. Imagine Mr Gladstone or the late Mr Disraeli ever resorting to such methods ! Mr Hall tries to do too much : he is not only Premier but Public Works Minister; he peeps into the finance department, dives for a moment into Native affairs, and hies back again to railway stores. This constant habit of interfering, of taking on bis own shoulders an infinity of work that he can never get through, results in many an unfinished muddle, which its special Minister could quickly have brought to a clear ending. This interfering managing disposition has brought upon him the wrath of several of his colleagues; with other things it [unclear: helped] rive away Mr Bryce from office, has [unclear: aro] fierce wrath in the irascible Treasurer, [unclear: during] this session caused the present [unclear: Na] Minister, Mr Rolleston, also to send [unclear: in] resignation, which was only withdrawn after further exhibition of weakness on the [unclear: Prem] part. It was an unwise choice which [unclear: ele] Mr Hall leader of the party: he has [unclear: not] maesive strength or robustness of [unclear: character] fill the part. It is a great pity for his [unclear: ow] sake; because as a member of the [unclear: Upp] House he was most useful; a really [unclear: admir] member, hardworking, a minute [unclear: analyst] every Bill that was sent up from the [unclear: Lo] House, a most sound-critic, an ornament to the Chamber. Of the man who wants to [unclear: be] possession of the leadership there is less [unclear: to] written; he is as yet like an untried colt, no [unclear: o] quite knows how he will turn out. [unclear: Abo] the two who have already appeared so [unclear: long] public a vast amount might be written; [unclear: but] Mr Ormond there is less to say : his [unclear: past] formances have all been good. Sir [unclear: Geoc] Grey's promises were liberal and [unclear: abund] but their fulfilment was a sham, and after [unclear: th] next election he will have no chance of the lead. The remembrance of political deeds [unclear: a] misdeeds fades fast in the colony [unclear: bu] the escapades and astounding [unclear: vagar] of Sir George Grey's Ministry are [unclear: at] too painfully vivid in men's minds to [unclear: all] them to forget and forgive just yet. [unclear: Th] struggle, therefore, must rest between Mr Hall and Mr Ormond, and it does not [unclear: need] very sensitive weathercock to show which way the wind is blowing. It may be said the of Mr Ormond's capacity as a leader nothing can be known with certainty [unclear: until] has been tried; but he is known to possess [unclear: m] characteristics essential to a leader—[unclear: cau] and pluck, much sagacity, great deter [unclear: min] Unlike Sir George, he would not [unclear: be] show but a working king—and certainly [unclear: w] is wanted now is solidity and work, not [unclear: it] ness and eloquence. One of Mr [unclear: Orm] strong points is his farsightedness and [unclear: his] knowledge of Parliamentary tactics. [unclear: Un] Mr Hall, Mr Ormond is a very decided [unclear: ma] he makes up his mind to adopt a [unclear: course] he never swerves. He has shown [unclear: little] pathy with most of Sir George Grey's was cries, but rather believes that the [unclear: prosperity] the working-classes is of more importance [unclear: th] "single electorates" or a nominated or [unclear: elect] second Chamber.

Too great a gift of oratory makes a [unclear: man] fond of exhibiting it, and Sir George [unclear: Gr] suffers from the fluency of his own tongue; and the more a man talks, the more he promises, [unclear: is] therefore the more likely to have [unclear: unful] page 21 [unclear: es] cast in his teeth. Sir George Grey [unclear: ties] this truth also. But with Mr [unclear: d] we should expect little eloquence and [unclear: ing,] fewer promises, but thorough per-[unclear: ce.] He will possess the respect of [unclear: his] which neither of the others have; he [unclear: t] sacrifice his convictions for the sake of [unclear: ng] office; he will not introduce ill-[unclear: ed] schemes because of outside pressure, [unclear: ing] committed himself and his [unclear: party] definite course of action, he will carry it [unclear: tely] through. Clearness of intellect, ability to lead, strong and honest convictions, earnestness of purpose, and a power of impressing his opinions by his speaking, courage to maintain a position once assumed, and yet a knowledge of the House and the tactics to govern it, seem to comprise all the requisites of a good leader, and all these qualities Mr Ormond combines. The other members of the trio under notice possess one or more of these attributes in full, to the exclusion of the others. Mr Ormond combines them all.