THE CHISIS—No. 2.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1690, 31 May 1867, Page 4

THE CHISIS—No. 2.

" People must be governed in a manner agreeable to their temper and disposition, and men of free clwracter mid spirit must be ruled with at least name condescension to this spirit and this character. The British colonist must see something which will distinguish him from tho colonials of other nations."—Bukkk, (To the EdiUrr <>f the Otauo Duly Timks.) Sm—Pemnt mo again, tiirough your columns, to make a few remarks on the action of tho General Government in refusing to delegate tho powers to His Honor tho Superintendent. I have already shown, as to this action— 1. That it is a gross injustice to all tho electors of tho Province. 2. That it destroys the autonomy of Provincial Government, as provided by the Constitution Act o. That is dialoyal and insulting to Her Majesty. 4. That it is inimical to the liberties and prosperity of the Province. 5. That the manner in which thi» action is developing itnelf displays an utter disregard of public opinion, arid threatens to flood tho whole colony with 'in irresistible influx of arbitrary power. And this will appear, if wo consider the indecent haste, the unworthy instruments, and the petty \ schemes employed. That ho important a step should have been taken by the Colonial Executive in a Parliamentary reces is ojse of the most remarkable characteristics of this most remarkable proceeding. It is a rule invariably adhered to (because inseparable from tho vary nature of responsible Governments) ih.it the Executive, during a recess, should cither abstain from anything but tho indispensable routine of Government, or if urgent necessity demands any extraordinary action, should ai once call Parliament together. Now, can any one venture to afiinn that the action of tho General Government was a, mattor of course in the ordinary routine of Government I Is it a uhuul thing to re-fuse the powers to a Superintendent / Is it a mutter of ordinary routine to withdraw fmir millions of acres of a Province from the control of the Superintendent and Provincial Council thereof { if not, then what urgent necessity dictated so manual a course ( Was the honor of ISTcw Zealand in imminent danger of being lost until tho immaculate IJradshaw came down from Wellington / Could nothing save Otago's reputation but tho immediate Gazetting of 'Mr Vincent Pyke I From what imminent dangers have we been rescued by the arrival of Sir Richmond I Kay, have we suffered

anything dreadful by the non-arrival of Mr Hall, whoso visit was so pertinaciously announced I Were our liberties or lives* in peril until tho emissaries of the General Government had taken instant possession "of Provincial property'/ If wo are to believe all this, then, in Heaven's name, why not convene the General Assembly in a crisis bo-awful 1 Why were the guardians of our political rights not instantly summoned to Wellington to assistthe Government at bo grave an emergency / Of the unworthy Instruments ( employed by the General Government, I | need not in Otago say one word more j than that Mr Stafford seems to have acted on the principle— ■fiat i'l'iitain coreh, cemumm pnbunb'c. The petty schemes employed by the General Government in .carrying out this " great stroke of policy" (as their friends euphemistically describe it) are only, coming t f> the surface day by day. But the mission of Bradshaw, as the Agent of the General Government, and the appointment of Mr Wakefield to assist him in doing nothing, for. the subsequent delegation of'the powers to Stafford is tantamount to this. The Gazetting of Mr Vincent Pyke as Secretary, the promises held out by Mr Biia&snaw, after the General Government, whose agent lie professes to be, had. handed 'their powers over to Mr Stafford, the continual, telegraphing between Dunedhi and Wellington and the Goldfields, the njystenous mission of Mr Richmond, and : Ms-.:; intriguing with. Provincial Gbyernt ment .servants j the dictatorial edict

as to ; <3 eneral Government ? servants, which smacks niore of * Sfc Petersburg than, a British Colony, all these display a confusion worse confounded, a policy of " shreds and patches, a course of action; tltai has covered ,the Cploiiial Executive with Jidlcule, and! raised a^^ sHout of derkion t'aat, for the ittomont,: has: 4K>vrned tho hoarso r oar oi indigmition rising Car ana wide throughout New ZealatidL And. all this hubbub, all this disorder—for harhat? Simply to infcrodtice a system ot admiiustratioii repugnaftt tatbo spio:t of the most uapbrtiat ]?rgsins*i ia -the Colony; ? a|l,tills intejtit lutfiil Why did not the Ministry aecept^tiie: jprppoaal <^ His Honor, lo Ifet thii»g» reihaia indafeqiw

until the meeting of the Assembly ? Can the General Government answejc this ? Will tlieir Agent (?) Mr Bradshawy kindly explain the paramount necessity of appointing liitn before the Assembly met; or will tlie Hon. Mr Richmond (if indeed lie will be permitted to open Ma inoutli again) inform the people of Otago* what good purpose is sorved by his way of "smoothing matters"' Can ho conceal from himself the folly of the Executive in introducing into ix settlement, whose forefathers in their native country were the most strenuous opponents o£ an arbitrary power—a system of administration, corrupt, tyrannical and revolting to the free spirit of British Colonists—3r system without, the security of a free Government, and without- the energy that usually attaches to arbitrary power I Row can he justify the present confusion? Let the people of Otago consider this question gravely and thoughtfully. Let them study it; in all its bearings and surxxnmdings, and they will see that by this, action of the General Government some? of the greatest safeguards to their civil liberty are endangered, and that on their: conduct at this crisis depends the future of this noble Province. Let them think of tlieir brave forefathers, who would not .submit to the dictation of a neighboringstate, however superior in riches and resources, and would not consent to-be "swallowed up" until they received a guaranteeas secure in its nature as that by which the Crown itself is held, of enjoying their own. laws and their own institutions. Let them. lor.k forward to their children born linden the Constitution Act, and say if they wisll them to be deprived of the benefits of institutional self-government, and sink U* the level of French or Spanish Colonists* For if it be asked, " What is the reason, of the inability of so intelligent a nation as the French to establish flourishing^ Colonies V I answer, in the words ok Licber, "The French are thoroughly wedded to centralism, and eminently uh> conHtitntional in their character." Lefc every Colonist in Otago, then, record hi» vote, on Saturday, in favor of the Provincial Government, assured that thereby ho shows kimself worthy of all the blessings of civil and religious liberty, for which his forefathers fought and bled, and which ifc should bo hmproudest boast to hand down unimpaired to his children's children. If any one any that f am pursuing the subject too far, I can only say that I candidly believe, that a great political injustice has been done to the Province, and that in a most shameless manner ; and that one <>i thu greatest of our political rights in in danger of being rendered anullEy : I mean the rjght of electing a Superintoßdi*nt for the Province. lam persuaded,, too, that the General Assembly will look, upon the action of the Executive in much. the same light as I am doing ; and when. the news ivache:s thu House of Commons it will be received with mingled feelings of incredulity, laughter, and indignation. Tho right of electing a Superintendent was strongly recommended to tho Home Government by Sir George Grey himself, and tlio ivaKo!i3 assigned by him could not hi c'lMVo >vert(.:d. As to this right, I can lomembcr nothing .so appropriate, <•» emphatic, as tke words of that great statesman whose name is prefixed to thi& letter.

It i?. a ri'^lit, the effect of which hi to givo to tluj people that man—and that man only—whom by their voice:! actually, not constructively given, they declare that they know, estuem, love, and trust. This light is a matter within their own power of j.idging and feeling : not an eitt ratwnin and creature of law ; nor can those devices by which anything else is su tuted in the place of such ;in actual c answur tho end in the least dugre : am, Ac, Axothkh Kkhmomj j.v tjik Fikli>.