196 THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT [PART II 
opposed to the Labour Party. The 25 members who, by 
voting against the motion, showed their confidence in the 
Cabinet, were the most numerous section in the House. It 
was obvious that no leader could form a stable Government 
in the Assembly then existing unless he could command 
support from two of these sections. The Premier assured 
me that his supporters would continue to oppose the Labour 
Party, and were not likely to be friendly to those non-Labour 
members who had voted against him. 
I carefully considered Mr. Prendergast’s position as leader 
of the Opposition. The Labour Party, in their attitude to 
politics, claim to stand exactly as they did at the last election. 
Mr. Prendergast, therefore, with only fifteen followers, could 
not command the confidence of the House, unless there had 
been a change in the attitude of a considerable number of 
non-Labour members towards him. Of this there was no 
evidence. It would not have been fair to the Labour Party 
themselves to have asked their leader to form a Ministry, 
unless I was prepared to allow him to appeal at once to the 
slectors. And, as I saw no sign that the constituencies, 
which had hitherto been so opposed to Mr. Prendergast’s 
party as to return 50 members against it and only fifteen in 
its favour, would like an appeal made to the country by him, 
[ did not feel justified in asking Mr. Prendergast to form an 
Administration. 
I could find no evidence of Mr. Murray having ever been 
regarded as a leader in the House, and nothing had been 
disclosed in debate on his motion to show that anything had 
arisen to give him that position. The majority which 
supported him, though large, seemed to me entirely formed 
to carry that one motion; two of those who voted with him 
deliberately expressed doubt as to following him in anything 
else; some were well known to be hostile to the Labour Party, 
with whose representatives they then voted; others had 
shown by their speeches that they were divided among 
themselves on the land question, with which it was generally 
expected that the Government would shortly deal; and 
nothing showed that the Labour Party meant to give him 
further support. 
In my opinion any Ministry formed at that moment by 
Mr. Murray could have had no real stability ;- and I saw 
nothing to lead me to think that he, rather than the present 
Ministry, ought to appeal to the country at a dissolution. 
Indeed, there was evidence to the contrary. Mr. Murray 
had said that one reason for his distrust of the Government