THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1875.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4408, 30 December 1875, Page 2

THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1875.

The Thames has seemed fated hitherto to be unhappy politically, but is now abundantly blessed with candidates both in number and quality. During the last Parliament, the constituency, by far the largest in the colony, was represented in the Assembly by one who never appeared before the electors from the time he was returned, and who so completely cut himself away from them and their interests that apparently he has now less chance of being elected than any other man. The Thames constituency stoutly contended that in the new Representation Act they should have awarded to them four representatives at least, and when they were told they must be content with two, they were not a little indignant. It appeared, however, that up to within a few days ago there would be some difficulty in getting two men to come forward, but latterly politicians have been able to overcome their modesty, and at the nomination yesterday, fifteen politicians | were put forward for the suffrages of the free and independent electors of the Thames. How many out of this crowd will go to the poll, we have no idea, but as there have been some retirements already, probably not more than six or seven of those nominated will stand the test of the ballot-box. We believe that the best representatives for the Thames would be thoroughly independent local men, having full knowledge of the requirements of the district, and who could act independently of any party for the special interests of the place. The interests of the Thames are very different from those of an urban constituency. The latter has no special wants that a Government can deal with, or very few. The Thames, on the other hand, has innumerable requirements of detail to be attended to, over and above those incidental to its position as a goldfield. A public work has to be done here, a bridge has to be erected there, and a road made at some other place. All these matters demand a large amount of attention. It is very difficult to speak with any confidence respecting an election, when there are fifteen candidates in the field, but we should think that Sir George Grey's election is. safe. His exertions on behalf of the Thames during last session, his energy arid determination, have given him, we hare no doubt, a pre-eminent claim in the minds of the majority of the electors. We should think it most fitting that the Thames constituency should send, with Sir George Grey a good local man, ' and we feel quite clear that it would be a

misfortune for' the. Thame3. to elect, as Sir George .Grey's colleague, Sir, Julius 'Vogel. It might *be a "great "honor to be represented by the chief of the, Opposition and the chief\'of the Government (which would probably continue to be the case if the present Government were ousted), but wo do not think the arrangement would be conr ducive to the interests of the.. Thames. The electors_of the goldfield seem to have the prospect of brisk .times between this date arid the' 6th of January, for Mr. Mackay has declared his intention to meet Sir George, and the latter is not the man to decline the contest. Mr. Mackay, we observe, is amongst those nominated, but he has no intention of going to the poll. As to the candidature of Sir George Grey for the Thames, we have already expressed our opinion that it would have been better for him to have declined the honor, and to have remained at City West.

The Australasian, moved by what power we know not, never loses an opportunity of attacking Sir George Grey, and therefore we are not at all surprised that his speech at the Choral Hall is made the subject of an article in the last received number, composed much more of sneers than of argument. The Australasian is, in the first place, intensely surprised at the fact that Sir George Grey was received by his constituents with enthusiastic applause, and says,—"Weare almost tempted to believe that the electors of Auckland are as eccentric as their representative," and "the fact seems to be that the meeting was simply carried away by Sir George Grey's volubility and erratic enthusiasm." We can give our contemporary much better reasons, in a very brief space, which we are sure will commend themselves to him on reflection. The writer in the Australasian no doubt knows that the land revenue of the colony is possessed and used by a portion of tho colony, 1 and that the whole burden of the finance of the colony is placed on that part of the revenue to which wo are large contributors. This part of the colony is without aproper educational system, and is destitute of many things which every well-ordered community ought to possess. Sir George Grey has evoked a feeling that means should be taken to redress the injustice we have suffered, and it is to him we look to lead a party with this object in view. Surely that i 3 one good reason why the people of Auckland should receive Sir Georgo Grey cordially. Again, for some years tho members of the present Ministry have been enabled, through having vast sums of borrowed money in their hands to spend, to govern New Zealand in a manner which made it almost a farce to talk about representative government existing. Sir George Grey put a stop to that last session, and thi3 is another reason for the people of Auckland receiving him with enthusiasm. There are many other good reasons which might be given, in what has been done in the past, and what is expectcd to be done in the future. The Australasian deals with the point of the passing of the Abolition Act without reference to the will of the people, but only by leaving out the essential part of the matter—that the change attempted was a fundamental alteration of the constitution of the colony. The article abounds in misrepresentations, of which we may quote as a specimen, "Thepolicy of Separation, to which it appears that Sir George Grey and the other leaders of tho Opposition have nailed their colours," &c. This is not so. Sir George Grey has not nailed his colours to the mast in respect to Separation. The first demand of, we hope, the united Auckland members will be for fair play to thi3 province. They can say to Ministers, "You desire to make the colony one; we do not object, if you treat us fairly with the rest of tho colony. But it is not unity you propose, but a perpetuation of tho wrongs we have been suffering under." The Aiistralasian also speaks of Sir Georgo as having "come out of his retirement in his old ago apparently for the mere purpose of seeking to perpetuate a temporary arrangement, which has been long siiicc outgrown." Now, whatever may have been Sir George Grey's opinions, we are quite sure that neither lie nor any of those who are with him, expect or desire to resuscitate tho provinces as they were.

Amongst a bundle of parliamentary papers which we havo received from New South Wales, there is one bearing on a question which was several times referred to during the last session, viz., the terms on which Sir Julius Vogel wont home to England. It was found necessary to send to England the Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales, bat tho business was managed very differently there. In tho first place it is set forth in a minute to the Executive Council, that it is considered necessary that a member of the Government should go home to England in reference to the numerous complications and difficulties that have arisen in England and America with regard to the public business of the colony, and in consequence of the continued iU-health of Sir Charles Cowper, the Agent-General. In the minute in which the matter is first spoken of, the question of how much is to be paid, and out of what fund it is to be paid, is plainly set forth as something to be thoroughly understood and agreed upon. The Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales is to have his passage paid to England and back, ana while he remained in England he was to receive £3 3s per diem to cover his personal expenses, to be paid from the Treasurer's advance account. Sir Julius Vogel gets £4 4s a-day for his personal expenses while absent from the colony, has all his travelling expenses paid, and to make sure draws £6000 or £8000 in a lump sum from the Treasury.