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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 2, Issue 61, 20 November 1858, Page 3

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TRA CT S FO R THE T I M ES . "Dare lucem et dare servem" „ { ; N0.'4.-^-ASQTTASBO?EatISr. J fcEoir»l) HOIJ3. The time is close at hand ■when the electors' of the new province of Hawke's Bay will be called on to build and launch their ship. Whether, she isi to be a steainsr or a sailer, of iron or of ball, does not greatly matter; only, if of .iron her riyeta liust. suit; and if of wood ncr treenails must '%'& rdusd in order to fit their holes-^— otherwise she will very soonjb.e in Bayy J ; otxsfl 10cker, ....„, :-.-. ■ ..'; •..,.; :. Haw'ke's Bay ia now ; >;a'/f^p^ri^a &txA\ her. sett^^rs .have now iraportant duties- to. perform. - I)utfes which cannot fairly be pijt Qff,_nor r thrown aside, nor- shirked. Duties which, owing

to the peculiar temper and circumstances of the times, can only be faithfully performed by a manly determination to do "what is right. In order to this every elector should think well and think deeply." For our commencement' tfs a new province is very different from that of any of the older provinces of New Zealand. And in no one point more particularly so than in that of tlie non-elec' tion of the Superintendent by the people. (This is a fact which will appear more clearly by-and-bye — seeing that John Bull, all over the world, always buys experience dearly.) Therefore, bro-ther-electora, consider this well, ponder this deeply, before you give your vote to any one who may seek it in order to become a Member of Council. Many a man is fit for the office of Council Member who is not fit for that of Superintendent. Reflect then, that in voting for the one you are in, all probability voting for the other. Look about you : .talk a little more among, yourselves as to fife men ; prepare your stuff for your ship, of which you are the builders, but the men whom you may choose the navigators ; so shall you avoid the disgrace and loss which is always sure sooner or later to arise from putting a square peg into a round hole. For this very reason also, of the Members of Council choosing from among themselves a. Superintendent, you will have persons seeking to vbecome Council Members with no other yiew r ~than that of gaining the superintendency — the title and the salary : just like old staunch wrestlers in a ring throwing young and inexperienced ones in their way to the first prize. And from this consequence arises, I fear, another equally certain, namely,- that you are likely to have more unfit illadapted persons seeking to become Council Members, than any of the older provinces have yet had at any one general election. Now, do consider this. Be wide-awake. Eec6llect the thousand and one failures and sad errors which were said to have taken place during the late Crimean war, and which were mainly charged to the account of red.-ta.pism — or, the square peg in the round hole. But those errors, many and grave though they ;Were, were as nothing (to us, here,) when com""pared. to the evils which will assuredly follow your doing the same thing. Therefore, I venture plainly and openly to advise you :— vote not for any man because he is rich, — or because he is a good scholar, — or because he may hold, or have held, any government or other office however high, — or because he is the thirty-third cousin of some lord, or because he is a clever chap, or because "he is a jolly good fellow," — or because your wives are exceedingly intimate, — or because he belongs to and will uphold "through thick and thin" your particular class, — or because in voting for him you "will have his custom or influence or favor, — or because he has "the gift of the gab," —or because he is of the same family or town or country as yourself, — or, in short, because of any thing less than this — that he is really and truly a fit and proper person to serve the public cattle. Believe me, brother-electors, a plain man of honest heart and practical ability is much more likely to serve your purpose and the welfare of the province, than any assuming upstart with.no more brains than a hen be he who he may. As a late writer traly says : — "There is an immense amount of cool impudence nowadays, that puts on the garb of most innocent respectability, and that pushes incompetence into the post of senius, and prefers any quality to the one required if the possessor be wellconnected. All see that this tampering with right is almost as fatal to the commonwealth as the most direct dishonesty. And then, when a great misfortune has happened, we have always the consolation of knowing, that it is traceable only to the most unexceptionable of dunderheads and imposters; but, the blunder is there, — the evil is done." Believing, as I do, that our welfare and going ahead as a province will mainly depend upon bur having a good superintendent — an honest practical business-like man of comprehensive mind; one who has few or no private interests, nor "hobbies," but a man of integrity who holds equally dear the interests of all ; — believing this, I, after long consideration, thus write to put you on your guard. And this I the more readily do, from my also believing with Adam Smith,— -"The just man, the man who, in all private transactions would be the most beloved and the most esteemed, in those public transactions is top often regarded as a fool and an idiot, who does not understand his business." * Forewarned, forearmed : if you will use white pine instead of totara as piles for your building; — if you will put incompetent persons into office — the square peg into a round hole — you must also bs content to reap the consequences. ■■•■-■ Wti. COIENSO. Waitangi, Nov. 15, 1858. - . „•■•■■ * Theory of moral sentiments. ;.