OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS PROMISES.

Auckland Examiner, Volume 1, Issue 30, 16 July 1857, Page 3

OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS PROMISES.

Toujovks vkrdrix h French for “always partridge.'' or I ought perhaps rather to sav that the English words “ always partridge” are equivalent to the French phrase '■ tocjovrs perdkix." This 1 mention not to to astonish the illiterate by setting iff the prodigious extent of my learning, hntjrrt to open up a passage for some explanatory chat rendered desirable by circumstances. The Examiner cwn scarcely now be ranked with “ lesser newspapers.” Henceforth, in point of size; it will pass for first-rate ; ami in point of matter it will, I trust, be quite np to the highest newspaper mark. Now, as part of that matter will, week by week, bo contributed by myself, the reader will oblige by believing that to furnish cartridge, and nothing but partridge, is not my intention. Having helped to write up the “Examiner,” 1 would fain avoid helping to write it down. But John Williamson and bis promises will still be the subject of these articles Dealing with thatsubject, 1 hope to aid in the great work of diffusing throughout t.he length and breadth of this province that political knowledge which is essential to the sifetv, dignity, honesty, and advancement of ail states governed upon he popular principle. .More than ever is it important, tiwrt some one should mivindie.tively, but boldly and thoroughly, anatomise John Williamson, whose d : shouesry in the past should make us wary of trusting him in the future. The best political guarantee is character. People should biwnre low they put their poli'ical trust in men politically debauched. Such men cannot rely upon themselves. Their self-ref. rn’ation is seldom radical. The serpent may shed its skin, but cannot get rid of it’s nature. A country ruled by vulgar-min Jed demagogues is-“ to hastening ills a prey given over in truth to the demon ot darkness. By vulgar-minded demagogues I mean those ignorant showers tor Representative Principle and Responsible Oover.iment, who, being ignorant, make Responsible Government a fiction- and Representative Principle a farce. He that trusts to such, Where Iw should find them lions, finds them hares ; Where foxes, geese: They are no surer, no, Than is the coal of fire upon the ice, Or hailstone in the sun, Their virtue is, To make him worthy whose offence subdues him, And curse that justice did it. V ho deserves greatness Deserves their hate ; and their affections are A sick man’s appetite, who desires most, that Which would increase his evil. He that depends Upon their favors swims with fins of lead And hews down ask oak with rushes. My object is honest Government, which implies iinfactious Government, because the Government that is honest rules for the benefit of all. I know there are people who say and perhaps think that our Government is perfectly honest, quite iinfactious and alwgether snen a sort of Government as the Province requires. If these people are not knaves they are of knaves the simple, and quite the per'ect, antipodes. 1 am afraid that almost all of them have got by heart the “ Creed of Poverty,” which says— In politics if thou wouldst mix. And mean thy fortunes be ; Bear this in mind—“ Be deaf and blind ; Let great folks hear and see.” I am afraid that almost, without exception, the adulators of John Willtam=on are animated by no principle higher than themselves. He took office pledged to act with moderation and to convince even his enemies that he was unswayed by the vulgarly partizan feelings which they had ascribed to him. One of his first official acts was to find snug berths for Constitutionalists, because they were Constitutionalists, by giving the “ walking-ticket” to Progress men. He took office pledged to an unsectarian and equit-, able system, of education. One of the first measures of his Government was an education scheme prepared by clerical schemers for the obvious purpose of giving to certain sects a monopoly of education and the public a monopoly of expense. He took office a Constitutionalist, pledged to rule in the spirit of justice and Walk in the light of the Constitution. But who forgets that when Dr. Jonah after getting unconstitutionally elected for the suburbs, unconstitutionally .resigned his seat, he unconstitutionally •nd altogether factiottsly issued his writ for the election of another member for the suburbs, and thus commenced a series of Provincial Council shams, subterfuges, and mischances, which eventuated in the “ dead-lock." Out of office he talked about honoring merit without regard to the side on which it might range itself, and repeated the thousand-times-told tale about the right man in the right place. Made high priest of our political temple he straightway plots and schemes, schemes and plots, to so lower the salaries of certain clerks in the Resident Magist ates Court that one at least of them will resign in disgust, or from sheer inability, under the quite new, very cheap, and very nasty system to maintain his position ’ Having cheapened out the chief clerk, Cheap John, who before election, did sueh vast amount of lip homage to merit, and so copiously delivered himself in ink and wind of the right place sentiment, schemed so cleverly that after a t'me Magistrate Beckham found himself with a chief clerk, who, unable to do the duties of his office was reduced to the humihting necessity of asking his subordinates, to tell him what those duties were. How they have been performed, or left unperformed, Magistrate Beckham knows to his cost. Against Chief Clerk Wayland I have no desire to write one damaging word ; yet that he is retained in the office of chief clerk for the simple and sole purpose of insulting, harrassing, and compromising Magistrate Beckham, I have excellent evidence. But that

the most despicable of Provincial Governments wishes to mortify that functionary, and establish in his court a constitutional “espionage," Chief Clerk Wayland would long since have ceased to make himself ridiculous "by-pretending to know matters of which he is entirely ignorant, and by pretending to perform duties for the performance of which he is unquestionably and uecescesaiily incompetent. Astounding was the assurance of him who, when asksd if he could play the fiddle, said, “ I don't know, bus I’ll try." Such cool assurance is, however, quite modest in comparison with the audacity which enables a man to enter cur Resident Magistrate’s Cosrt as first clerk, and'set to work upon the first clerk duties upon the same principle that Mr. “ I don't know, but I’ll try" did upon the fiddle. Moreover, between the coo' fiddler and our still cooler chief cleik theie is just the difference between a a too-clever-l>y-a-great-deal fiddler who scraped away at catgut iipua i.lie ‘ I don’t know, but i'll try” principle for his own amusement merely, and a very much too clever clerk, who doesn't know, but tries to manage the roost important of onr business, and then pockets cash for his services, while delivering himself of sundry flourishes about the right man in the right place, or as Parchment “ engrosses" it, the right men in their right places. Editor Smallfield promises to come out in style with regard to all sorts of matters aixt all sorts of persons connected with our Resident Magistrate's Court. When he keeps his promise, 1 will keep my promise ; and my promise is to carefully examine all the statements made by that self-sufficient little personage. PUBLICOLA.