The Press. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1888.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7215, 28 November 1888, Page 4

The Press. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1888.

It is not yet so clear as it inigbt be whether Sir H. A. Blake has or has not definitely ceased to be the Governor elect of the colony of Queensland. One day's telegrams speak of his resignation, apparently as ah accOni-. plishedfact; but the next day's treat it as still under the consideration of the Cabinet at Home, and the London Press are full of advice to the colony as to the course to betaken by them should this unfortunate, appointment be persisted in. We say unfortunate, because it has raised and brought to the front a question which it was most desirable to keep in the back gfround, and because, moreover, it has unquestionably unsettled the relative positions in the matter of the Colonies atid the Mother Country. This need not have been the case if -the Home* Government could have maintained its position and carried through the appointment. But the converse being the Case—for there "can hardly be any doubt upon the telegrams what must be the end of the struggle—it becomes dear that theappointment of colonial Governors is no longer a matter exclusively for the consideration of the authorities at Home. The .colonies concefried ar¥ to have their Bay,; and whatever may be thought of the system hitherto in use as being greatly the , •wisest, we have now to adapt our habits of thought and action to a new principle, and it behbves us—the colonies—to act warily, lest in the natural desire to r achieve for ourselves as much indepern-, dence as possible in the management of our own affairs, we may do ourselves really a Very considerable mischief.' s '; * ! It will, be interesting to look back! for a moment on the courses of events which l\ave led to ,this result, It was on the 7th of this month .that the information was cabled from Brisbane that Sir T'tfriitAS Mcllralth had received intimation of the, appointment; of Mr Hi A. Blake, Governor; of jfewfoundlandj as successor to the late Sir Anthont MuMravS, Governor : 6f Queensland, aiid , of" hijS a knighthood, in order, we suppose, to make him a completely suitable person for. his new Sphere. It Seems that-Sir TripWAS had already, before this information waa cabled, preferred in some form his request on behalf of the colony to have a voice in the matter. On the: minor question, -wliich of "the two. gentlemen Was first in the : wi-dng Sir Thomas Mollraith for asking too muchj or Loi'd Knxjtsford for losing his milsfc wait fbr fuller information from our London files; of that date. The telegrams' are contradictory, and they epeak of a motion in the House of Commons to have laid oil' the table the precise • terms, of Sir Thomas' cable message, 'the answer to which has ; . not . been, . published here. This, however, apart* we cannot agree with the position taken up by the Queensland Premier. To some extent he was able, subsequently, to put himself in a better position than he at first occupied. There was, unfortunately,; some force , in some of the objections submitted by him to the ap-' pointmentof Sir H. A. Blake, but. they were put forward with .an;'arroganoe ; and assumption which showed a lamentable want of appreciation of the great constitutional questions involved, - and betrayed a strong desire to xnake the verymost, in the eolonyitself, of national animosities. Lord KNUTSFORiys iaiition is even more blameworthy., ..A'a.Sir Hkkbt Hollakd, -he gained: great* credit not long siace for his manage-, ment of the Colonial Conference -held in London, the results of which weld at the time attributed . by common consent to the skill and courtesy which he displayed throughout. In his selection, however, of Sir H. A.; Blake he appears tonave been pecu-* liarly unfortunate. On a, question with which the colonies have nothing, i to do he has exposed his 'Governments j to a check from a portion of the House* of Commons, with which it is neoeei sarily on the worst of terms, and he has at the same time the discomfort of feeling that the person'on /whose 1 behalf he has incurred thia check is, to j say the least of it, gravely wanting in the discretion which is of the first necessity to the Governor of j a representative colony. It ap* pears by one of the late telegrams that in the course of a personal intert view between Lord KNtrrsPOßDaod'Si? H. A. Blake his Lordship has had icj censure the latter for permitting him* self to be interviewed, and thus allowing information to get out tothepubliq while the question was still tiuder conf Bideration. We here in the colonies ,are tolerably and,,.aa ; out readers know, information a* to matters! which are still only contemplated allpwed to transpire to the pul>lld

through the ordinary channels. But ovcti with uft BticK informatieo, if hot obtained direct from i* certainly gfveii undet sanctiorl, o¥ if not so given may be safely treated by the public as ttoreiiable. At Home, where a. fat atrictW praotidd prevails, one auoh ; error would be an effectual stop to the promotion Of any Sub6rditlate official who did not happen to have Che advantage of a powerful coninlectiott at hia back. Sir H. ABlakb, however, soema to 'have been so little impressed with the eerioußrieea of his error that #d hSaf by the next telegram his own account ofi the interview 'ki which he was thus densured, and his own impressions as to the immediate result to himself. The whole story reads more like the account of a schoolboy who had been whipped for robbing an orchard than of the appointment of a Governor to an important dependency like Queensland.

While the part thus taken by Lord Ekutsford has been, to say the least Of it, singularly unhappy, and has only resulted in raising a constitutional question, which mustinevitably modify the position of the Mother , Country in regard to her <soloniea, it k pleasant t6 be able to feel that oil the colonial side we arje indebted to a Minister whose a<|ts and utterances have both sometimes created anxiety, for a wise and Statesmanlike deliverance, which if hereafter acted on aa wisely will inaugurate the new system under the most favorable auspices. Sit Harry Parkes, it frill be remembered, gave notice in the House at Sydney of a motion for an address to the Queon. exprdseiug the opinion " that the i gelitlerhen who may in future be I appointed as Governors cf Colonies' should have experience of the conduct! of public affairs, either in high political offices or in tfcre Imperial Parliament. And further that, while disclaiming any wish to interfere with the functions of the Queen's advisors at Home, it is •thought advisable, reasonable, and in strict accord with the privileges constitutionally cdrifefred on Australian subjects, that the Government of the colony concerned should be informed who is the pefsdn selected before he is actually appointed." This motion, was j carried j in,- the flouse by a majority of i 45 to 2 y and we do not doubt that in a future editionof Todd it will take its place among the best definitions of: constitutional principle.' Wβ value it lees,for what.it gives than for what it is lakeiytoprevent. In our judgment, the njdSt satisfactory proof of itse we'l working WiH'tte'thftt the colonies never have any "suggestions to niake \Vith regard to any proposed appointment. When-it ia-on<Se tmrferstoOd that the Colonial Goieitithipt , haß. a cOnstitu-, tional right to stfite.'its Objections, and it is also (found- by experience ot their conduct -in other matters that their bbjectionia, should they be stated, are likely to be presented with a force and inoderatiorn practically vesting them chtoacter of. a veto, the selection will be made■ at Home under a J active sdtise of responsibility than, with regard to s : 6me &.pp6liit-: ments,. we poulct me.niiop, has pertainly ■ been"' tte' "dasW ' cOncelvea , the analogy r:r which: has been suggested; between a colony -receiving a new f Governor abd'ifeforeign !(o whiehjj [a, fre.s,h:AmbaasMor is" aoduV. tcrtj'ejj siQcieHited^, is', fairly , c105e.,. ; ; Strictly . speaking, i in. r the case< o£ the Foreign, Pow^r, 1 it is for the State wbidh. sends the -aild' which knßwS of; jcou^Mh^at.duties jhe baa .to perform,? to make (jhoicaoli the- fitting niaa.for the; ; p6st; ; In :ihi& po'ml 6f view the Foreign I*ciwt¥ jnas ; nothing to dd but to .receive the ihan and his credentials.: But as a - .matter, ,of fact it is ■, well ; understood 'among those whd are con-, R» be a thing" of that tliere Will bo among the rpes#ible candidates for 'the ■office -sOme 'one;whose presence at the foreign ■ 6apital ; will Me\ *ped4lly agl-eeable , to' "'' \ t}ie Sbveieigti' Or. the.r > liliuiaters,,,whom he wUl \ >nnjd tlierej and.-: i olhers swhose : • presende unhappily wilf carry with it some odour of Iti eveij : case '.of 'g fresh appointment ,is !possible difficulty; but it is readily solved -by an unofficial ceplmutiicafcion of the nailie 6f the and the f6----piy-f-equaliyunomcial-r—expressing satisfaction with, the appointtnetitor the reverse. The same sort -df thing is passible, it id obvious, iti regard to the <» colonial ,Gpy,emor.: hi the.flatlier. days of representative: institutions oolonial Governments had littld ; oir id dS ;tb, tlie 6f the ffdver-l nor H?ho; might be* sent out. • daily; increasing closeness of. the delations betweeii'the' <ioloriieß' and tbeMother Couritry haW; altered this \al together; aoimucb'so appointment nowadays 'of -an unlsaowjo, person may almost' certainly ;be regarded asr a Seri6ut| expcrirnenK It may be h6|>ed,; ~£jS|Kfeiore"s"' that ...if the principle' laid: down by Si? ;Habby, P wmcs to be acted upon with a wise discretion,: the I! coAditidng' under which; to appditited! to (be of lasting benefit both to the dolony concerned and the Mother Country./ -• -• "•■■.- : ■■•-..;■ .... .. i

Ths news /yjhiciy is reaching us from Australia from day to day regarding th 6 ravagesof' the drought reveals a of tMiigi: Highly siiidaWej as; Wge- tracts of ,tTie Aus-i traliau Couiirient have proved fchom-i eelvee to be for pastoral pur-j iir tainy the country, liable at* intervals to=. visitations auoh : as, wei have • iidwf to - deplor*. : rWhen a ' in real in AUB' it: Iβ'4lc&o|fc impossible for atijf| onerwEo. has nyb witnessed its effects to realise what it ifieans* The widespread Wlh ahd--d«!tl*ttotioji which follow a iseripd of. Idtig r doiithiaed are Vposi|ivety.. appalling.. Fortunes . appear m>; a few weeks } bajjtie sheet* by the " hundreds of thotisattds j'-. crops cease td growi arid "tfi'hpfev'.tr'afi.ta! pt the country" beooipe one ; wide rliowliog wilderness. the wonderful rfeCu-* peratite p6fetot the. country, that xyitJi. ay Be*sci».' Q r ' * wo 0' faVorable weather- the piiscliief la repaired,, and the evidences of wealth and! prosperity are once more apparent on every band. ISF«* So\itti Wales, Sttd- to; some «Stehft the ! otiier Coiooies, " we are afraid, entering J9P9U of tHeierdieaatrous ■ whicli eiarajpl6f. " is ,gt^»

•£f L fche Brace8 race » being bamt n, Md the c»pi in mtofm triote are a complete failure. Uolea ram ejieedily eom M to the reS of the distressed settlers they will have to paw through a period <tf serious difficulty and antiety, while the loss will, of course, be enormoo*. The contrast between the state bt things in Continental Australia and the position of affairs in New Zealand ie certainly remarkable. While everything there is being parched up by the fiery breath of the hot »md, we have been luxuriating io abuudanoe of rain, which bids fair to result in an overilowing harvest. This, of course, is nothing unusual, for kV though we may find occasion now and again to grumble at the weather, vt never have any such experiences v New South Wales is now passing through. The average yield of wheat ever since the colony took to grafo. growing on a large ecale—the highest next to England in . the whole world—. testifies to the extremely favourable nature of out coil and climate; while the phenomenal development of the frozen meat trade from nothing a fe» years ago to a million carcasses per annum, indicates pretty clearly vbat our pastures are capable of continuously producing. We mention these faete not in any vainglorious spirit, bat in order to remind those amongst ua who are disposed to grumble that compared with most countries New Zealand oocupies an extremely favourable poeitkft as a producer of everything which tends to render a community prosperous and contented.