THE SOUTHERN CROSS. Tuesday, March 11, 1856.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIII, Issue 908, 11 March 1856, Page 2

THE SOUTHERN CROSS. Tuesday, March 11, 1856.

T.UCEO NON URO. '•If I have bern oxti nin , lsh( . rti Tel fh . A thousand beacons from the spark I bore

At the repeated instance of many of our readers, \ve publish the correspondence, laid some while since before the Provinciil Council, concerning Colonel Wynyard's election to the Superintend dency of the Auckland Province. For our own part, after having obtained from if the important information, corroborating the opinion of the Provincial Law Officer— namely, that the offices of Governor and Superintendent are "incompatible"—we would rather have let it lie upon the table, without further notice, being unwilling to past differences to mind. Having admitted it, call however, to our columns, a few accompanying observations are required. The earlier portion at least of the correspondence is incomplete ; nor is it easy to account for Mr. Forsaith's letter of April 16 being given, and that of the 15th being omitted. It will be observed that Colonel Wynyard Vegins by admitting the impropriety of his standing for the office, assigning the true grounds of objection. He declines the invitation. Yet who would have supposed that it was but a nolo episcopari refusal, after all ; that he was minde^ to "do as the the lasses do, — sayna, and tak it." Mr. Foisaith insists ; becomes more pressing still, and the Colonel, "whispering, I will ne'er consent," consented. He had been informed that he possessed "a combination of qualifications" for the office, and the compliment over came his scruples as to the abstract impropriety. ! After accepting the requisition to stand, Colonel Wynyard writes to Governor Grey on the subject. There could be no doubt as to the tenor of the answer. His Excellency, upon , whom the election of Mr. Brown — one of the most consistent and uncompromising of his opponents, would have been in fact a vote of censure, earnestly recommends the Colonel to go to the poll. No man could be better aware than Governor Grey of the violent outbreak of party feeling that would necessarily attend on such a course ; but that, to him, would be an advantage, as in accordance with his divide et imperil system, so long and so successfully carried on. Colonel Wynyard, after a close contest, carried the day. But there is no rose without a thorn ; surgit amari aliquid ; in the midst of electoral congratulations, comes the bitterness of having to transmit Mr. Brodies well-known letter — unanswerable and unanswered — to the Horse Guards. The letter was the counterfoil to the "correspondence," shewing everything as it actually took place. Colonel Wynyard sends the letter through Governor Grey, requesting that it may be "accompanied with such observations as his Excellency may think called for." Governor Grey complies with the request, and "observes" upon the trial for libel, concerning which he tells a portion of the truth, but is careful not to tell the whole. This, it must be noted, is Governor Grey's second letter concerning Mr. Brodies communication ; thejirst does not appear. The dry, peremptory style in which the Secretary of State for the Colonies intimated his decision, is remarkable. It appears to me that the offices of Governor and Superintendent are incompatible, and ought not to be held at the same time by the same person. I think it very probable that the case may hive struck you in the same light, and that you may have already been led to resign your oifice of Superintendent ; but if that should not have been the case, it will be d - suable that you should lose no time in diverting yourself of that office. The case had struck his Honour the Superintendent in a \ery different light. Nor does he even comply forthwith. On the 6th of October, 1854, he informs the Secretary of State that he will resign after holding another session of Council ! in which, be it observed, he passed measures that were productive of the greatest emoarrassment to his successor, and under the effects of which we are labouring still. Moreover, he keeps back from the opposite party to his own the knowledge of his appioaching resignation, until December 27. The effect of this reticence upon the ensuing election is easily appreciated. On the 24th of January, 1855, he informs the Seoretaiy of State that he had that day "finally resigned," and proceeds to write as follows :—: — In conveying this information, I b"g permission to enclose a copy of a Resolution of the Provincial Council, and also of my Address on proroguing that body, in older that you may perceive the real position in which I stood in the estimation of the Representatives of the Inhabitants, and how far the epithet "Firebrand," used in the enclosure which accompanied ray despatch of the 22nd November last, applied in reality to rue. The despatch of November 22 does not appear' But we cannot help expressing our surprise at a paragraph so calculated to mislead the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is not informed that the Council which voted the Address represented but one party in the Pnmnce — Colonel Wynyard's own ; a party which shortly afterwards proved to be in a minority. Had the Secretary of State been so informed, he would have perceived at once that it was impossible to judge from the Address how far the epithet complained of in reality applied.

Ix the 'New-Zealander of Saturday, we read as follows : — We now come to the Land Regulations. Although, ns conducted under the Pro\ incial Secretary, the inquiry by the Select Committee was in reality "a sham," to back up lore-gone conclusions ;— although, on absurd pretexts and quibbles, important evidence tendered by Mr. Dil worth, has been rejected, though submitted tothe Committee in such a form as would 1 aye taken no time to record it, (a fact, by the bye, which the Provincial Secretary, in his written defence of his extraordinary conduct in the Committee, forgets to mention), &c. We could scarcely have supposed so great an imprudence, as any allusion to the "fact" alleged. For we are now obliged to state a few more facts, which might otherwise have been left unmentioned. It had been decided by the Committee, after many long examinations, that the evidence concerning the operation of the Present Regulations should be closed. Mr. Lusk had been unr'er examination on two successive days : Mr. Dilworth wished him to be recalled, for the purpose of putting additional questions ; but the request was negatived by the Committee, too much time having been already taken up. The Committee proceeded to consider the Proposed Regulations. On these, no evidence was taken, but a resolution was passed, ordering Messrs. Taylor, May, and Lusk to be written to,, asking them to furnish practical suggestions towards the introduction of a small farm credit system. These suggestions were to be sent in by 11 a.m. on the following day. Mr. Lusk had left town, and was not written to ; although the form of writing ought certainly to have been complied with. When this omission was brought to the Chairman's notice, he moved that a further time, (until the Monday following) should be allowed to Mr. Lusk for his suggestions. On the Tuesday followirg, Mr. Dilworth, in re* ference to the resolution concerning the practical suggestions, put in papers received from Mr. Lusk, They were late, by a day ; the Chairman however, immediately drafted a motion' for their being received. But, before taking the votes, he proceeded to read the papers to the Committee,

when it turned out, that they were not the papers expected in answer to the resolution, but the evidence reduced to writing, which had been already refused by the Committee ! A resolution was passed upon the subject, and the papers, after having been upon the point of acceptance, were returned to Mr. Dilworth. We do not allow ourselves to comment upon the manner in which they were put in ; but it is only fair to Mr. Lusk to state that, being absent, he could have had no cognizance of what took place.

We recommend to the consideration of those who are striving so hard in Council to delegate taxatioD, the fellowing extract from Dr. Fe<itherston's address on the subject of Local Municipal' Boards. It will be observed that he proposes to entrust the Wanganui Board with the expenditure of all moneys which the Council may vote for Provincial purposes. The concluding paragraph, in which he states that he will " not be satisfied " until certain powers of local taxation shall have been introduced, is sufficient proof that, in his opinion, an impediment exists at present. Otherwise he -would have "satisfied" himself, long si nee. Being convinced that the chief husiness of Government can never be performed by the Executive of the Pro-rince ; but thnt those matters which most influence the happiness of the inhabitants ought, in reality, to be by select men, or in the small Governments of Townships;— believing that the ultimate success of the Constitution will mainly depend upon the mass of the people being accustomed to consider the social business, as an important item in every man's busineis, I am anxious to seize every opportunity of denuding the Provincial Executive of power, and of vesting it in local bodies. It is with this object, and in compliance with the wishes of the settlers at Wanganui, that a Bill will be brought in, to confer certain municipal powers upon an elected Board, and to entrust to that Board, amongst other things, the expenditure of all moneys which you may vote for their district purposes. But I repeat that, holding as I do, that to the inhabitants of each district, no matter how few in number they may be, ought to be confided the management of every thing connected with, and affecting the well being ot their neighbourhood, considered merely as a neighbourhood and unconnected either with the Province generally, or the districts or neighbourhoods immediately surrounding them ;—advocating on precisely the same ground that I claim for the Local Government the exclusive administration of all affairs relating to the Province only, the conferring upon each district or township the exclusive management of all matters affecting itself alone,— l bhall not be satisfied until a system similar to the American, under which, as soon as ever a few families are congregated together, they are empowered to raise local taxes, and to elect local officers, has been introduced into every part of this Province. We are always well pleased at being able to coincide in opinion with Dr. Featberston ; and regret that his narrow ultra-provincialism, and what are still more objectionable, his American propensities, so seldom afford the chance. In the desire to uncentralize, to vest power in local bodies, we most heartily concur. Localization of power is emphatically English — SaxonEnglish ; lying at the root of all that is best in the institutions of the mother country. One of the first objects of the Provincial Governments should be to obtain the means of attaining this desire, in accordance with law. Hut if, by premature action, we advance beyond the law, loss of time, expended in retracing the faulty steps — in unweaving the Penelope web, must inevitably be the ultimate result.