He took a prominent part in turning the Atkinson Ministry from the benches in 1884. He was still in his parochial days, and the principal crime he imputed to the Government was in connection with the goldfields. He did not stop there, however, and stated that most of the distress in the South Island was due to the blunders—“gross wrongs,” he called them—of those in power. From generalities he passed on to specific cases. In them he found ample justification for the uncompromising attitude taken up by himself and by the majority of the Opposition members. He saw in the colony’s position a great danger. The spread of the depression distressed him, and he seldom spoke in the House without referring to it in some way.
Time after time he urged that legislation should be applied to some of the industries that were crumbling to pieces under the adverse conditions against which they had to fight. While theories, based on the writings of great economists, were being bandied from side to side of the House, he was seeking to improve the colony’s position by attending to the small things around him, and he pointed out to the Government that although local affairs might seem of minor importance to the General Government, they were of the utmost importance to the people whom they closely concerned.
He never spoke on party questions except as one of the rank and file of the Opposition. He was quite content to do his duty as the representative of the miners, and when he had done that his ambition was satisfied. He had no thought of leading the fight against the Continuous Ministry. When he came to the front, as often happened, he was careful to explain that he was forced into a prominent position. He seldom made one of his vigorous attacks on the Government without stating in detail the causes that brought him to his feet. Frequently he tempered these attacks, or, rather, made them stronger, by expressing his appreciation of the manly qualities possessed by the Premier and his colleagues. He never forgot that Sir Harry Atkinson commanded the respect of the people.
It was the “fighting Premier’s” readiness to enter into battle at all times and on all subjects that appealed to him. In that respect he saw in Sir Harry a kindred spirit. “On the
