The Press. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1880.

Press, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4754, 28 October 1880, Page 2

The Press. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1880.

Eveb since the receipt of the news of Sir Julias Vogel's resignation of the post of Agent-General, speculation has beea t rife as to his probable successor. All sorts of -wild rumours hare been put in circulation as to the choice of Ministers. It seems to have been taken for granted in some quarters that the Government were more likely to offer the prize to some one on the Opposition side of the House rather than to one of their own party. Whether the evident inclination of the Government during the late session to conciliate their enemies rather than their own supporters had anything to do with such a wild report we know not. But it was scarcely likely that Ministers would do anything so stupid as to select the new Agent-General from the ranks of their avowed opponents. | No such act of folly we are sure was ever contemplated. The truth is that there are only two men who can be considered as having sufficient claims to the Agency-General at the hands of the present Ministry. Wβ refer to Sir E. W. Stafford and Sir F. D. Bell. The appointment of the former would have been a most proper one, in case his services were available, and it was generally thought that the Government would ask him to take the post, at least temporarily. But the colony will have no cause to regret the selection they have made. Sir Francis Bell hae all the qualifications which an Agent-General should possess. When the vote for the Agent-General's department came on for consideration in the House last session, there were those who advocated the doing away with the office altogether, or at any rate who thought that our representative in London should be a mere clerk or agent. But Mr Hall warmly opposed such a proposal The Agent-General, he contended, "should be a gentleman of sufficient knowledge of the political history, the finances, and general condition of the colony to be able to inform the British public on these questions; and he should be a man whose antecedents and position would enable him to communicate with effect with the Imperial Government and its several departments on matters connected with the colony." In selecting Sir Francis Bell for the recently vacated office, Ministers could have given no better proof of their desire that the above conditions should be fulfilled. The new Agent-General has long occupied a prominent position in the ranks of our public men. Hβ has taken part in politics ever since the establishment of responsible government in New Zealand. Hβ has consequently an intimate acquaintance with our political history, the state of onr finances, and our general condition. He is moreover peculiarly qualified to perform the multifarious duties of the Agent-General's Department. His industry is wonderful, and ho has a rare aptitude for making himself thoroughly acquainted with the details of every transaction that passes through his hands. Above all, as an old colonist, with a large stake in the country, there is no danger of his ever coming to consider our interests las secondary to his own; and we are now at last perfectly safe in trusting the honor and good name of the colony in the i keeping of our representative in London. If mistakes are made, and all men are liable to make them, they will be the j result of an error of judgment and j nothing more. It is certainly an immense relief to think that we have at last reached this position, and the colony owes a debt of gratitude to those who have been instrumental in bringing it about The new Agent-General, it will be observed, will be expected to devote his whole time and services to the interests of the colony. He will not merely perform what are generally regarded as the duties of his office for the emolument agreed upon, but he will also be required to act as loan agent and as inseriber of existing loans. It may be some time before ho is called upon to act in the former capacity. But if it is decided that inscription should be proceeded with from time to time, we have now some guarantee that the interests of the colony will be scrupulously guarded, and that no operation of any magnitude will be undertaken without the sanction of the Executive Government of the colony. Wβ confess that we part company with Sir Julius Togel with a great deal of satisfaction. It has long been evident that he considered the interests of the colony as of minor importance. Without consulting Ministers in any way, he undertook other engagements. In spite of their positive instructions to the contrary, he offered himself as a candidate for a ee&t in the House of Commons, and in fact conducted himself generally as if he were in no sense a servant of the colony, aad as if he were conferring a great favor upon it by performing the duties of his office even in the most perfaaotory manner. When the present Government came into office they informed Irim that they concurred with their predeceasora in the view that the offices of eh&irman of i the New Zealand Agricultural Company and that of Agent-General were incom- j patible. Sir Julius replied making pro- j poaals for a different arrangement Hβ <

offered to resign as Agent-General, and become one of the agents for the inscription of stock on certain terms. He also claimed to receive payment for Ms services m Connection, with the inscription of tie five million loan. The latter demand the Government refused to entertain, and Mβ terms for future operations they'regarded' as so exceedingly unfavorable to the colony that they declined to agree to them. But they undertook to consult Parliament on the subject,' but when they discovered what the temper of their supporters was, they withdrew the resolution altogether, and promised, with an unimportant reservation,'not to proceed further with the conversion of stock before the House again met. The consequence is that we are saved the £2000 which Sir Julius expected to get out of an operation which would have in no way benefited the colony, bat which might have inflicted a serious injury on our finances. Then followed the reduction by £1000 of the vote for his department, and the positive intimation that he must resign his position as chairman of the land company if he wished to continue in the service of the colony. These together were too much for him, and he sent in his resignation. Truth compels us to say that it would have been better for the colony had it been tendered at an earlier date.