New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4888, 21 November 1876, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21.

Sir George Grey has addressed his constituents. He has said nothing true that is new, and little new that is true. As a matter of course ho has delicately hinted that he is a great and good man engaged in a heroic work. He finds his difficulties to building up our new constitution in the obstacles presented by the mountains and forests of Hew , Zealand. Had he named himself as the chief obstacle to all constitutional legislation last session, he would have been less hyperbolical and more in accordance with fact. As a matter of course, he has been unfairly reported by the Wellington papers, the conductors of which have not ;filled their columns with his nonsense to the exclusion of news. Whilsthereheprofessedtohave as his dearest object the obliteration of local interests and the forwarding of the general good of humanity. But it now seems that his whole aim last session was the Thames and Waikato railway. , In speaking of this, he did so in a manner which we can only term the quintessence of subterfuge. He brought in a Bill apparently to effect his purpose, and because the Speaker decided that he had not in doing so conformed to law, he now alleges that obstructions were thrown in his way! The real fact is, and wo tell it plainly to this gentleman, who has grown grey in these practices, that he never thought his Bill would become law ■; that it was brought in for an electioneering trick to serve the purpose that he has now disclosed; and that on more than one night when this and other measures of his came on for discussion, he himself moved that their consideration should be postponed. We do not blame the Thames people for swallowing the gilded pill ho offered them. The Thames-Waikato railway is an earnest object with them, and he took, an action in Parliament which he might afterwards be able to make appear as an effort towards accomplishing what they ;desired. But we may tell them plainly that he merely worked in order to gull them, as ho now thinks ho has done, and that he has not obtained

for them a single substantial' bone-, fit, such as the manyj for which they have to thank Mr. Rowe. But it is /further on that Sir v Geokgb : Gre|y’s duplicity (we can use nor milder -wore!) becomes most apparent. He coolly states that it was owing to his representations that a liberarprovision was made for Edu-' cation, for Gaols, .and Lunatic Asylums, in the North Island; tWhat arh'the-facts ? The Colonial Treasurer made his estimates for Auckland on the previous year’s estimates of the Provincial Government. He had to do this because Sir George Grey declined to furnish him with information. Sir George, in the House, endeavored to make a point by challenging these estimates, but was answered by Major Atkinson with the simple fact we have stated. Then when the information was dragged out of him, and his double dealing was exposed, he gave the information upon which the provisions for which he now claims credit were most willingly made. The rest of Sir George’s speech does not need comment. We have heard of the corruption of the Government and the runholders, of manhood suffrage and of triennial Parliaments usque ad nauseam. There is no necessity for noticing his rhodomontade about them. We have merely alluded to Sir George’s utterances on points concerning which he, apparently, wilfully endeavored to mislead his constituents. But it may be said in reference to what he stated about leading men in England being with him on the question of triennial Parliaments, that we know of one leading man certainly who is quite in accord with him on this and other • subjects—Dr. JKenbally.