The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, JULY 4, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1001, 4 July 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, JULY 4, 1879.

f >rr. telegrams. to-day announce ih.it the Hon. William Gisborne, the member for T«tar», hits been offered »ml has accepted ' a seat tit the Calinet, so that one of the . vacancies has been tilled »tp. The new Minister wilt, we .ire informed, take the portfolios of Minister for Lands and Frnnugration fvueanted by the Ho::. R. Stout) and Commissioner of Customs ; (hitherto held by Sir George Cray). It is reported, too, that the Premier intends to assume the position/'? Colonial Treasurer, but this is only a newspaper report, and must be taken for what it is worth, tor as yet nothing of an official nature has been made known upon the subject. It | has also been stated by one of the " own ! correspondents " at Wellington that Sir George Grey also intends becoming s Attorney-General ; but this must surely be a eauHrilf for so t'.tr as we arc aware '6lf lie'iryt; does not pod-cw any ut the Uttalitioatu'iv* easentud to cue proper administration of so important a position a:; that of Chief Law UlHeer ( t* the Crov.lt. That the Ministry xviil be patched t;p in some manner we have tin doul.it, but it wilt certainly tiot be rendered as strong as it undoubtedly was last session. The accession to ottlje »>f Mr. Giab*>rne is not likely to add any strength to the Ministry. He is certainly not the fortunate possessor of any practical influence, and will not I»rittg to the Mißislerisl fold a finite stray sheep. As a speaker he i.> Üboredf prosy, arid e.nivodintjly dry, r.;:-: j he cannot by any stretch of imagination be designated a clover debater, so that in this respect he will not he able to do any good service to the Government. Ilis . greatest, and, indeed, Ids only qualifi- [ cation, is the possession of a vast amount of departmental knowledge—a knowledge acquired by many. years' experience as a civil servant, lie aught have been tairly i termed the profaje of Sir William Fos,J< for he it was who first induced Mr. Gisboxoe to quit the seraphic sphere of'

Colonial Under-Secretary, and enter upon the troubles and turmoils of an active political life. On the Fox-Vogel Ministry bcins formed, in 18(39, Mr. Gisborne threw up his appointment as Under-Secre-tarv. was called to the Upper House, and nceepied the portfolio of Colonial Secretary in the Ministry. In this capacity he did worthy of note, save that he gained the admiration of all parties for the cool and deliberate wanner in which lu;. sinirle handed, carried on the whole worS: ot G'A'o:n;;:c::i the pro-h:iv.'i-d and notorious absence from Y\ el<>f the whole of his colleague.' l . For ti.is he was no: inappropriately deaiguat'-d the ££ Cinderella, and v-as subjected to a very great amount of chaiF. Ac the nest general election, he entered the House as member for Egmont. Wo believe, the scat is now filled by Maj 4" At!;ins'»n. 0:i the defeat of the Fo.-.-Vc -e! Ministry, Mr. Gisborne quietly and i:uostentati«.usly quitted the political arena, and on Sir Julius \ ogel getting into power agatn shortly afterwards, he was appointed to the Commissioncrship of Annuities. This position he held for some time, and then retired into private life, but having once experienced the delights of poliii'.al life, he longed to partake of the excitement to be obtained therefrom, and on the death of Mr. Tribe, he successfully wooed the electors of Totara. He once more entered Parliament-, and since then lias accorded to Sir George Grey a cordial amount of support. That he is fitted to take the place »f cither Mr. Stout or Mr. Ballnnce 110 one will assert, but his administrative ability may prove of advantage to the Ministry, while lie is not likely to quarrel with his colleagues, or offer any objection to Sir George Grey having his own way in ail things.