The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Saturday, October 25, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 933, 25 October 1879, Page 2

The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Saturday, October 25, 1879.

Sir George Grey has been unseated for Christchurch ! Will lie then attempt to enter Parliament again? For the good of the country and for the advance of so much needed legislation it is to be hoped he will not. There is the beautiful Island of Kawau for him to end his days in peace, and to rest, and be thankful that his strong will, stubborn and imperious nature, having become powefless, he will be prevented from doing more mischief. History finds many parallels where great statesmen — and Sir Georee at one time was entitled to be called this — by their early successes have allowed themselves to degenerate into mere despots, only in the long run, and with an enlighted people, to fallagain'ne?er to rise. Still, who are those who will not pity the old man eloquent, when a few nights ago he told his fellow representatives that he was no more than an outcast among men. This was a statement as extraordinary as it was humiliating to come from one who, according to

his own account, had the people of New, Zealand at his back. Still, it doubtless contains a wonderful amount ofgtruth. It is quite possible that the melancholy word swere uttered in all sincerity. But if it was the act of his own party who deposed him, then we say they have done that for which they ought to be heartily ashamed of themselves. It is said of Sir George Grey by not a few who know him that he was doing no more than acting the part of "an outcast " in order to obtain the sympathy of the House. He did not obtain it ; for those who had been so long his followers, having got heartily tired of him, took in earnest what he did not mean in earnest, and turned their backs on him. Then did he indeed become an outcast, and his political life has probably come to a close. " This very pretty conspiracy," says the Otago Daily Times, "it seems Sir George has discovered, and " the result has been an outburst of feeling in which reproaches, recriminations, and explanations played an important part." It is to be hoped Mr. Ballance had no share in the amicable transaction, otherwise his offer of friendship to his old chief, some of whose sayings and doings he is commonly believed to have chronicled in a very discreditable manner, must have been rather hypocritical. But though the quarrel is said to have been patched up, it is little wonder if Sir George- Grey were touched to the quick by the treachery of his friends ; and but for some sense of injury, he never would have had the folly to tell the whole world that he was an outcast among men. From all this it is reasonable to infer that there is more Liberalism than honor in the noble army of patriots whom the good knight has' led so gallantly against the oppressors of the people. We might however remark, just by the way> that it ..has sometimes happened that an Army of Liberation has been more oppressive than the tyrants it came to destroy, so that the poor people have actually prayed to be delivered from their deliverers. Not that we mean to insinuate such a thing against Sir George Grey and his little host — though it is possible the people of New Zealand will have to pay sweetly for their liberty. When they come to understand that the enormous sums which have been spent or squandered in their behalf mean only increased taxation, we should not wonder if they said some very unpleasant things of their generous liberators? And who shall blame them 1 It is bad enough for freeman to be stigmatised as slaves and serfs, but it is infinitely worse that they should be plundered in order that a set of heaven-born statesmen might have the glory of neglecting and mismanaging the Colony. But while we sympathise with Sir George Grey in the very shabby treatment he has received at the hands of his followers, we do not see why he should have made his outcast condition an excuse for denouncing and abusing the hon. gentlemen on theGovernment benches. Whatever the present Ministry may be, and they are at least as honorable and capable as the men who are moved or rather tortured by such a frantic desire to displace them, they ought to have fair-play. It is simply monstrous that they should be condemned without a hearing. In mere justice to the Colony they ought to be allowed to announce their policy. It is surely possible that that policy may be better and more acceptable than the policy of their opponents. Why then should the Colony be denied its right to know what it is 1 But this is precisely what the Opposition are so frantically attempting to do, and wonderful must be simplicity which believes that Mr. Macandrew's " real object is not place or power, but to assist in establishing a really Parliamentary government by party !" If he had said that his object was to establish government by the Grey or MacANDREw party, his statement would have been credible enough, but the principles of genuine party government are what the Grey Ministry either did nor understood or diliberately ignored. But it appears Ythat this occupation of the Ministerial benches by Mr. Hall and fiis colleagues is a violation of party, government, and Sir George Grey declared it was the duty of all men to insist on the Governor's removing them. This is certainly not a self-evident duty, but it is a piece with his other declaration, that as he himself had retired from the leadership of his party in the interest of Liberal measures, it was the duty of the Government to follow his example and retire too, now that they found they were obstmcting the same measures ! Such a piece of arrant absurdity we venture to say was never before heard iri the House ; the simple fact being that the Govment are doing their veiy utmost to introduce the measures ; while the obstruction comes wholly from the Opposition. The Government are only obstructing Mr. Macandrew's " Parliamentary government by party " efforts to get back to place and power. When argument failed Sir George Grey, in accordance with his custom, resorted to abuse. Mr. Hall, he affirmed, was merely the representative of the Governor, and he went the length of saying that his Excellency had made himself a partizan ? On the former head however he immediately contradicted himself, and said that the Premier was the representative of the Canterbury land ring \ at least we do

not suppose that even Sir George Grey would assert that the Canterbury land ring and the Governor are identical. We were not aware moreover that the Canterbury squatters and landowners constituted a " ring " any more than the squatters and landowerß of Otago ; but we have a faint recollection of certain " rings " not so far a-field with which the Grey Government were supposed to have a more or less, intimate connection. But however this may be, there can be no question as to the impropriety of the statements made by Sir George Grey, and if he imagines that Liberalism will be promoted by such reckless abuse of the Governor and his Ministers he is wofully mistaken. His motives are far too transpai-ent, and the injustice of his accusations will be sure to re-act on the cause which he professes to have so much at heart.