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Otago Daily Times, Issue 11962, 8 February 1901, Page 4

A moTement has teen set on foot in Wellington with the purpose of collecting funds for the erection of a statue cf Queen Victoria. His Excellency the Governor has suggested that the movement should be of a national character, —in other words, that the people of the colony as a whole should .provide a statue for 'Wellington,—ai\d on Wednesday the committee adopted this proposal and resolved that subscription lists should be forwarded to the various mayors and chairmen of local bodies. We must say at once that we cannot endorse this project, and we are convinced that it. will not meet with success. We do not wish to take up an invidious provincial attitude, but (as we have often pointed out) there is a rea-, sonable as well as a bad provincialism, and it is really too much to aslc the people of Dunediu (for instance) to contribute towards the erection of a statue which the large majority of them would never seo. There is an obvious and simple way out of the difficulty, however. It will' hardly be disputed that each of the chief centres in the colony ought to possess an adequate presentment of the revered Sovereign whom we have just lost, set " plain for all folk to see," in the heart of the city. The statuette in the Dunediu Town Hnll certainly cannot he described as adequate, and there can be little doubt that a local movement (we speak for Dunedin) in. the suggested direction would be enthusiastically and liberally supported. Probably his Worship the Mayor will add one more to the many services he has rendered the city by taking tho matter in hand. No time should be lost,—not that popular reverence for Queen Victoria's memory js likely to die out, but universal sentimeut, even in such a case as this, naturallyloses some of its warmth in com't. of time, owing not to fickleness but *-,

a subtle psychological necessity. Anylow, there should not he the slightest 'difficulty in raising a sum of money sufficient to provide a statue worthy of her whom it is desired to commemorate aud of an appreciative and grateful community. Though, as we have said, the people of one province cannot fairly be expected to contribute to a memorial in another province, the people of Otago outside Dunedin would, we are sure, be glad to take their part- hi providing funds for a statue to be erected in tbis city. There is no analogy between the two claims,—for, the proportion of Otago country residents who visit Dunedin at least occasionally is far greater than the pumber of Dunedin residents who visit Wellington. In short, we entirely disagree with Lord Ranfurly, and think that the task of commemorating the late Queen should be provincial rather than national,—that is, if by "national" is meant the provision of funds from all parts of the colony for a statue in Wellington. At best such a movement would meet with- half-hearted support outside the Wellington province, whereas a simultaneous- movement in each of the chief, centres for a local memorial would be eagerly welcomed, aud would, as a matter of fact, be truly national in character. We trust, then, that the project will he set going in Dunedin at once., Wo repeat that the statue must be adequate: a paltry or unworthy .memorial of Queen Victoria would be a shame to the community. Dunedin loyalty is no mere lip service, and Dunedin affection for the Queen's memory is no conventional complaisance; so that it should be a comparatively easy matter' to raise two or three thousand pounds or whatever sum may be necessary. There is hardly a man, woman, or child in the province that would not contribute something, and be only too pleased to make a small self-sacrifice, if need were, in order to have the privilege of doing honour to the memory of .Victona the Good.