North Otago Times. THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1879.

North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2158, 3 April 1879, Page 2

North Otago Times. THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1879.

It it generally believed by the students of current politics in New Zealand, that there will be a dissolution next session, and this belief is justified by a consideration of the speeche3 delivered by members during the recess, and of the elements which constitute the present House of Representatives. The present Ministry, the main drift of whose policy is undoubtedly acceptable to the country, conducted its business during the past session in such a haphazard manner thav most naturally, even many of those who approve of its policy in the main, find it difficult to give it that support which is necessary to the full success of a Government. The action of the Government in regard to the Electoral Bill and other measures was so unjustifiable that, though the chief points of its policy are such as cannot but receive the approval of the country, the Ministry itself is not trusted as a Ministry should be by the people of the Parliament. The speeches made by Ministers during the recess, too, have unfortunately contained utterances which have not tended to increase public confidence in them personally. . A strange spectacle is thus presented to those who look into the politics of the country— the people generally, and even members of the Opposition, manifesting a thorough approval of the Government policy as a whole, while the Government itself is neither trusted nor respected as a Government with a policy so approved should be. For this thusness, however, it is not difficult to account. At the outset of its career the Government proferred the people a liberal policy — a policy extending the franchise, equalising taxation, saving the land for the people, | and redistributing ooat* *n « *<> *»ako parliamentary representation more complete, more equable, than it is under the present order of things. This policy is found to be thoroughly suited to the wants and wishes of the country. So much is this tho case that, as we have already noticed, we find even those who are opposed to the Government personally approving of its policy in a most hearty manner. The policyia certainly a wise one, in fact it is the only one calculated to make the country great in the true sense of the term, for its central principle is the recognition of the people as the Alpha and Omega of the constitution. Its general acceptance, too, by the thinking men of the Colony shows that, taught by the | past and current history of monarchical countries on the Continent of Europe, there is amongst us an intelligent disposition to learn wisdom from the harm of others, for, recognising the fact that the French Revolution arose, and that modern Socialism in Germany and Russia exists, on account of the Governments of those countries ignoring the rights of the people, there is a noble desire, an heroic determination, to build up this country on the basis of justice to all, and to check the dangerous tendency which manifested itself in the earlier days of the Colony, and continued to manifest itself with more or less vigor till within the last year or two, namely, to give tha legislation of the Cclony a palpable twist to promote the interests of one class to the disadvantage uf those of another. For the development of this new and wise disposition on the part of public men, no man is more to be thanked than Sir George Grey, and if he would content himself with adhering to the leading lines of his political creed, he would do the country more good than he has yet done it, strengthen the position of his Government and party, and gain for himself what he so strongly desires, much additional gratitude and glory amongst the people. Unhappily the Premier does not do this, and instead of devoting his fine oratorical gifts to the dignified exposition of his policy, and instead of marching straight on in the direct forthright of that policy, he degrades the former by declaiming against the petty subterfuges occasionally resorted to by those opposed to him, and neglects the latter for the sake of some unreasonable hobby or impracticable theory. Witness the Government's conduct in rejecting the Electoral Bill, as first laid before Parliament by itself, solely because the Legislative, Council had expunged the ! after-proposition to let Maoris vote on account of their tribal lands, for which they paid no rates, as well as in their capacity of ratepayers. The mention of the Legislative Council brings us to the consideration of one of those post-sessional utterances, which made by Ministers, have tended to bring the Ministry, as a whole, into disfavor with reflecting people. We refer to Sir Gborgb Gret's talk about reforming the constitution of the Legislative Council, nay, of abolishing it altogether ; for, unless our memory deceives us, some hints to that effect have been dropped by the Premier. No such reform is desired or

required by the country— most certainly no sane man wishes for the abolition of the Council, and few, we feel assured, have any particular desire to make the Council an elected instead of a nominated body. It may be that, as at present constituted, the Council is occasionally inopportunely conservative, but though, to use Sir Gavav Duffy's phrase, we ourselves are Liberal to the back-bone and spinal marrow, we are not io unreasonable as to think that the measures of » Liberal Government, or a democratic Lower House should never, under any circumstances, be subjected to modihca tion. This, we feel sure, U the feeling of the country, too, with regard to the present position, as between the Government and the Council and the Council and the House. There is no fear of the Council, as at present constituted, offering factious opposition to any measure really required or desired by the people ; and so long as it preserves this characteristic in its integrity, we hold that it would bo eminently unwise to interfere with it in the way indicated by the Government. j Another matter to be referred to in this connection is the fad of the Premier and I the Attorney-General, concerning the I Colony's electing its own Governor. The proposition is most inopportune at the present stage of our development, and we are not inclined to think that it can possibly become a discreet one at any time within the present century. Whatever the future may come to desire in this respect, Sir George Grby may rest assured that New Zealand Colonists of the present day have no wish for entire political separation — which is involved in the proposition to elect our own Governor — from the glorious old land from which we derive almost all that is great in our institutions, from that noble, kindly, wise, and Grave mother of majestic works, From her isle-alt»r gazing down, Who, god-like, grasps the triple forks, And, king-like, wears the crown. We are, therefore, led to the conclusion that if a dissolution takes place, and Sir GfiOKGB Grey goes to the country, he will, if he wishes to be returned with a majority at his back, have to strip his programme of all such excresences, such unstatesmanlike f.vds, as those which we have been noticing, for the people will have none of them. Stripped of these, and such as these, however, his policy is the one 'which the country will endorse, but he must not think that because this is so the people will take it with all its imperfections on its head, as his conduct during and since the session would lead us to infer is his own belief. He had bettor be wise in time, and, indeed, if he becomes so early, and shows Parliament, next session, that his Government has bidden farewell to its fads and fancies and earnestly means to carry out the real business of its policy, there may not, after all, be any dissolution. But in any case we have had enough of talking at large, and must now have something likfl dftfinUo ivr>Vu<>vnm©nt of purpooo on the part of the Ministry in the matter of those wise reforms, on the strength of which they came into favor with the people before the beginning of last session.

A portion of the Pareora Estate, cut up into suitably sized farms, will be submitted to auction at Timaru to-day by Messrs Maclean and Stewart. Rainer's diorama of the Russo-Turkish war appeared in Oamaru for the last time yesterday evening in the Volunteer Hall The company, which has drawn good houses here, proceeds northward to-day. We are requested by the auctioneers to draw the attention of our readers to the postponement of the sale at Mr Hugh M 'Call's farm. Shag Valley, from Thursday, the 3rd, to Friday, the 4th inst. In consequence of the Volunteer Hall having been otherwise engaged last night, the usual weekly practice of the Philharmonic did not take place. We are requested to intimate to members that it will be held at the Volunteer Hall this evening at 8.30 sharp. Some time ago we published a short notice of several oil sketches of Dunodin scenery, from the brush of Mr Power, of Dunedin. The pictures, which possess no inconsiderable merit as works of art, can now be seen to great advantage at Mr G. Greenfield 1 ! auction rooms. A correspondent, in refemng to the light on the Cape, suggests that its opaqueness is to be attributed to the inferior quality of the red paint used for coloring trie glass, and aays that the Government, if they are determined to maintain the color, should at least substitute for the common red lead the finer pigment. It is pleasing to notice that the unsightly and inconvenient heaps of stone on the west side of Thames street are rapidly undergoing the process of being reduced to the requisite size before being laid upon the road. In the course of a week or two the obstruction will probably be removed. The number of vessels entered at the port of Oamaru for the month of March was 40, their aggregate reported tonnage being 6159 tons. For the same period 32 vessels entered the port of JTimaru, totaling 5576 tons. Thus, while a greater number of vessels entered this port, those that called at Timaru were of a larger size. The Telegraph says that a gentleman in Hawke's Bay, with a turn for figures and an intimate acquaintance with the facts on which he bases his calculations, h*3 arrived at the conclusion that owing to the fall in the price of wool in England, the money spent in New Zealand this year will be one million and a quarter less than was spent last year. At the R.M. Court, yesterday, before Mr J. W. Humphrey, J.P., several of the seamen of the brig Argos, now lying in port, preferred charges against the captain of using threatening language towards them. Mr Hislop appeared for the defendant. The evidence was of a very conflicting nature, and the Bench dismissed th« whole of the cases. Threshing operations have come to a close in the Incholme district, the yield, as in most other parts, being very disappointing. One farmer states that from a paddock, which laat season yielded something like 600 bags of wheat, the product this year in oats has not reached 400 bags, a falling off which he attributes to the ill effects of the hot winds on the young plants. Feed is not very plentiful, though the cattle seem in very fair condition. Our Papakaio correspondent writes that the very favorable weather hat enabled most of the farmers to get their grain threshed out, but the results are not very satisfactory. Indeed, it is by far the worst season ever experienced here by the farmers, partly owing to the high prevailing winds early in the season, which did so much damage to the uncut grain, causing it to ripen too soon, *nd leaving but an inferior quality *ad smaller returns. The average will not exceed all round 28 bushels, and the small prico now offering gives but very little en*

oouragtment for th« future. The potato crop u very indifferent, but the price offering will make np for the d»ftoienoy. The frequent showers of Ute hare given a great start to the pasture*, which are now looking very fresh, and are giving welcome relief to the stock, which has been nearly at starvation point for months past. Tenders for the construction of an addi- ; tional 700 feet to the Breakwater olose today, at 12 o'clock. . The Hon. Mr Fox will deliver a lecture on temperance in the New Teea-street Hall on Friday evening, beginning at 8 o'clock. Mr Fox's discourse will be delivered under the tuipices of the Good Templar Lodges of Oamaru. The body of a man named Mitchell Martin was found on Tuesday afternoon, floating in the Washdyke creek, near Timaru. Martin had been a cooper at the New Zealand Meat Preserving Company's works, and has been missing for about a week. There were no marks of violence on the body, which was fully dressed. We are informed by the Telegraph Department that the Port Darwin line is interrupted north of Government Gums. It is satisfactory to know that north of Daly Waters or Alice Springs is not the locality of the interruption, and it is also consoling to have acquired the information that the Government of Queensland have "gums." They will, let us hope, have teeth by and by, even if they should be false ones. The Kakanui Dramatic Club are again going to appear before a Kakanui audience, this time with the laudable object of increasing tho fund for the benefit of the widows and children left desolate by the late Kaitangata catastrophe. With each appearance of this Club a great improvement in histrionic art is noticeable, and we hop* that they will be greeted by a full house The pieces chosen for the occasion are ' ' Urgent Private Affairs" and "Found in a FourWheeler." Four gentlemen are already named as likely candidates for the seat for Coleridge, in Canterbury, about to be rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr J. C. Wason. There are reasons for believing that the gentlemen named as conservatives in politics, and it is doubtful whether the electors, the majority of whom are of democratic tendencies, will return a representative who is not a liberal. Some smart walking took place last Saturday in the Timaru district. The Herald tells how four men working at the waterworks dam at the Pareora Gorge walked eighteen miles across high hills, low dales, and river beds, the distance being completed in three hours and three minutes. Two matches wereinvolved, one between Churchill and Campbell for L 5 a-side, the other between Ellison and Jefcoate for L 2. In' the first Campbell won, in the second Jefcoate. A meeting of the Council of the North Otago Rifle Association was held 'ast evening m the Royal Hotel. After some routine business, a discussion arose as to the date to be fixed for the annual prize meeting. It was found that the original intention of holding it on Easter Monday was unsuitable, as it would debar the Otepopo and Hampden Companies from competing, it being the intention of the before, mentioned companies to be present at the Invercargill Review, to be held on that date. It was decided that the annual prize-firing should take place on Friday, 18th April, when it is expected that volunteers returning to Christcnurcb will take part. It was resolved that the first match be 200 and 300 yards, seven shot* at «ach ; the second match at 400, 500, and 600 yards, seven shots at each ; and that the third match be a consolation handicap match (entrance free), open only to those members who have not won prizes during the meeting, ranges 300 and 400 yards, five shots at each, second class targets. The prize list will be arranged in a few days, and we are requested to intimate to intending competitors the necessity of making their entries as early as possible, so as to give the secretary an opportunity of making the necessary arrangements. A number of private prizes have already been promised, and it is anticipated that the meeting will be a very successful one.