The New Zealand Herald. MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1869.

New Zealand Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1839, 6 December 1869, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1869.

Si'KUTK.MUII AGK.VDiI. " Give every man Miiue car, hut few tiiv voice ; Take each man's censare.. but reserve thy InilJicent This above nil,—To thine, own self be true And it must follow, as the nislit the day, Thou ciuis't not tlien be falsa to any man."

To-day, at two o'clock, tlio public meeting will be held at Mr. Lascelles' oilice, to receive the report of the committee appointed to consider and report upon tho present system of managing claims arid companies at the Thames. The first meeting was called by a number of gentlemen resident both at Auckland and the Thames, and was the almost spontaneous acfc of those present brought about by evils the existence of which is almost universally admitted. Tlie committee is composed of some of the most thoughtful and practical men of business in Auckland, and they have, we believe, given some considerable time to the subject in hand, and no doubt their recommendation will be all that could possibly be expected under the circumstances, for, is must be remembered that the report of the committee can have no practical effect except so far as it may tend to guide and mould public opinion, and thus induce among investors in Thames shares attention to the subjects

1 reported upon, and afterwards concerted action in the various companies to which the committee's report may ■ be applicable. As this brings us to | • notice pome misapprehensions that r have grown up in the minds of a few, [ and which are sedulously fostered bysome designing and notorious deina- • gogues at the Thames, we publish in another part of our journal a report of 1 a public meeting held at the Thames : on Friday last, for the purpose ,' of taking into consideration the , " better working of the mines "on the Thames gold field, and " al?o to consider the resolutions " framed on the above subject by a " meeting in Auckland." At this meeting we notice the name 3 of certain gentlemen whose names are regularly seen at all Thames public meetings, and who we therefore think should have been better posted up with the facts of the case before they indulged in the tall talk and virtuous indignation that was manifested on that occasion. These gentlemen, after all their vapour, fairly broke down, and were unable to put what was wanted into such a practical shape that men of common sense could grasp it until the Press came to their assistance, and did the very thing that the Auckland meeting a week before did, viz., appoint a committee to consider and report to a future meeting. So far, the action of the two meetings is alike, and when we see the two reports we shall have an opportunity of observing how far the committees agree in the measures practically necessary for remedying the evils complained of. The speakers at the Thames meeting and a portion of the Press there also have got hold of the notion that the Auckland committee have a design to remove al! the offices of the goldmining companies from the Thames to Auckland. They are exceedingly indignant, and are seeking to enlist the sympathy of the Thames people against such an act of spoliation, and they put the reason for this alleged attempt by the Auckland Committee on the low ground of a wish to aggrandise Auckland at the expense of the Thames. We will not argue on such premises — they are unworthy even of those who urge them —but we draw attention to the fact that nothing of the kind has been contemplated. The greatest possible inconvenience now exists in attempting to get meetings of the directors in several of the leading companies. The Board is composed of directors portly resident at the Thames and at Auckland; the manager has to ascertain the probable whereabouts of the directors at a given time before he can fix a time and place for the meeting, and very frequently when a meeting is called at one place or the other it does not come oft" at all, or, if it does, barely a quorum can be got together. Now this, we say, arises in such cases from having the oflice of the company at the Thames. If the office of the company were in Auckland, the directors would be selected from those who could most easily attend meetings of directors, and the business of the company would be controlled by the Board of Directors, instead of being left as at present to the management of the manager, or to chance, as the case may be. The resolution passed by the Auckland Committee docs not contemplate the removal of auy of the offices of companies where the majority of the shareholders are resident at the Thames, in fact, the Auckland Committee simply seek to be allowed to say how and where their own affairs are to be managed, and it seems to us that they have a clear right to this, and thai no reasonable objection can be urged against it. The resolution they had passed on the subject is as follows :— " That where the majority of the " shareholders are not resident at the

" Thames, the offices of the companies " should be at Auckland," and the reasons for this are so sound, and commend themselves so fully to everv man of business, that we will not further argue ifc, nor will we again refer to the silly nonsenee put forward of a design to get the offices to Auckland, for the purpose of aggrandizing this city at the expense of the Thames. Another bugbear that the Thames meetinghas got hold of, and with regard to which great heat has been shown by some of the speakers, and that is the stealingof specimens. These gentlemen assume, for the purpose of raising opposition to the suggestions of the Auckland Committee as a whole, that the mining population of the Thames has been accused of wholesale theft. .No such charge has been made either by the committee or the press; but this has been said, and with evident correctness, that specimen etealing to .some extent does exist. The fact that so great temptation is placed in the way of workmen, as that which occurs for want of ordinary protection against pilfering, would, without any further facts, be evidence sufficient that the crime existed, unless, indeed, the persons subjected to the temptation were more than mortal. Those who attempt to lead the miners off upon a false scent would do far better to set themselves to the task of assisting the Auckland shareholders in bringing about such a reformation in the management of the claims as would lead both to their and our prosperity, for they may rely upon it that neither Auckland nor the Thames can long profit by that which injures the other. Now that the heat of the discussion has passed off, and with returning coolness the Thames agitators have appointed a committee, we trust that the latter will show by its practical suggestions how much better they can on the spot manage the claims which they have the control over than we in Auckland can manage the claims in which Auckland shareholders predominate. To those who care about watching movements which in their results hare considerable influence in shaping the future history of nations, there are not wanting at the present time events enacting in Europe 'which are calculated to afford plenty of interest and much food for speculation. In the United Kingdom "we see a general restlessness, we might say audacious restlessness both in Church and State. The National Church of England, if not absolutely torn asunder by internal divisions, is yet in the position of embracing within its folds men with totally opposite views and principles, many of whom, on the one side at least, are determined to carry out their ideas to the greatest practicable extent, and to undo, as far as possible, that work of reformation to which the reformed Churchjs pledged. They declare their hatred of that Reformation while they are receiving the revenues of the reformed Church—they declare their desire to un-Protestanize it while enjoying the income of the Protestant establishment. It would seem that there can be no peace between this extreme and very active class "who desire to undo the work of three hundred years, and to lapse into a state of ecclesiastical rule which then prevailed so extensively, and that class which is satisfied with what exists and

is ardently attached to the principles of the reformation, but which, nevertheless, would be quite prepared to remove practical grievances, and to aid in securing the largest amount of efficiency. And thus it is that we see such distraction, such wide differences, such constant litigation, and appeals to the law Courts as to the correctness of the doctrine taught and the practices indulged in by ordained clergymen nominally belonging to the National Church. And action is very much more rapid in our day than it was in the past. Men's minds seemed to partake of some of the electric influence which we have utilised for our service in the telegraph. The dis-establishment of the Irish. Church in one session of Parliament is a striking illustration of this, and the passing of a democratic .Reform bill by a Tory ministry is another evidence of the peculiar state into which men in England Lave arrived. The question of the disestablishment of the English Church is now beginning to be looked upon by ecclesiastics even as a matter of time only. There is no doubt as to the accomplishment of the object apparently. If we look from the Church to the State, there is plenty of matter for serious reflection. England at the end of the last century had acquired most of her foreign and colonial possessions. She fought for and won many, and prized them highly. Themottoes on her banners at election times were, " ships, " colonies, and commerce," aud the colonies were looked upon, and truly so, as the certain means of largely increasing the ships and commerce of England. Her large seaport towns had ample employment given them botli bv the building and repairing of ships to trade with her colonies, and in trading with them, and her commerce was very largely increased by the possession of these colouies. But there was not only a material, a trade advantage, iu the possession of colonies all round the globe, but also a vast moral and political advantage in them. The contemplation of that extended empire struck the mind, and especially the continental mind, with something of wonder and awe. The great continental powers had never succeeded to any extent in colonising ; aud England, during the struggles with them, had wrested from them many of their colonial posessions. This energy, this constantly extending empire of the population of a small island lying off the continent of Europe was a proof

of indomitable courage, energy, and determination, which never knew what it was to l)e beaten or succumb to difficulties. And it gave a grandeur to the national character which largely aided in making Great Britain feared, if not even very greatly respected. The people who had achieved the work performed as regards colonies, it was felt, would be able to achieve work of a different character if called upon to do so. And the planting of young offshoots — saplings which soon showed that they partook of the vigour, the sturdiness, and strength of the oak from whence they j sprung, and the constant, and, indeed, the wonderful expansion and growth of English colonies, could not fail to strike the mind of the nations of Europe. The next question now is, will England voluntarily cut off these Samson locks from her brow ? Will she thrust her Colonial children from her, in obedience to a narrow, hard, and false utilitarian policy ? Are they to be looked upon, not as strong and healthy and industrious children —a crown of glory and strength to her—but rather as sons whose connection and- close relationship is not to be cared for ? Will she voluntarily force a separation and compel her children in her colonies to set up as nations for themselves ? This really seems the policy of the present Cabinet, and it is simply carrying out the views promulgated by those members of it who belong to what is called the Manchester school of politicians. But the people of England apparently do not like the idea of the outlying portions of the Empire being severed from the centre. There is a sentiment abroad among them that the prestige of the Kingdom will be reduced as each colony ceases to be a dependency of it. And there can be no question but that this view is a correct one. At present the Queen can send her son on a tour round the world, and in every part of his journey he meets with a part of the British Empire. There is something in this fact, and in the fact that the people inhabiting these distant possessions are building up nations of freemen speaking the language of Milton and Shakespeare, and planting constitutional GVovernment and organised industry in these distant regions, many of which have previously yielded little to the general wealth of the world. But there are also material advantages of a direct character in having these numerous colonial possessions. The mother country naturally secures the principal trade with them. This affords employment and profits to vast numbers of her own people, and therefore tends to the prosperity, welfare, and advancement of the Empire. The outlets also which they afford for the overflowing population of the "United Kingdom afford another valuable advantage ; and others might be enumerated.

If, however, the Empire is to be dismembered, if the colonies are to be separated from the mother country, as would appear to be the design of the present cabinet, surely it would be better that this separation should in each case be brought about in such a manner as to leave no feelings of harshness or injustice rankling in. the minds of those who are no longer to be a portion of the British Empire. This would be best for all parties, and we trust that it will not be lost sight of. The colonies do not want to drain the mother country of her resources ; they do not want to be supported by the taxes of England, but they desire to be treated fairly and equitably with justice and kindliness, if not with generosity.