The Otago Witness.

Otago Witness, Volume 15, Issue 1487, 15 May 1880, Page 17

The Otago Witness.

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE 'BOUTHIBU MEBOUHY..' DUNEDIK", SATUBDAY, 16th MAY, 1880. Sir George Grey must thoroughly understand his audience, or he could never have ventured to make such a speech as the one of which a full telegraphic summary appears elsewhere. The Auckland people seem, however, to have a capacious swallow, and nothing is too hot or too heavy to go down at a public meeting in that enlightened community. We must confess that we are surprised and disappointed that at a crisis in the affairs of the Colony when the undoubted abilities and ripe experience of Sir George might prove of inestimable service to the people whom he affects to love so much, he isfoundindulginginhisoldvein of exaggeration and bombast, not to speak of such gross misrepresentation of facts as isentirelyinconsistenteitherwith accident or defective memory. We pass over as really unworthy of serious refutation the rhetorical nights with which the oration opened. Much the same thing we have heard over and over again — in fact, usque ad nauseam]^ and we hardly think that many converts are likely at the present time to be made to the dogmas of an exploded Provincialism, or the entire subversion of the Constitution by making the Governor an elective officer. A Governor, to be after Sir George's own heart, must be chosen by plebiscite, controlled, we presume, by the same machinery which is so singularly efficient in pointing the moral and adorning the tale of representative institutions in the Provincial District of Auckland ! Sir George says that tho present system of government is a "quasi despotism." We confess we cannot exactly comprehend the idea, but of one thing there is no manner of doubt : that the rule of a Governor elected by a party vote, whilst administering the powers of the British Crown, would be a form of despotism of the most dangerous and oppressive character, The President of the United States is some*

Vrhat of a despot in the large powers of veto which he possesses, but his authority is strictly limited by the terms of the written Constitution, within the four corners of which lie must confine his action. Electing a man to an office in which, he would be in no way responsible to the electors would be a perfect travesty of free institutions, and we wonder that Sir George does not realise the absurd position, logically, in which he places himself by his argument. Of course the elective Governor, when that blessing is realised, is to be " a son of Auckland," and the proletaries who thronged the Theatre Royal in that city on Tuesday evening no doubt applauded to the echo. To this class, unfortunately numerous in the Northern city, constituted authority is unpalatable ; and the terrible effects of Governors " enjoying enormous salaries" and of a nominated Legislative Council, depicted in strong language, fell on willing ears. Did it strike any of the audience that the gentleman who was addressing them owed bis name and position to the very office which he was holding up to contumely, and that as Premier he had used the powers, practically vested in himself, of nomination to the Council in a manner which had certainly tended to bring the system of nomination into well-merited contempt? Surely Sir George must have been a little ironical when, in acknowledging the loud plaudits evoked by his proposals for constitutional reform, lie said that he " had found the Auckland public intelligent, ready to hear reason, and to lean to the cause of truth " ! As, however, we intimated at the commencement of this article, there are far graver causes for disapproving this speech of the late Premier than his mere fantastic ebullitions as a political theorist. He makes a series of distinct charges against the party in power, relating to matters of very serious importance, charges which upon the very face of them have not the shadow of a foundation in fact. He attacks the electoral policy of the present Government, stating that they wished "to throw the whole power into the hands of property." To this the electoral legislation of last session is a complete answer, conferring as it does the franchise practically upon every man, and not only conferring the abstract right, but by a simple system of registration rendering this right easy to be exercised. So determined is Sir George to find fault that he actually conjures up an imaginary scheme of representation, which he alleges is to be brought forward, and which is to provide for , the adjustment of electoral districts in the South Island according to population, leaving the present divisions of the North Island undisturbed. "He would advise the Auckland people, notwithstanding any temporary advantage, to repudiate such a proposal." It appears that after advocating loudly and long representation according to population, Sir George discovered that Auckland on such a plan would lose two or three votes, and it may be presumed he hasbeen calledto account accordingly, but he would now have the assumed good intentions of the Ministry "repudiated." Auckland must accept no gifts except at his own hands ! It is, however, in his treatment of the land question that Sir George shows very especial disingenuousness. The portion of his speech referring to the subject is more than usually diffuse and obscure, but certain misrepresentations stand prominently forward. He states in effect that the party opposed to him when in office wanted the public lands for themselves, and he gives as a proof of this that " they prevented him passing a law by which the Government would buy the land, the Natives getting 1 fair value instead of being made drunk or swindled, by which that land would have been sold by auction in suitable blocks or on deferred payments, without favour or partiality." There is no record in the Parliamentary proceedings either of the introduction of such a bill by the Gkey Ministry or of obstruction being offered to aDy proposals of such a character. Mr Sheehan introduced and carried through two Native Land Act Amendment Bills in 1878, but both of these were simply of a technical character. Sir George further asserts that " large blocks of land are now being purchased by private parties, over which the public have valid rights. In one case they (the Government) were going to allow some English gentlemen to acquire from 250,000 to 300,000 acres, conditional on advances being refunded to the extent of L 5000." What all this means we are at a loss to conceive, considering that the Government have no such power, even had they the inclination; the only charitable construction is that it is a chimera paginating, without an aofe of will, to

the brain of the honourable gentleman. And can anyone familiar with the working of the Canterbury Land Act, accept for a moment Sir George's statement " that a system of gridironing had obtained there which effectually closed the country to small selectors" 1 Admitting that some years ago there was a certain amount of gridironing, and that it was an evil, is there any province in New Zealand that has given such facilities to small settlers as Canterbury? Deplorable as the present state of things is pictured to be, the country is, however, not left without hope of remedy. Sir George in his peroration soars far above common place, and, we might add, commonsense, and declares that the people i " have a right to a convention to prepare their own Constitution and choose their own destiny " ! Parliament #is therefore to be ignored, and revolution is to be the order of the day.