The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 1866.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1695, 23 May 1866, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 1866.

To-dat is the date fixed for the nomination of candidates for the Superintendence The public of Canterbury will have before them the gentlemen of whom they will have to choose one to be their chief ruler during the next four years. Notwithstanding the declarations of each of the three aspirants to office that he will be guided by the counsels of those who shall be able ; to. win the confidence and support of the majority in the Provincial Council, it cannot be denied that the general line of our policy, and even the mass of its details must be in the main part determined by the future Superintendent himself. The public does not want a merely ornamental head-piece, the Provincial Council does not expect to have all the responsibilitythrownuponit of devising the schemes and providing against the contingencies of the future. Its very name implies that its work is that of counselling—of approving, modifying, or rejecting the projects that may be submitted to it. It would bo difficult even to find a Provincial Secretary who should be content to do all the Superintendent's work at one-third of his pay. We do not mean to say that there would be danger of collision between any one of the candidates now before the public and their Provincial Councils. One of them has already shown that he is able to work most harmoniously with the Council and with the Executive which commands its confidence. And of the other two we are willing to believe the same thing possible. But it is well that the minds of the electors should be disabused of the fancy that the opinions, the sagacity, the business-habits and the caution of the Superintendent are of comparatively little moment, and that all deficiencies can be supplied by the provincial councillors and the Executive. Some of the electors have certainly been carried away by this mistaken idea. A few of them seem to imagine that it is not at all necessary to have a man of energy and experience in public life to fill the Superintendent's place. They almost fancy that he is better without them, because he will thus leave a freer scope for the abilities of his subordinates. But the experience of the last two years, if rightly read, teaches a very different lesson, It shows, as in the instance of the West Coast road, that the energies of an allowably able and vigorous Executive may be almost paralysed by the listlessness and indifference of their superior, and even their best efforts, when successful, carried out at an extravagant cost, through the delay and the vacillation which such indifference inevitably produces. We hope the province will be spared the repetition of the same mistake. Another small section /of the electors have allowed themselves to be dazzled by the exhibition of a large, showy, and plausible scheme, suggestive to them Only of long harangues, protracted discussions in the Provincial Council) aiid agitation at public meetings. The prospept of all this excitement has its charms. : Eveh iftheschemebe" found tb be a babble, it will'burst in" time, I and no harm will come of it. We do [not think so. Such discussions and

such agitation can be carried on only ,at v ;.the..riik of the real work of the 1 Government, and to the neglect of the public interests. : The position of Superintendent is ndt v 6nly the most honourable, it is ■also the most important, to which any man can be elected in the province. A vigorous, and at the same time judicious Superintendent can do more for the welfare of the province than any other niau can. He is, or a|j ( all events ought to be, thoroughly identified with all its interests. To him will attach by f-T the largest share of the credit or discredit consequent upon the policy adopted during his reign. He should be a man capable of examining into and appreciating its wants ; of devising suitable and comprehensive schemes for the development of its resources, of co-operating with the Executive and the heads of departments in elaborating all necessary details, and of maintaining courteous and friendly relations with the members of the Provincial Council. We are persuaded that the great body of the electors of Canterbury are thoroughly at one with us in seeking for the man who can, on the whole, best fulfil these various duties.

The candidates who are now before the public have each their several claims upon the goodwill of the electors. Mr. Lance is entitled to our respect as an estimable, member of our community for several years, and as an honourable gentleman. And he may be possessed of some of the talents for wnicii his friends give him credit. But he has made one serious mistake, which is fatal to his success in the present instance. Though resident in Canterbury for many years, he has never thought our public affairs of sufficient moment or interest to deserve his interference. We have had our seasons of great prosperity, and of general depression, and Mr. Lance may have shared in both; but he has never once come forward from his amiable seclusion, to help us with his counsel, or to cheer us with his sympathy. It is too much for such a man all at once to become a claimant for our highest office. Let him pass, like other men, through the details of subordinate offices; let him become thoroughly acquainted with our public affairs in his seat in the Provincial Council; and some years after this we may learn to value him as a candidate for the Superintendence But not now. W& scarcely like this new-fledged zeal for our provincial welfare, and our post of highest honour. Is it dictated by a regard to public, or to private ends ?

Mr. Travers comes before us as a man of recognised ability, and of some experience in public affairs, But even his experience is against him; for it has been acquired in another field, and under yery different 1 circumstances. His new scheme tastes throughout of a Nelson extraction. It savours of a province which adopted aland policy exactly the reverse of ours, and with exactly opposite re?, suits to those we-aim at. Nelson land sold cheap. . It fell into the hands of squatters.,:, Its best district, Amuri, is entirely owned by them. And its development as a province has been suited to its policy. A tithe of the revenue of Canterbury's hard times would be wealth to Nelson. As a natural consequence, nuinbers of working men have left it to Bettle here. "Will any of them vote for Mr. Travers. \W£ believe not one. ,' ." -',.'.'' .•". '•

, It would be useless to enteriinto anylengthened discussion of hid 'scheme, for it has been sufficiently prominent before the public. Besides the fact scheme .fitted only for those 1 who can lay down their thousands, it is liable to this fatal objection that any portion of that hill country which' he proposes for sale, must, if worth one pound an acre within the next few years, become worth two pounds an acre ( as our agricultural population spreads to the foot of the hills. Ihe policy; which bids us squander our resources, instead of husbanding them, can commend itself to very few. However it has come about, Mr. Travers as a man, is almost as unfortunate as his policy. His ability, wit, frankness, oratorical powers, integrity are not questioned; and ( yet there is no public man' in Canterbury who would secure a more nearly unanimous vote of want ofconfidence. ■-'■ Brilliant, but not sound; argumentative but nob convincing; able butunsteady; energetic but changeable; fickle, I, flighty, bent more on distinguishing;himself than on promoting the welfare of the public; fonder of making a good speech than of carrying; out a good work, he Would be a dangerous man as Superintendent. • The reception he has generally met with shows how well this is understood. He is always heartily welcomed; his opponents have spoken of some of his public addresses as a treat; but.there are very few who would entrust themselves to his discretion. Under his rule the province would exhaust itself in prosperity, and be miserably prepared for any of those seasons of depression which will now and again come round.

Mr. Moorhouse cornea before the electors with all the advantages of being a tried man, He has alreadyfilled the office of Superintendent for six years; and such was the general opinion of his efficiency at the time of his resignation that, had he chosen to stand again no man, would have had the shadow of a chance who should dream of opposing him. During his tenure of office he had to encounter a season of very considerable embarrassmenfc, and a season of unexampled prosperity. His opponents nave charged him, sometimes in rather ribald terms,with beinguudulycautioua and depressed in the time of difficulty, and unduly sanguine when prosperity returned. This.is exactly what a man would wish his enemies to say of him. It meanst, in dispassionate speech, that he understood the exigencies of the different times, and.that he faced them manfully, No man ever said, even in these heated election times, that Mr. Moorhouse despaired of our .little commonwealth when at the worßt. jAnd if he was sanguine when prosperity returned, his ambition found an outlet in devising extensive works of

general utility, which OTjen hiß opno; I nents, when in onfee. blVe most faith, fttlly la^ured li»y%t|;Haro'our 1 i»y%t| ; Haro'our' 1 works in our Our plaiusiaj tunnel .Uroiljjlji and bridges'.'over our j : dangerous, i '.rivers~theso were 'the extravagances into which his ambition led him. We need these things. We must have them; and we want the man who devised the plans to carry them out. At the sacrifice, perhaps, of a little personal applause, Mr. Mdorhouse throughout his present candidature has exercised a reticence which deserves the highest praise. While Mr, Travershaß been hawking about his grand scheme of what he would do if he got into office, Mr. Moorhouse has avoided all such electioneering claptrap promises. He has simply pointed to the past; and promised, when in office, to carry out the schemes he laboured at before, His time for forming plans is not in the bustle of an election. "But when in the trammels of office, when in> full possession of all the details of official information as to the wants, prospects, and capabilities of the' province, he brought forward his scheme; and hehas had the satisfaction of seeing it advance even while his opponents,were in-power. Such is the man to trust for the development of what further policy our new circumstances may require. . r

It would be, unfair not to recognise 'the guarantee for practical harmony between the two parts of the. province, whieh Mr.Moorhouse's return would secure. The fact that he gained the majority of suffrages on the West Ooa*st over a resident candidate far the General Assembly shows that he has secured the confidence of the population there, and augurs well for a good understanding existing between them aud the population on the plains under his government. We say little of Mr. Moorhouse's personal abilities or acquirements. These are best seen and learned in action; and we have had experience of them for six years in the very office to which his friends seek again, to return him. They are fully recognised even by the supporters of the other candidates. The Press, and we ask. for no better authority, has not hesitated to speak of the talents and integrity of Mr. FitzGerald and Mr. Moorhouse in the same sentence in reference to their discharge of the duties of Superintendents. Higher praise from that quarter could not come. Of course it was nob said under the excitement of an election. Even an election will not drag forth a like expression concerning either Mr. Lance or Mr. Travers;

As to the result of the contest, we have no manner of doubt, even were the two last named gentlemen to com-bine-their forces. Coalitions are never popular; and would be very damaging, in the present case. To-day will very probably give unmistakeable evidence of the truth of our anticipations of Mr. Mborhouse's triumphant return.