The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 1876.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 113, 31 August 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 1876.

Tt£E spell is broken ! The glamour which the Premier has hitherto thrown over a number of politicians and journalists has at length been rudely dispelled. A change has come over the spirit of the dream, and the self-sacrificing patriot, this second Ct.vtixyVTt'.-», whose return »> deemed the last straw to save the Colony from chaotic immersion, after having steered the Vessel of State into troubled water-. proves recreant to his trust, and in the hour of danger cowardly desert* his po-t. In an article which appeared on the d«.-ath of I>r. FkathKßstoN. we sti'oii«ly deprecated the appointment of Sir .Trues to the vacant office, and we then assorted, as we do now, that the House should be no party to the withdrawal of the Chief Minister at a time so critical, and fraught with such interest to the Colony. We have never been amongst those who believed the Premier to be the heaven-bora statesman whose sway alone was necessary to the future prosperity of the Colony : nor had we the exalted opinion of his pure and self-sacri-ficing patriotism with which some of hj« admirers seem to have been impressed. Brtt the fact stands forth, that, under his vnjhiH-, a policy has been initiated, the country has been saddled with a heareliability in the shape of principal and interest, and the head that conceived the plan is the proper one to cam- it to ,1 conclusion. It may be that the Public Works and Immigration Policy will be the stop-ping-atone to the future greatness and prosperity of the Britain of the South—and we sincerely trust it may—but whatever chance there be of such a desirable ending, with the originator of the scheme at the helm, the chances are indeed small, if the general whr holds the plan of the campaign he allowed b» withdraw. We hold that Sir Jvliim is too closely identified with the Colony, and in a manner committed to its Government until the line of policy which he lias inaugurated has eventuated, to he allowed to withdraw at a moment's not'ee. The appointment should be strenuously ooposed by even* member of the House on two grounds; the first and more weighty being the reasons we have just mentioned, and the second the inadvisabiUty of appointing a successor to Dr. fFß.\ntms,ioS at all. As wo pointed out before, the sazic necessity which existed when the full Hood of immigration was being poured in upon us cannot be urged at present, and the benefits accruing to the Colony by the maintenance of the Home Agency on its former footing, is put a poor equivalent for the expenditure of £17,000

a-year. We do not mean for a moment to deny that were an Agent-General necessary, and were Sir Julius Vogel untrammelled by political guarantees for the success of his Public Works Scheme, the Colony could not produce a man more fitted for the position. But with regard to the first, we do not consider that a continuance of the expensive paraphernalia | which has existed hitherto at all neces- | sary ; and that even were such needful, ! Sir Jtl.lirs—under the peculiar position of , the Colony— -hnhvi the most suitable per- \ son to guide its destinies is, consequently, j '• the least desirable to be appointed as Dr. | 1 Fkat;ji;i:>ton'.- successor. We find that the majority of the Press are in unison with us as regards the retaining of the Home agoiify, and that all honest journalists, even those who have fought for the Premier through thick and thin, are now disgusted with this last little stroke of diplomacy. There is be little doubt if the oracle can be worked, the '"'Dear Pollens," who made themselves so accommodating j in the past, will place the wearied and inI valid .statesman beyond the reach of those obtrusive questions to which he was subjected on his return. We have little doubt that, were Sir Julius installed in Dr. Featheusto.v's chair, although the coffers of the Colony might suffer by the change, its prestige would be perfectly safe in his hands. Sir Julius is no second-class passenger, and should it be imagined that a man whose dealings in } the past has been with millions, would i have :i soul for pounds, shillings, and ; pence. As a Colonial ambassador, the j Premier would, no doubt, be useful, likeI wi.-e ornamental, but certainly expensive.

He has proved himself in the past a man not j to be trammelled by pecuniary consider*- | ' tions, and the thorough contempt with which j ■ lit? set aside the /"<//<'.'/ sunt granted him for ! his travelling expenses by his colleagues. ! with the facing of the House staring him on his return, is a pretty safe index of his independence with no one to hold the checkrein. In an article on the subject the j S:»ii'iit'imf says : —" The more the | appointment of Agent-General is discussed ! the less need does there seem to be for its • continuance. _ doubt if we are to sport ' a Kew Zealand ambassador in London, Sir Jruis Yocel would be as good a man as we could choose. A statesman with large views, and possessing in a rare degree that financial knowledge in which the educated men of his nation are seldom deficient, a man of some reputation in the neighboring colonies f'-r ability, and yet a i p;-rson ijua'.Uied to s'linc in society, and fotiil of it, SirJi'U's would almost certainly be a first-rale Agent-General if we war.i.d one : but we do n-.t. Tiu-re is no emigration now on an extensive scale, no large loan to be negotiated, no quantity of railway iron or other material to be shipped. In fact there is next to nothing for him to do. Should it be thought desirable to pension him off on account of good service done to the Colony, it would be by far better to do so in a direct manner. The principle of paying people for imaginary work is a thoroughly bad one. and in the Government service leads to an extravagance, which is especially dangerous becaused it cannot easily be checked." Py the latest telegrams we notice that the Ministry has resigned. This is the first move on the political chess-board, for the purpose of floating the Ministerial renegade into his haven of safety. We trust, however, that it will prove a false one, and that the tergiversation may mu.t with its fitting reward. If the members of the House are true to themselves they will set foot upon the collusion of the Ministry, for by so doing they will carry out j the wishes of nine-tenths of the community.