ELECTION OF MR. MACANDREW.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 836, 19 March 1867, Page 3

ELECTION OF MR. MACANDREW.

..• ; . .-: (From the ■ Independent,' Feb. 28.) The election of Mr. Macandrew as Superintendent of the province of Otago is an event of more than local importance. The morality of a country is not unfairly measured by the honor of its public men, and a representative of the people is supposed to represent, not only their opinions but their character. We should be sorry to think this invariably true, but are certain that it is generally believed. As individuals are roughly judged by the company they keep, so are communities by the character of those they elect to rule over them. In neither case is the conclusion thug formed perfectly correct,**but in both it is the best that can be come to for practical purposes. It is possible that a very honest man may have got into the company of thieves and blacklegs, but his associates are apt to damage his credit. The world is . too busy to draw nice distinctions, and a " dove who has lien among the pots" is put down as a very dirty bird by nature. But if accidental contact leaves a stain not easily, got rid of, it is incalculably deeper wnen the result of deliberate choice. It is difficult to believe that people value honesty ?eey MgSiy, wMfi f&ey steet f&s ineir JSupeaatendeafc a man against whom it stands recorded, bhab when he formerly .occupied that position, "he by a breach of trust withdrew from the Bank, antf under a mere pretence, obtained from Mr. Pater- ; son an acquittance for the amount," of £1000, and who was the subject of the following letter from the Colonial Secretary, to the Speaker of the Provincial Council of Otago. Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, March 6, 1861. Sib, — Referring to my letter No. i, of the •4th January last, stating that the auditor of the public accounts of New Zealand had'beeu appointed by his Excellency the Governor to enquire into and report upon the charges preferred by the Provincial Council of the Province of Otago against the Superintendent of that Province, I have the honor to inform you that after a careful investigation of the auditor's report, and of the evidence taken by him, his Excellency has, with the advice of Ministers, complied with the prayer of the address signed by a majority of the members of the Provincial Couacil, and removed Mr, James Macandrew from the office of Super* intendent of the Province of Otago, &c, &o. (Signed) E. W. Stafford. To the Speaker of the Provincial Council, Otago. The only excuse we can make for the Otago people is, that the majority who voted for Mr. Macuudrew were completely bamboozled by that gentleman. They knew that he possessed a considerable share of a certain sort of cleverness, and they did not know the exact nature of the transac- i tiona which had led to bis being removed from office. Still, we understand that whilst j the election was still pending, the " report j of the commissioners appointed to examine the public accounts of the Province of Otago, and the evidence taken thereon" was published as a pamphlet, so that even the excuse we have mentioned is rather a lame one. All that can be said in the matter is, that the Otage majority have proved themselves either not very particular, or not very intelligent. Mr. Macandrew fully comes up to their standard, and so they elected him. No doubt he is a very fit head for such a body. At the same time it would be well for the Otago people not to expect too muck from their new Superintendent. They have elected him knowing more or less of his antecedents, and it would be a pity that such knowledge should be lost. Every elector ought occasionally to refresh his memory by glancing over the Otago Provincial Government Gazette of June 7, 1861. The Commissioners' report might occasionally be read in the Dunedin churches, and thus Otago morality would be kept down to the proper level. Considering that the report and evidence extends to thirteen pages of; the Gazette, an epitome might be published for the use of schools, and thus an ideal of what constitutes a " fit and proper person" for a Superintendent would be firmly established in the public mind. At the same time the appendix to the report would form asortof " complete letter writer for gentlemen in difficulties." The style of the following letter of Mr. Macandrew is admirable in its way, and throws much light upon that muddle of "money warrants," "I 0 U's" "checks," "cash payments," "bills discounted," "cash book entries," "acceptances," and " petty cash," and upon all that network of cross transactions which form the bulk of the evidence upon which the Commissioner and the Government based their decision. " What a pity it was," writes this victim of injustice, " that you did not entrust the whole of that affair to me. I could have polished it off as smoothly as you please. I spoke to Mr. Morris (one of the Board of Audit, the appointee of the Superintendent) and found that there was 'not the slightest necessity for all the stew in which you ha v© placed both you and myself. There is no intention of reporting anything detrimental to you." It certainly is a pity that the "polishing off" could not have been done at the time. Still it must be a comfort to Mr. Macandrew to know that his 'i»]ent in ihe art of "polishing off" has now fceent allowed full exercise, and that by dint of incesiant labor he bos become, in the

eyes of the Otago people, a shining light, or at least a mirror in which their own wishes are reflected. It is with no intention of reporting anything detrimental "to the Superintendent or the people of Otago," that we allude to these notorious facts, but simply with the view of pointing out the injury that the whole colony is likely to sustain, if character is to go for nothing in politics. If a province can show such a cynical disregard for what every man knows is, or ought to be, the opinion of right thinking men, as Otago baa done in this instance, people will argue that no reliance can be placed in the honor of the colonial governments, general or provincial. Out of New Zealand, few will know the difference between one province and another, or between their Governments and that of the colony. Indeed, even did a more exact knowledge prevail, the case would not be altogether different. It would still be thought that what one province had done, another might do. We know that nothing frightens away capital so surely as any suspicion of insecurity. " Mr. Macandrew is elected Superintendent" will be interpreted into " the Province of Otago and the colony of New Zealand contemplate repudiating their engagements." It is on this ground that j we protest against the conduct of the Otago people, and not because we think that Mr. Macandrew will again place himself in a position in which he will have to make things smooth, by "polishing off." The question is not one of mere sentiment and feeling, right and proper as it is to feel strongly on subjects involving the honor of the country. It is, on the contrary, most directly practical. A firmly established reputation for honesty is worth a great deal to an individual ; it is worth infinitely more to a community. A private person may be forced to meet his engagements, a government, if backed by the people, may repudiate them. The principle, that in dealing with large bodies of men their willingness to behave fairly is as important as their power to do so, is never lost sight of by those who have anything to lose. It is no exaggeration to say, that the United States has lost hundreds of millions, simply because Pennsylvania behaved badly about her money affair, (although she ultimately paid her debts), and because Mississippi behaved still worse, and never paid at all. No one ever doubted that the United States could pay all they were likely to borrow, three times over ; the only question was would they. In this case, too, the States as a whole had never repudiated, or, indeed, done anything to cast suspicion on the honesty of their Government, but a small minority of the population had refused to pay their just debts — not without some show of reason of ttte " poligftmg GOT 77 kind — and ihe ione of public life in America was not too high, and so capitalists, who lent their money as freely to Russia as to England, made the States pay that high interest, which covers the risk of bad security. Now, we do not suppose for a moment, that either Otago or any other province in New Zealand is going to repudiate, or in any other manner show a total disregard of common honesty, but we think that the election of Mr. Macandrew shows a tendency on the part of a large section of the Otago people to undervalue what may be termed public honor, and to think what the Americans call " smartness l: a fine thing. Should this tendency spread, aa it is very apt to do, then we say Constitutional Government will become a mere nuisance. Security, the very foundation of civilised society, will be shaken in every direction.- Not only the public creditor, but private persons, will live in perpetual fear of some act of injustice being perpetrated against them, and though the few will be the first sufferers, the many will be the greatest. It is only by making a firm stand against the slightest approach towards such a state of things, that their realisation can be prevented. Public opinion is the only safeguard that a country, situated as this is, can possibly have against corruption, and an enlightened self-interest is the surest guide to its formation. Let it be once thoroughly understood that the slightest trickiness in a Government costs the people an enormous sum of money directly, and that it may lead to infinitely greater evils, and no Government will dare to be dishonest. In all cases, let it be remembered, that technical, and legal quibbles which may save a private person from the grasp of the law, will avail a Government nothing. A Government may, indeed, like an individual, gain an action on such grounds, but if its conduct is really unjust — if it is such as ordinary fair-minded men cannot approve of — then it has lost character and credit, and it will have to pay heavily till it redeems both. If such views as these are held throughout the colony, then even Mr. Macandrew's election may not do us much harm. A wrong done, or a folly committed, is but an isolated act ; it is the general approval of either which gives them this significance. It is a misfortune that the Ofcago people have been so easily led astray ; it would be a crime did the rest of the colony regard their conduct with indifference, or with any other feeling than that of the deepest regret.