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New Zealand Mail, Issue 421, 6 March 1880, Page 24

m The portfolio of Colonial Secretary has been conferred on Mr. Thomas Dick, M.H.R., for Dunedin, and thus the Hon. J. Hale will be relieved of a portion of the heavy public duties which have lately devolved upon him. The appointment is likely, we think, to give general satisfaction. Mr, Dick has no claims to be considered a heaven born statesman, but he has the essentials of experience in official routine, a thorough knowledge of colonial affairs, and a disposition in which the impulse of earnest intent is at all times tempered by discretion. He is, in fact, a cool-headed, calculating Scotchman, and will be found a most fitting ally to the present members of the Ministry. His official ■career some years ago as Superintendent of the province of Otago, was not marked with any brilliant flashes of genius, but the results of his administration are even now remembered with respect, and his return to active politics last session aroused satisfaction far beyond the boundaries of the electoral district he represents. The secret of the esteem in which Mr. Dick is held, even by those who have uo personal acquaintance with him, is that his public acts and expressions of opinion bear the stamp of honesty, and it is to such men that the country must now look for the proper control of State affairs. The day is gone by for showy parade and gasconading, the stern necessities of diminishing revenues and increasing public debt make it imperative that those controlling public affairs shall be practical men of business, men who will deal with colonial finance as they would with their own commercial accounts, lopping off superfluities, and economising wherever needful, on the one hand, while judiciously increasing outlay where careful deliberation shows that an adequate return can be secured. There will be a howl of disappointment in certain quarters at a portfolio being given Mr. Dick, but that will be of very little concern to the general public. There will also be anxiety to know who is the next to he called for Ministerial honors and responsibilities, and what re-arrangement of portfolios is likely to ensue. But, for the present, there is cause for content in contemplation of the circumstance that the Ministry will be considerably strengthened by the accession of the hon. member for Dunedin. -«* - ... 5S