The Oamaru Mail. MONDAY, MAY 10, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1276, 10 May 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. MONDAY, MAY 10, 1880.

During the debates in. the British House of Commons prior to the grantin" of responsible government to the Colonies, the Conservatives objecting declared that the inevitable result would be that Great Britain would speedily lose these valuable appanages j that, from having a local Government subject to the parent state, they would demand completepolitical independence, and eventually become [Republics. Happily these ill-omened prognostications have as yet proved unfounded, and the Colonies have, under their respective Constitution Acts, not only exhibited a complete thoroughness in their devotion to the parent state, but have also emerged from adolescence into a vigorous political manhood, far excelling in depth of wisdom, purity of intent, and far-seeing judgment, the over-lauded Republic of the United States. As might naturally be expected, a few of the colonial legislators have at times proved troublesome and cantankerous j yet, even from such, not one word of disloyalty has ever been uttered. "When in a neighboring Colony a desperate lunatic attempted to assassinate Her Majesty's second son, the allpervading feeling exhibited throughout the whole of the colonies was one of profound sorrow and vexation : sorrow for the young prince so dastardly attacked, and vexation that even one in these " free lands" should so seriously violate the sacred duty of loyalty to her gracious Majesty. The silken bonds of love bind more firmly than do bolts or fetter bars, and though | rabid revolutionists rant to the top of their bent declaring our loyalty to be serfdom, we at least know that the ties which bind us to our dear old fatherland are the outcome of pure heartfelt love I The Conservatives amply verify thej adage that " Error dies hard," for now, seeing how signally their prophecies have failed, they one and all dismally fortell that the colonies will yet prove mill-stones round the neck of the parent state. Every public act of colonial Parliaments proves that they are only too anxious to give every support to the Home Government, and though as yet barely emerged from adolescence, they are eager to prove themselves " as arrows in the hands of a strong man." "We know that it is hard to convince some men; but we feel confident that as a more intimate acquaintance ripens between the colonists and their fellow-subjects in the British Isles, it will be freely admitted that the transplanted stock has not only not deteriorated, but that it has become even more vigorous and intellectual. We are equally descended from the grand old heroes who, on the bloody fields of Blenheim, Corunna, Trafalgar, and "Waterloo, upheld the might of Britain, and caused her to become first among the nations of the world. Nor will these glorious traditions die out. In colonists' families there are records of how this or that ancestor fought, bled, and died under the glorious old flag. "We have amongst us men who immortalised themselves in that wild ride into the valley of death at clava. We have their children growing lip in our midst; and of a surety it is not of such stuff that rebels are made. That we have not deteriorated in thew and sinew and genuine pluck has been proved by our boys on the cricket fields j of Old England and our athlete j who brought to Colonial waters the championship of the world. That we have not deteriorated in intellect has been abundantly proved by many of the sons of colonists who haye earned off the highest honors in British "Universities, while such of our Colonial politicians as have entered the political arena at Home have invariably made their mark. In the Right Honorable Robert Lowe (who has been raised to the peerage), Mr. Henry Cliildex's, and Mr. M'Arthur, we have merely fair specimens of Colonial legislators, for they are not the only men of their stamp to be found in the Colonies who would prove worthy of seats in old England's halls of wisdom. The sincerity of our love and devotion being undeniable, and our wealth in physique and intellectuality being thus abundantly proven, it merely remains i for the Mother State to utilise these I sources of true power. In times of peace, as also in times of doubt and danger, there is wisdom in a multiplicity of counsel. In any case all British dependencies are interested. Therefore, the colonies should be empowered to send to the British House of Commons representatives. Not as partisans of this or that leader will they be elected, nor will they be mere dummy make-weights from a pocket borough. No, for the colonists, setting a proper value upon their sacred duty will select such only as are fit to j command respect, as are most qualified to add dignity and profundity to debates—men whose natural ability, integrity, research, and experience have proved them to be worthy of confidence, and whose public career will enforce respect even from those military despots who, drunken with excess of power, are even now vaporising threats against the dear old land,