The Liberals were very indignant at this action. Several of them communicated with Mr. Ballance, and he instructed the party’s Whip, Sir Westby Perceval, to prepare a petition to the Governor. This was done, and it was sent to members of the party for signature. The text is as follows:—
We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, electors of the colony of New Zealand, having good reason to believe that it is the intention of your Excellency’s Ministers to recommend that certain fresh appointments should be made by your Excellency to the Legislative Council, most respectfully urge:—
(1) That any recommendation made by your Excellency’s Ministers to increase the Legislative Council, as at present constituted, is contrary to the wish of the people of New Zealand as expressed at the recent general election.
(2) That your Excellency’s Ministers are in a decided minority in the new Parliament, their avowed supporters being little more than one-third of the present House, and they, therefore, cannot be said to represent the people of New Zealand, or to possess the right to advise your Excellency on a matter of such importance.
(3) That the people of New Zealand have, at the recent election, demanded a reform in the constitution of the Legislative Council, and that until the new House has had an opportunity of considering the question, no new life appointments should be made.
(4) That the present Premier of the colony, Sir Harry Albert Atkinson, in his Financial Statement, given in November, 1887, stated, in referring to the intention of his Government with regard to the Legislative Council, as follows:— “They (the Government) will also during the present session invite the Legislative Council to devise a plan by which their number may be reduced to 35, one half of the number of members proposed for this House, and thereafter limited to that number.” The members of the Legislative Council are still more than 35 in number, and fresh appointments cannot therefore be justified.
(5) That your Excellency’s Ministers have not been justified in claiming what has been stated, on very doubtful authority, to be the privilege of defeated Governments—viz., the nomination of members of the Upper Chamber because they decline to admit defeat.
Your petitioners therefore respectfully urge upon your Excellency to defer acting upon any recommendation made by your Excellency’s present advisers to make fresh appointments to the Legislative Council until they have met the newly-elected House and given the representatives of the people an opportunity of considering the constitution of the Upper Chamber.
When the petition setting forth the party’s objection to the appointments was presented to the Governor by Mr. Seddon and other members of the party, they were informed that the appointments had already been made. Lord Onslow also told them that he was responsible to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and to no one else, and he bowed them out of the room.
