PUBLIC OPINION.

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 347, 21 December 1870, Page 3

PUBLIC OPINION.

We observe from our files of pipers from the northern provinces, tlmt telegrams hive of late been industriously circuia ed from Dunedin to the effect that public opinion throughout this province is in favor of the Immigration and Public Works Act, and against the resolution of the Provincial Council upon the s-ihjeut. To say that such is not the case would merely be. assertion against assertion. We therefore give extracts from a few journal?, p.ibHshed in different localities relating to the matter: —

Thfi * Daily Times ' 'wririnjy upon Mr Voxel's reception at the" Princes Theatre, says; — "Probably ir has never . b»lbre fallen to the lor of 'any 'Minister of the. Crown, of average p< rsunal character, to meet with so humiliating a reception. The degree of respect which necessarily attaches to such a position may some'imes tail to procure respect ; (tut. .we know of. no instance in which a Cabinet Minister, seeking to address an audience on questions of «»;reat political interest lias failed to procutv. attention. In this instant, fbe eirei instance is the more siuirulur from the fact that Mr Yogel, according to all ordinary theories, ought to he the must popular politician in the country. Pie comes before us as t lie adminisrra'or of * scheme involving the expenditure of millions ; bis hands are in I i of patronage, and the. legion of liunuTV indivitiuals who expect to fatten on r lie public swindles are his worshippers Yet no stump orator of the. lowest s a*up could have been more remorselessly h<> < ted and jee.re.i at th«n Mr Yogel. As an expression of punlic o/)inioti, there is but one con>truction 10 be put upon yesterday's meeting, and that is ih»t the people of this province are decided I v opposed to Mr Voxel's policy They will not h tve it at any price. Th**y are not deluded l)y the promised expenditure of millions the, in troducu'on of a large population, and the. immediate cons ; ruction of railways in all directions. T.he.y strongly suspect .'that, even if Mr Voxel's Utopia should be realised at ill I, Otto's share of the promised blessiugs would bear no proportion to its cost. ;\Jr Voxel's attempt to explain away the objections entertained here t> his financial policy, is of tho most imsaMsfuotury description. Of what advantage, would it be to Otago to have its railways constructed before tiii>se of any other province, if if ha< to provide for Nonh I»land r always? . Mr Vouel it 5 ask< j d to explain how the projected railway in the provinces of Wellington, Taraiiaki. an<l Huivke's Bay can be constructed unless at the. cost

of the colony— that is, of the southern provinces. His answer is an evasion. We ask lor some security that we shall not be

plundered iv order to enrich other proprovinces, and we are told that our railways shidl be. constructed first. If Mr Vo/el h.iS nothing more conducive to say on this subject, it is cl^ar that he Ims no auswer ar all to the objections ihiit have •»eeu urged against his policy in Ott^o Tins, however, is not less unsatisfactory than o'her portions of his argument on the subject. It would be useless to discuss the disconnected assertions which form the staple ot his speech. l£e told his ' frightened " audience nothing more than ir had been told by his supporters in the Provincial Council, and wirh just as liit'e show of argument in proof of his assertions."

The ( Timaru Herald ' writes. — Mr Fox, the Premier, was notorious for this peripatetic, semi-official, system of giving the " views ot Ministers,' 1 and now the Colonial Treasurer, Mr Yogel, is adopting a sitndar course. The general public doubtless lik*» to hear the opinion ot destinguished men, but it hiirdlv suits tn« di^uiry of a government to go — it we may be allowed the vulgar expression-— cadging for suap->rt, and placing its individual mem'ie.mn positions the reverse of wha* should be held by men in the govern r:ent- of a country.

Thrfre is an unpleasant i-ing throughout Mr Voxel's address ai Dunedin, which we trust will not be repeated by oher Minister?. Mr Yogel seems to hold out over Ofago a kind of political threat, thar it the public there do not support the Government proposals in their entirety, so much the worse for Otajjo in tin; future. Such .conduce is decidedly reprehensible.

• Oamaru JHeruld ' : — " The elections are approaching, and rhe feeling of mis-t-'ust, if not positive opposition, to the Financial Scheme, is expanding, »nd should Mr Vo^el, now he is here, fail to explain away the a ipnreut incongruities which cluster roind his policy, but few oi her than opposition members will find seats in .he new Parliament."

Writing upon the subject, of Mr Voxel's trip to l)un*»din, the / Canterbury Pres*' says : — Mr Vogol had noted the proceedings in ihe Provincial Council of O'»sro, ami, alarmed for the success of his policy, hastened to Dunedin to the rescue. After consultation with Mr Maoandrew he de cided that, as. the Council had appealed to the constituencies, to the constituencies they should go ; and accordingly it was formally announced that the Superintendent was about to resign, involving of course a dissolution. The Co in<j"l was prorogued shortly afterward*, prior to the di-3-s»l'ition : his Honor dismissing it, by way of parting benediction, wifh:ilnetureon 'the constiiufional position ofthw Superintendent.' Mr Vou-el's vinws as to i_h« i>r >priety ofn Colonial Mmis6ar'sin'e< femigin provincial affiirs seem to have been much altered. A.< Provincial Treasurer of Otago, during the "Teat outbreak in 3867, he vas the topmost chaaipion of provincial in<lependence. As Colonial Treasurer he makes no scruple about g'oii'^ down in person to ..Dunedin lo procure the dissolution of a PiO>ineiiil Council which is running counter to the General Government. It the new Sjiperintetiilcnt 'should happen to be. an opponent of the public works scheme, Mr Yog-el will perhaps advise the Governor to refuse him the delegated powers.

The " Oatn.ipi Tiws 'nara : — 0 >r correspondent " Cheviot^' in th« letter pub lislmd in o'ir l*ist, was -roc far wronjrin hinting 'hat the Oofon : aj--Treasnrer would do well to secure his L2JOO a year as soon a* possible, for- it is nnmistukaH«ri:h>it there will be a cli.an-so "come o'er the spirit o' the dream " »it the next session of the Assembly. "Mr Yogel at the Priacess Threat ra," Dunwltn, forms a remarkable chapter in the history oi the CColor—n r— remarkable because showing the unique spectacle of the most important constituency in the country refusing for threHqwarters of an hour 'o give a Cabinet Minister a hearing!, and then only allowing him to speak under frequent intermit t ions in which the epithets ot '• tai.it o_r !" •• turncoat ! ' .and v swindles !" were t-.) : be heard The country generally is, we are convinced, in favor of a policy of progress, and the i people of Ofagu' not les9 so than those of any other province; nil t'tar is Wiuteii i*j That, befit e the proposals of Ministers fo increase the burdens of the taxpayers by the obtaimnHtit of another 1.-irgK loin is sanctioned, it shall Iw'piit out ot the pb*>i\ of any Ministry so to expend thft loan as to give the lion's share to those who contribute least, and merely the crumbs which fall from the table to those upon vytiom t^e burden roallv falls. That is wb:it we b-lieve to be the general feeling in Otasro, and it is because it, was felt that the programme of Mr VogH-ldoeS no/ contain the required guarantees that ho was aworde.d so " warm " reception in Djii- | edin. '

The 'Weekly News' (Trivercargill) twites: — '• For onr own pnrt we urn satisfied ihar. if the Middle Islund puriicip'i'es iv the General Govrtr-nment scheme, colouists may give up all thought* of separation. A New Z j .;d.ind loan of five ur six milli'ms would se;urelv riv«! tie chains which irksomely couplo North. and S mtb. For this reason we unreservedly approve the acdon of the Uoited Council, which h:»s given the cunsticiieacies a last chance of deciding whether separation shall or >hall not tik« pltce in t!ie lifetime of the present generation,"

The 'Tuapeka Times' writes; — We should like to know why Mr Yogel should have come to Dunedin at this present j'lnnture, ar a cost »o the country of three guineas a d.-iv, wirhtravelling exp-nse.s, as well as the LIOOO per annum which he i-Hceives by virme of his office. If it is to j»-».«*ist his ftiend Mr Macainlrew, we can f ell him he had better s-aved at horne —

twit is, if we can so designate his temporary residence at Auckland — and allowed the electors of the province.ro proceed to the election of a new Superintendent without his advice or assistance. We feel assured that a gentlemen who, while supposed to be representing O'ago, • has shown that he has only Auckland interests at heart, is not likely to command much influence upon the go'dfields of this Province, which he Ims so long wisrepres»»n»ed. We shall he glad to learn when Mr Yogel purposes visiting the goldfields. We ca-i n^nre him he will rnee.t with a reception which, if not agreeable, will at least be warm.

When a diunK.ud is im -ie to loose his heal, would it not be better to fix it in a gin slini ? Where there's a bill. — Somebody told Mrs Malaprop the other day that rhe Lords had rejected the Deceased Wife's Sister Mill, Her reply was that it did nt surprise her — it was enough to kill any wife to have a sister called Bill, and how could the hussy propose to all the Lords at onee — especially as ir, i<n't leap Year. Royal Nurses. — Englishmen and Englishwoman in this part of the world will learn with a feeling of pride that the Crown PrincH.ssof Prussia and h>r sifter, the Princess A ice, are actively fulfilling a mission of mercy us hospital nurses. The former devotes no inconsiderable, portion ot her t me n the making of bmdages, compresses, eharpie &c, and ha* in ide herself mistress of a sufficient knowledge of medicine and the surgical -art to q laljfy her for rhe efficient performance oi t!ie d anes she bus volun'ariiy under-aken. The Princes^ Alice has the special charge of an hospital for the won tided ar D.irnstjiir. It is an exconserva f ory, sanding in the midst of flower-beds shru meries, aad fountains, and is described as one of the brightest, airiest, and most cheerful structures that could possibly be designed tor such X purpose. A correspondent ot the ' Pall Mail G izatte/ who recently visited Darnsdadf, thus describes (he Princess and her labors :

— "She .on sch* to be mistress of the inward sentiments of the patients, for tuey all snecn to take her inro their inmost eonfiJence. Tt was worth a journey from Kntrlaud alone to see the faces of the sufferers lighten up as they reflected the sisterly smiles on her. As she passed along, an<l stopped and spoke to each, th« invalid laid himself back on his pillow xviih an expivsr sion of absolute bien etre, and for the moment seemed to find something more than an anodyne for his pain. Her passing along the w;trcU applied the most infallible of tests to the cases. If her presence dU not smooth the pain wrinkles out of a man's face, or bring something like tranq«iility to his drawn mouth, and causa a dash of ligfit to his eye, you were quite -ure that he w.is in an ex remely bad way. Nor was it with the woumle i alone she seemed tiie animating spirit oi th»j p^ace. Vurses aud , doctors and -c>:ivalr scents walking anout, all addressed her with the same cordial f.toiiltmry, only tempered- by their evident reverence, and love. The truiU is — and oue sees it everywhere t el*e .a* i,n parnSsfiidt-^-this war utfs^noVmHrely Vnadle G-^riiiMny a nation, but d'-'tSitfifyj 'iiH^fi ihoroii'jli family feeling ppn^-Hdn's north an>l so;i'ii, high anii ldv alike. Nothing seuuu rn-j<»rdKi> ai'itSTicritioe, and the humblest work that can serve- i-he' -)^reat national cause is regarded as a pleaaure and an honor.—' Australasian.'