bridge, or a short railway line often made all the difference. There was no great sacrifice of principle in this action, as in every Ministry that has ruled the colony from the time it was granted responsible government there has been a strange mixture of the two great political principles that generally divide parties in the Old Country. There always have been Liberals and Conservatives on both sides.
If things had been arranged with any degree of fitness, Vogel and Atkinson would have been together, Grey and Stout, Ballance and Rolleston. As a matter of fact, Atkinson made a distinct offer that he and another member to be named by him, should join the Stout-Vogel combination. There were several negotiations in reference to a coalition, but they all fell through, as Atkinson’s party insisted upon having a majority in the Cabinet, and most of Atkinson’s followers were opposed to the reforms Stout considered necessary.
Even if the Stout-Atkinson coalition could have been put into practice, there was the difficulty of filling the Premiership. Would it be taken by Atkinson, Stout, or Vogel? And would the followers of all three be led by any one of the trio? It was suggested by Atkinson that this difficulty might be overcome by appointing to the Premiership a member of the Legislative Council who was of a neutral tint and had no particular political leanings at all. In that case, he said, there could be no heart-burnings; but this scheme also fell to the ground, and the Continuous Ministry was left to take its chances against the full force of the opposition from the South Island, which still insisted that it would have none but Stout and Vogel.
A few days later, Sir George Grey’s little party met and decided to vote solidly against the Continuous Ministry. When the next no-confidence motion was moved, therefore, all Grey’s supporters, together with their leader, were arrayed in opposition to the men they had first ousted and then helped into office. By this time the House had come to the conclusion that it had played long enough at seating and unseating Ministries. It declared that the Continuous Ministry would have to stand down, for a time at any rate, and Sir Harry Atkinson retired
