The Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, Justs 16, 1385.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XVII, Issue 844, 16 June 1885, Page 2

The Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell: Tuesday, Justs 16, 1385.

This division of the Wakatipu electorate stands in a somewhat anomalous position with relation to its representative in the House of Assembly. While Queenstown and Arrow districts are governed locally by bodies elected from centres within the Wakatipu proper, Cromwell, Bannockburn, Nevis, and the Clutha Valley, as far as Wanaka, owe allegiance to Councils quite distinct from those having authority over the rest of the constituency which Mr Fergus wa3 elected to serve. This being so, it is patent that the representative bodies at Queenstown and Arrow more closely feel the necessity for regular and easy means of communication with the Member for the District. Especially so is this the case at a time like the present, when local government legislation is one of the leading features of the Parliamentary programme. That the importance of this matter is recognised in Lake County is evident from the fact that recently the Council sent a couple of delegates to Wellington to confer on the subject, and the same body at its last meeting passed a reso lution asking Mr Fergus to visit the District prior to the meeting of Parliament. But Parliament has assembled, and so fur as we know, the Member for the District is not in the Colony, nor has he given any public indication of when he will be, or what his intentions are when he does arrive. As a matter of fact, Mr Fergus has carried out to the letter just the course of conduct that we predicted and deemed a bar to his election in July last. Immediately after the session he left for Tasmania, and beyond courteous replies to official correspondence nothing further has been heard of him. When ho takes his place in the House this session our Member can be but indifferently posted up in the requirements of his constituents, and wholly ignorant of their views on matters political. Private business may and no doubt has prevented Mr Fergus from carrying out the intentionshe professed during the last general election, but is not thi3 the most convincing proof that the urgency of his own affairs will not admit of his looking after those of this electorate 1 And if he cannot do justice to the position, would it notbe more satisfactory to all concerned for him to retire from it ? The interests of this wide and important electorate are too valuable to be risked in favor of any one man, be he ever so Cleveland well-meaning. These attributes are of no value if they are not put into practice on our behalf. Mr Fergus has been handsomely treated by this constituency, and ifc is giving but ungenerous return to treat it as a pocket borough. We do that gentleman the justice to say that we believe he has been unable, however willing, to come to New Zealand and meet his people, otherwise he surely would not lay himself open, as he has done, to thecharga of deliberately breaking distinct pledges made to the electors. It is now pretty well-known that up to a certain point Mr Fergus was not anxious to enter Parliament last session, and it would not in the least surprise us were he at the close of the present one to find it incompatible with other calls upon him to continue as our representative. We are almost driven to this conclusion by the indifference that has been displayed by our Member since his election last year. Were he resident in the Provincial District, and in a position to periodically confer with the electors at suitable intervals, we would wish no better representative than Mr Fergus ; but a3 an absentee from session to session he cannot be surprised that a feeling of dissatisfaction is springing up and growing rapidly throughout the electorate.

The downfall of the Gladstone Government last week came as a surprise at this end of the world, and it seems also to have been unlooked for throughout Europe. The Cabinet having successfully run the gauntlet of a no-confidence motion on its foreign policy only a few weeks ago, no doubt it was deemed safe against further assault. Indeed, the fact that, as recorded by cablegram, some 60 of the Liberal party refrained from voting on the adverse proposition of Sir M. Hicks-Beach would indicate that a false sense of security prevailed, or that the policy of the Cabinet had failed to stand the test of critical deliberation. Unquestionably there must exist at Home a strong feeling of irritation at the humiliation Great Britain has had to suffer under the rule of Mr Gladstone in regard to our foreign relations. The Soudan expedition has been a costly and by no means successful affair, and the failure is almost if not entirely attributed to the dilatory and unseasonable action of the Downing-strcet rulers. Then there came the trouble with Russia. The Premier has temporarily tided this over by a compromise which a large section of the British taxpayers no doubt look upon as a confession of weakness. Mr Gladstone has long manifested more friendship for the Russian than was palatable to the people at Home, whose sentiments towards the Northern Tower are somewhat analagous to what they were with the French half a century since. Liberal and Radical exponents naturally attribute all the bitterness against the foreign policy of late years to the Jingo element ; but beyond question the national spirit lias not, for the past two years at all events, been in harmony with Mr Gladstone. Few sensible thinking men woultl believe that Jingoism can drive Britain into a great war, and it is equally certain that the nation will resent its historical reputation being trampled upon and pusillanimity asserted by other nations to have taken the place of that conquering courage so long the pride and boast of the British isles. Heavy taxation to meet the expenditure on such futile and inglorious military displays as have of late been witnessed in the Soudan is not likely to be borne without protest that will make itself heard and felt. The proposal to increase the tax on beer and spirits may in itself be right enough, but these are luxuries indulged in by the great bulk of the working-classes, and dealt in by a powerful body, tiie licensed victuallers, and it is not improbable this fact has had something to do with the rejection of Mr Childeks' Budget. The Government must have recognised the danger of adding additional burdens on the masses in the present temper of the country, and this it was probably that led to " disruptions in the Cabinet." Should a Conservative Government come into power, we may look for an entire change of front in our foreign relations. This is pretty plainly indicated in the speecli of the Marquis of Salisbury, the Conservative leader, part of which we reprint elsewhere. While we regret the manner of Mr Gladstone's retirement from office, we also think the time is ripe for a change in the Administration, especially should the incoming party follow a course in which moderation is wisely blended with firm ness arid steadfastness of purpose. " Peace, with honor," the nation will always accept; " Peace at any Price " is a policy adopted by individuals and nations only when they have arrived at the last stage of senility.