The Evening Mail MONDAY, NOV. 13, 1876.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 176, 13 November 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail

MONDAY, NOV. 13, 1876.

thotirr'lt JTMtf pr™iu»; tlia". which m.nJeft-* thouj>;in«l* tPisnic."

" There fo not'ung so successful as success." Sis months since, tl.it equivocal popularity of \vl iih D.VNIEL usyd to I -vast wtacn he said he tvns "the best abftsad nran in Ireland,'* onld have keen fairly allotted to Mr. E. M. Smith, of Titanic Steel fame, substituting the Colony for the Emerald Isle. lie was an impostor, and the unlucky s r arehohkrs invoked imprecations upon his devoted head, &3 compulsory payments were demanded the vtnture. No name was strung enough to apply to huu, and the w!it>!n» catalogue of contemptuous epithtts were hurled at hini as rotten egg 3 nt an unfortunate hi the pillory. Bat a " change has enne o'er the spirit of the dream," a successful testing has been

[ made, the tide has turned with a vengeance, and the lucky Smith stands to-day upon a pedcs!al far removed above his. fellows, who, awe-inspired, look up to him with reverence. Instead of revilings, he Las now congratulations showered upon him ; he has been feted, lionised, and the name of Smith, in the Taranaki Province, is a3 sacred to its residents as that of Mahomet to a Meocan pilgrim. The w.ole of the Northern PreS3 resound with his praises, and the columns that are left aft r retailing his labors and ability in prosecuting the undertaking, is occupied by Sj.rrn himself—who has now become an undoubted authority—in giving his golden opinions on every conceivable and inconceivable subject. We are told history repeated itself, and Smith's is but the experience of the greater men who have gone before him. The name of Cromwell .s one t'.at some Englis'.inen are proud of, and alt' ough the Protector made the name of Britain feared and respected throughout the world, had lie faiLd in his cksign he would have been classed with, and sneered t::e fate of, Wat Tyler or Pki-.kin Wakbeck. Tiie whole civilised world respects the memory of Geoi:c:k WA.-iaiN*»:TON, and he is justly held un as a p-ir.ig«i;i a:i 1 cxavplo of all t!;at was : heroic, noble and good, and yet the '■ Father of his Country ' did no more t'lan Uorsut Emxiztt, or the ill-fated L-jrd Ei w ,s:it FiTZf;ns:.\L!', so.ig'.it to do; yet t ie fust died the ckath of a felon 0:1 t ie scaff»:d, while the other l.natiied his last sigh in the Newgate eel'., a raving maniac, Lis body gaping with wounds. Had the fust >.\\rn.:;o.\" fallen at Austerl'.tz, and his in phew passed away after Sorrento or Magenta, their names would have occupied niches hig er t an that of Julius C.-u-t.u: or Aixx the Givat, but t!:eir stars had waned before they sunk for i'nr, ;::i 1 although at one time one was i,c arbiter of Europe, and the <>t':er the destined Monarch of the World, their lminoii.s have paid the penalty of their Laving outlived their success. As there is iMtlsifig so .siuc.ssfui as .success, so there is not. i:ig so disaslrotis as a failure, and while the wi-rld never considers thai the man who achieves an object or ps.rHcts a scheme 111; y owe lits succ.ss to SM-.ie lucky fortuitous circumstance, they equally ignore the fact that—like the imiu»rtnl retreat at Corunna, which was far more glorious than many a victory—a failure is oftime3 entitled to the laurel I wi.ich crowns the victor's brow. Sir j Julius Voc;:l has (.-.ken a ksson from history, and wisely retired before his star began to f winkle. What-evcr be the result of t! at policy of which he was the origiiia«'>r, fi:o sup which he has taken will preserve his reputation ; and should the Colony come successfully through the ordeal it will weave another garland round tiie name of VOOEL, while should the scheme end in disaster it will be attributable to the air-dice of the master-mind to guide and dir.ct it. Were Smith wise he wouid retire upon his 'curds ; he has reached a height from which it would be dangerous to fall, yet should he make one false move, iiis position were far worse than before.