The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 467, 27 October 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1877.

The eyes of the Colony have for the last few days been upon the L.te Premier, but the excitement was at it? height when it was known that he would yest might nia'-e a speech that was to have annili luted his successors.' W« have read the s: eeeli thi'uiigh, and it consists of a heap of stiaw without a ) a'tioli: of grain. Our surprise ithat such buncombe could hive from a man 011 wlvse adniini.-tiaive ability the des'iny of a (Vlony depended for a year. Although the speech consists of over two newsnap r columns of small type, there is ii>-thing disclosed in it but a terrible fear that if the new Colonial T easurer ;s allowed too long a time to bii'gdown his financia' statenvnt Ilie gaff will be blown—unpalatable and startling disclosures will be ma-'e, and the doom of t' e crowd will be for ever lixe I. N" other reasonable conclusion can lie ariived at. The question o 1 the proper mana ement of 1 i c finn> ces of this C' lony i-; tar too important to suti r f r the s d<e >f a delay of a few da', s. T is lot because Maj r Atkins >n views the delay in l>ring ng down the fi >anci 1 sta ement as disastrous to the country that he is now opposing the ]>res' nt Government All who have give 1 the matte' 1 a thought wd appreciate the t nth of what we assert Everybody must see the can i"g spirit th.-it'has taken possession, of the late Premie' - since he vasoute l. It w nld he 'o his own interest to permit d. lie. in order 1 hat his opponents mi.dit have every ciiance to jvove th-ir" a suto.i- n; o inaiadin nist'ation ; because, if after having been a'lowed ample time, they fa led to 00 this, their defeat would be 10 tain, and his vict rv complete. We a-s rt that ama .wo cannot see that t■ >is i- t'te laeis 11 >r fit to hold the most h'mlil ']iosit 0:1 in the Governm mt ■ f ai'V conn iv. Maj->r Atki sox iorgeis himself when he sivs, speaking of iina ce : . that Sir Geoih:k Grky " mav be able r, ■ put them in sucli a light that n> other peson h:i- tie n ab'e to | lit them in. ... J have endeavoured, while in the Tre surv, t > m ke things simple and clear." l!oth a-sertion--, we tlrnk, Liglily probable Sir George : '< iti Y sfive< it as his opinion that tlu accounts have been kept i i a manner that male s them understood only by-expeits ; and he de-ires that a s-yst m. shall be adopt jd wh rel>y tin people shad not be ignorant of h>w tl.eir moneys are being spent. .Major Atkinson points to the fact thit a member of Mr George (Prey's Min-'stry holds two po:t folios. We are willing to admit that two are too many for some nnn. • : ne seemed to ni- ke Major Atkins n excessively uncomfortable ; what the effect of tw > would have been wo scarcely like to contemplate. There are some men who could fil! half adozen positions better than he could fi I one ; and such paltry obj cti n< only tend to show tlie animus that iankles in the b east of the Premier. In is absurd to be in inindec nt ha-te when a mat er of sujh vital importance sis theproier adminis ratiouof the finances of the Colony is at stake. Sir Geo rue Grey ass- r's that he desires an extension ot tims on aejoiu.t 1 f the unexpected ilitHculties tli at are co stantly arising to r- tard the w..ik of giasping the exact financial position of the Colony. If this is the cise, ami we have every reason t > believe th it it is 7 irom the conduct of the late Piemie it is scarcely probable that ill" present Government will be unsi a l ed without affording it an opportunity of showing the House an I Colony what these difficulties are Major Atkinson evidently fears these disclosures, and views the wanc-of-confklenee mo-ion as a l< nd of forlorn hope to smother investigation. He is anxious t > get home Xo wonder. Our surp'ise is that he did not go home long since. The chances are that the adoption »f such a course would have done more good than harm. While making his speech, the love of home must have become intense, for the matter betokens a mind, ill at ease—(it wou'd have been considered a wretchedly weak production for the most unimportant man in the H<>use, even f-T Mr. A. J. Burns) —but wlien Sir George Gcey's reply swept down upon the poor, dis ippoin!ed, and jaded 1 oiitician, his mi-ery must have b;?en complete. 111 another column we have rep'inted one of the most important passages of Sir GiiORGE Gri-y s speech.

.His Worship the Mayor to-ilay forwardcd a draft for L 250 to the Hon. i-eertkiry of the Indian Famine Relief J-'und Committer J >unedin, as the first instalment from Oama 11. It is expected that altogether LSOO will be: raised here. There were no cases down for hearing at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning.

The inspection of the Otepopo Volunteers took place on 'J hursdav evening. Ser.e litM*j>r \l •Piierson Oifici >ting in the absence of Major Steward. There was a very g >od turn out, the e being 30 men on parade A meeting w..s aft rwards liefd for the purpose of electing omcer-, I ieut Greenfield occupy ng the char '1 lie following oflioer.s were • lect d :—Mr. \V\ M'lCay, .~ub-1 it-u-. tenvnt; Mr. J. W. Patteis n, Colour Sergeant; Mr. Angus b'oss, Senior Scrj/e-int ; Mr. James i raine, Sergeant; Messrs. Gillie; ai d R. Frame, C >rpo als. The Head quirt rs Companies of the Oa'n.-.ru Volunteers wre inspected la~t evening, w) en the Art llery was exercise ! in uun dri 1. and No. I Company and the t'ad-is practised volley firing aud iightinfairry diill. The Indian Famine Relief Committee are L aving n > scon • unturned in o. ilei - to obtain subscriptions tow nds the fuii-l 'I o-dav, a niinil cr of the I 'nmini t emen, with a table and some lar_e placards took up their positions in Thame! st e<-t, near the National Bank, working in relays in to.lei-ting stibscr.ptinns from passers-by. They commenced o- eratii lis about ten o'clock tli s morniuir, and met with very great encouragement, the an ount rt a ised at 4 o'clock this aternoon be ng 1 25, composed principally of small donations. There was another very la"ge audience at the second exhil ition of Ilie dio'ama of the American War, and the entertainment parsed off with the usual amount of success, although the ind sposbion of Mr. Thompson, the ecru'er, caused the lectu e to be somewhat curtailed. l.ieut. Herman fil'ed Mr. I liotnp oil's place, and did his best to perfo'm the I'lieious duties of a l.'ctti'er. As on 'he previous evening, the veil riloquism of Li ut. Heiina i fo n ed one of the principal at i:cti ns, and very rightly so, for, as a venlrd' qui t, Lieut. Herman is undoubtedly equal, if not stiperi r, to am one who lia< ever \iited Co oi ies The gift di: - t ibution c u-ed considerable commoti n am ligst the fortu a'e holders of p i>etickets. A mid-d.iv entertainment was given to-day, and was att nded by nea ly 71)0 children, besides a large nnmi.er of adults. The diorama wiil be exhibited ag till this evening.