M'Kenzie, a big, and (also) bluff, outspoken, hot-headed Scotchman, fierce in the political battle, and always ready for the fray; but having the reputation of straightforwardness and honesty in his endeavour to settle the people on the land. He is not so strong physically as a Minister requires to be in New Zealand, and there is some talk of his retiring early in the New Year. The Hon. A. J. Cadman is Minister of Mines and Railways—an arduous billet in a country where nearly all the railways are owned by the Government, and where the Minister is expected to show a surplus of revenue over expenditure at the end of every year. Mr Cadman is quiet, self-contained, and methodical, but a good departmental man, and an indefatigable worker. The Minister for Public Works is the Hon. W. Hall-Jones. He was a builder and contractor before he was chosen a member of the Ministry some three or four year ago, and hails from Kent, England. He devotes himself assiduously to running his department, and also to supervising matters relating to the Customs and Marine, in all of which he succeeds remarkably well. The Minister of Defence and Justice is the Hon. T. Thompson. He has charge of the Police Department, among others; and there is some talk of his being forced to resign, in consequence of the inquiries of a Royal Commission into the state of the police force of the colony, which is under direct Government control. The Hon. W. C. Walker is the Minister of Education, with a seat in the Upper House. Last of all comes the Hon. James Carroll, member of the Executive as representing the native race. "Jima Kara," as he is called by the Maoris, is a half-caste—a well educated, genial, good-tempered sort of being, on whom care sits lightly, and who goes through life as if ministerial responsibility was a thing of naught. He is excellent
