to, Mr. Seddon at last moved that it was inexpedient to elect a leader. He told the members of the Opposition that the best attitude they could take up was one of watchfulness, and that it was their duty to offer every facility to carry on the business of the country. The members of the party felt that they had been drawn together by adversity. All announced their intention to submit to the severest discipline. They assured themselves that their loyalty could not be shaken. Several said that they wanted a leader of “proper age and experience, of respectable views, and not likely to frighten ordinary members, who would claim the respect of the country and appeal to public opinion for a fair trial.”
Mr. Seddon’s practical suggestions were adopted by the party, which met the Government without a leader. It was guided by a small committee, consisting of Sir William Steward and Messrs. J. D. Lance and O. Samuel. Mr. Lance took the chair at meetings of the party, and occasionally appeared as a prominent member, but for all practical purposes the Opposition had no head; and the Conservatives were surprised to find that, at the beginning of their new reign, measure after measure was allowed to pass without combined attacks from the other side of the House.
Sir Harry Atkinson began his retrenchment scheme by borrowing £2,400,000, amidst the reproaches of his followers. Several of them attempted, when too late, to reduce his borrowing powers, but he was stronger than they, and he ignored their protests as well as his opponents’ demands. He pruned the Civil Service for the second time, and cut down the salaries and travelling allowances of Ministers and the expenses of Land Boards, and reduced the Parliamentary honorarium.
There was a cry for retrenchment throughout the whole colony. In Parliament there was formed among the Conservative members a small party of extreme economists, who soon earned for themselves the title of “The Skinflints.” Many schemes were suggested for retrenching to the last penny. One, which brought Mr. Seddon to his feet with an angry roar, was that the school age should be raised to seven years, and that
