THE LATE MINISTRY AND THE LATE SESSION. (FROM THE "OTAGO DAILY TIMES," SEPTEMBER 24.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVIII, Issue 1634, 16 October 1862, Page 3

THE LATE MINISTRY AND THE LATE SESSION. (FROM THE "OTAGO DAILY TIMES," SEPTEMBER 24.)

Thi- session of the Assembly ha* at length come to *n end ; wo publish in another column Sir George Grey's closing address. To the List moment Mr Fox continued Ins ahoi tive effoi ts to regain an influence or a seat in the Cabinet On the very day of prorogation he had a notice on the order paper to ask another of hia embarlabsing questions, relative to the vacant Attorney-Gen-eralship, But ho much was the feeling of the house against his attempt to injure a Ministry, which had done all the heavy woik of the session, that amidst roaia of laughter, Mi J C Richmond, who had a prior notice on the paper, was encouiaged to speak against time until Sir Geoige Grey's anival, and so prevent Mr. Fo\ fiom making another dnpli\ of his malignancy. The So well resignation episode is more fully explained. Mr. (jewell, after doing all he could to embarrass the ininistiy with lespect to the principal measure of the session, the Native Land Bill, was anxious to obtain a seat in the Cabinet, besides the Attorney-Generalship, at its close. To this pinpose he mged Mi Domett to make him a speedy offer, and that gentleman, weakly, was led into doing so. The rest of the Cabinet refused to aquiesce in the offer without further consideration, an Mi. Sew ell's joining entailed Mi. Russell's leaving. Mr. Sewell, when he heaid that the matter was still fuithei postponed, in a moment of angei, authorised Mi Fox to announce his lesignation of the AttorneyGuieialsliip, and the ministry gladly received it. Mr. Fo\.'s List efloi t h id pi obably m view the ie appointment of Mr. Sew til, but this was not to be. Mr. Fox as well as Mi Sewell, both loit office thiough an exhibition of temper, and we believe the feeling of the countiy, now that it is found their places can be supplied, is di culcdly favouiablo to their retirement. We should say thcio W little doubt but that Mr. Whitaker will accept the Attorney Generalship, with or without, aceoiding as miy be decided on, a seat in the Cabinet On the whole the f-ession may be pronounced as wittchedly unsatisfactoiy to the Middle Island. Tree, the new ministry had the giace to introduce into the (tovuhoi's addi<s«, which closed the sfssion, an allusion to the guld fields and glowing wealth of the South lil md, which weie m.nkedly slimed o\er in the opening addie=-> I'ut -till mue wniiK aie nothing, and the pi actual lesults .ire 1 uncntablv small. The sesssion wns ltetilv wholly occupied with native matteia, in which, to do the house justice, it was not behind in lil>eialit\ But, seeing that the noithunmembeis are in the asc nd.int, and tint votes fm native purposes will, to the e\teut of two thuds, come out of the Southern Tsl.uid leveuue, whilst the whole benefit of tlic expendituie will be felt in the Ninth, the libeiahty is not to be womhred at. It is so easy to be liberal when the dis-pen--Li lias not to l)nve t)ie consequences, but on the conti n y is likely to lie benefitted by the liberality In domestic men^ines the session is almost a blank, and those which wue passed were so huiuediy treated th it it ib too much to be feared they will be found, when put into operation, lamentably faulty One of the mo-t nnpoitant i elating to Otago, we legiet to have good cuise t> think, will nrove unfitted "to hold w.it'i,' -but of this moie another time. Theie was scutely a divi-ion on any of the measuies lelatmg to domestic attain, oi in other woids the house wns willing to ieci he the dictation of the ministry on anything but native itieisines. In <itlier colonial legislature 5 !, long serious aie devoted to discussing, cl.vusc by cluise, any new meisuies of domestic policy. Theie may be a great deal of unuecessny talking, but at any late the subjects tie well ventilated, and, us a consequence, the meaMUOb aie comprehensively suited to the requiiements foi which the}' aie destined But Xevv Zealand misihfc .i*. well be without ,i hgi-l itme .is f.n as its domestic poliLV is concerned, oi in othti woids, ns fm as anything that i tin U ? to the immediate inteiests of the Nnithein Tsland Indeed, it would ho better without ■mv, In cause, if the Governor had power to legislate himself, theio would be less of the faults tint aiisefiom him led pn^age of meisuies tlnough the Hous , and theie would not be the dehvvs incidental to eighteen months' lecesses, The meisures most vital to the southern Wxiul weie postponed to the following fcpssion, and, at the last, it was coolly announced that in oulci to allow a moie lengthened e\peument of the new native institutions, there wonld not be another session for neaily two yeais. It was uieicly by an omission that the meeting uf pailiainent once within eveiy veai was not stipulated foi by the Constitution Act Such was piovided for as fu as pi ovincial councils tie concerned, and we do not hesitate to sa>. that a two yeais" rece-s is thoroughly unconstitutional. Histoiy te.ichis what \astl} disastrous eft'ects have sprung fiom tampeung with the sittings of pailiament and if less woeful icsults from the same causes aie pioduced in New Zeiluul, we maj thank othei ciicumstances than the wisdom of the legislatme. The pitsent condition of the government in New Zealand, is woise than that which the most aibitraiy foi in of despotism would supply It amounts to this: — the ministry are lnesponsible for two yeai3, they cm effect what uijuiy they please, but they aie powerless to legislate for good If a. despot chooses to do good he has the means, but the New Ze iland ministiy are unable legally to pi ovule for any necessities that may ause, whilst they can if they choo»e, undei existing conditions, misuse theii authoiity without having for two \eais to lender an account For instance, as Mr. Mooihotise put it, they may, if they please, indefinitely in- t<.ase the mteinal-ptotectiou foice — and of every pound expended something like fourteen shillings will come out of the Middle Island — but they aie powerless to lcmove the bin den with which the Middle Island is afflicted in the injudicious taiiff that pievails. If, instead of pioaperiU, re\> rse should bef ill the Middle Island, the ciu-hing effects of the tanff miLtht lead to popular l iota The government and the House both admitted its. injustice and the mgent necessity of revising it, but they simply lefused to do so, because theie wis not time This was the way in which the measure ninst m gently affecting the Middle [stand was ti cited, and the one cisc is a sample of a do7en other fiiimlai instances If the Middle Island h ttue to it-elf, it should petition Sir Geoige G'cy, and, if uecessviy, the home government 1 , for the immediate calling togethci au'ain of pnliament, for a se-,--ion to be devoted to pmely domestic legislation Meanwhile, the sppilatiomsts shoul'l "be up and doing *' Tliose who have hesitated to join the movement alleged as their excuse, then ilesne to see what the session just past would bung forwaid Suiely it has supplied sufficitnt to any lesideut of the Middle Island to make the demand for scpaiation an imperative one