The Invercargill Times FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 67, 26 June 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1863.

The result of the recent election to the vacant seat for the Waihopai District, and the large majority over Mr. Macarthur by which Mr. Beaven secured it, is more than ordinarily significant of the present temper of the electors. Here has been no triumph of any peculiar political principle — we may, say no victory of an individual. Both men were, personally, equally eligible, their political views were identical, on all Jocal matters their opinions were similar. Had Mr. Macarthur not been identified with the Government, had he come forward as a perfectly independent man, he might have stood a chance of being returned. The election hinged on this point solely, and the electors have, by their votes, shown their dissatisfaction with the way in which the Government has been, and is being, carried on. Have we, or have we not, a responsible Government? Are we, or are we not, governed constitutionally 1 We have no hesitation in saying that we are not. We have all the paraphernalia of a constitutional Governmenc — the proper number of members in the Executive Council ; a sufficient number to ensure a majority in the Provincial Council, where, to judge from the very crude state of their information on the very ordinances they had to support, we fancy much time had not been spent in digestingtheir contents in the Executive Council. They appeared as if they had been sent out by the master mind to perform certain duties, on certain principles, to the best of their ability. For this unsatisfactory state of things Mr. Pearson, the late member for the Waihopai, is much to blame. Had he taken his stand at first firmly, determined to resist all encroachments on the privileges and duties of our executive offices, and by so doing encouraged his fellow-members of Council to a like determination, the disease would not have assumed so morbid a form ; instead of which, he resigned when resignation was too late, and the malady which, by proper treatment, could have been cured, by that time had become chronic. He is open to grave censure for having encouraged in a mind too ready to receive, too prone to adopt the impres • sion, that the Executive were merely puppets for public exhibition — the most commendable, he who jumped highest when the string was pulled. That this state of things cannot last long must be apparent to all. To be governed constitutionally is the peculiar advantage of a " Britisher," and whether at home or in the colonies, it is a right which he demands. We are sorry to see that His Honor the Superintendent is becoming more and more oblivious of the fact; sorry because, were it not for this failing, he possesses all the requisites for filling his oflice with honor to himself and profit to the Province. We trust that in the remarks we make he will See rather a desire to o;en his own eyes to this failing (which so gr> ws upon certain temperaments, that like green-eyed jealousy, it makes the food it feeds on) than to detract from those good qualities, the existence of which we are perfectly ready to ackrv. wledge. The circumstances of the Provii cc have so changed of late, the amount o'" property and the interests at stake so much increased, that the style of conducting the Government, hitherto pursued — which, if it did not retdise all the desires of the earlier settlers, did not seem to them tocallfor much condemnation — is not at all suited for our present emergencies. Time, in a diggings colony, is in reality money ; it taken by the forelock it leads to fortune — let it ouee miss our grasp and we find ourselves | stranded, a stray waif on a desert shore — the tide has swept past us, and will never return. To conduct affairs at such times properly requires a long experience in gold-digging colonies, such as those of Australia ; men who, having seen the earliest mistakes, aud profited by the later experience of the various Governments which have had to grapple with somewhat similar circumstances to those we find ourselves placed in, and are likely to be able to give valuable advice. Such advice His Honor ought to take. Not having been so circumstanced as to become practically acquainted with these matters, let him not be too proud to consult those who have. We are none of us immaculate. The two things most necessary to the progress of a settlement, at all timt'S, and more particularly in such times as these in which we find ourselves placed, are good communication by water and land. As regards the latter, we believe that at the end of this quarter there will be upwards of fifty thousand pounds expended on roads. £50,000 expended, and not a road in the Province. We are none of those who seek to decry for the pleasure of finding fault. We are perfectly willing toacknowledge the difficulties attendant on getting into efficient working order the machinery of the various departments during the earlier stages of the Province — ths difficulties of getting contracts taken, and, when taken, properly executed ; of finding properly-qualified supervisors. All these we can appreciate, but our childhood has passed ; if

we have not now reached the full vigo of manhood, we fear, we never shall Fifty thousand pounds is a large sura ti expend, and the amount swells in mag nitude when we look at the result of thi expenditure. True, a large part of th< Main North Road has been ditched, am what is termed formed — not merely int< canals of mud, but ready to receive tneta in spring; and some of the bush cuttings north, of Wallacetown have been gravelled ; but it surely did not take £50,Q0C todothis! Experiments have been tried, which, if useless, are at any rate costly. " Who is responsible for this ? " is rather a difficult question to answer. Interference with the heads of departments is looked upon as inconvenient by those heads, but it certainly has the advantage of relieving them from all respon ibility ; so that while it would appear that heavy blame is attached to some one, there appears to be no one jto whom to attach it. The matter, I however, is becoming serious. We cannot pick up £50,000 every day in the week. Borrowing is fine fun while it lasts, but some one will have to pay , sooner or later. Amongst other ques- ! tions put to each of the candidates at the Waihopai election the other day was the one — " Whether he thought the overseers at present employed were fit to superintend such works as those at present in progress ? " The answer was invariably — " No ! " Another question — *' Do you not think one good and competent man would be worth all of them together ? " Answer — " Yes." There is a large staff of overseers employed. By whom are they appointed? Are they recommended by the head of the department, after careful examination as to their qualification for so important a position ? These are matters which will be rigidly inquired into at the next sitting of the Council, and the inquiry will lead, we trust, to a better state of things — to a more careful and judicious expenditure on roads. As regards water communication, we learn that the Government has at last succeeded in obtaining ample steam communication with Melbourne, and bas had the " pluck" to exceed the subsidy voted by the Council, though there is not much risk of a refusal tosanction such an excess on the part of that body. That this ought to have been done sooner, and could easily have been effected had an agent been sent over immediately after the last sitting of Council, or indeed the previous one, there can be little doubt ; but we hail with satisfaction any evidence of a desire to retrieve lost ground. The steamers Gothenburg and Ediua are to run direct to the New River. What has or is being done to buoy off the channel in this harbor? to secure an efficient and effective pilot service commensurate with the wants of an increased trade ? The head pilot, Mr Bray, is a very good man ; is he properly aid ably supported ? The other day the Titania was mis'ed by a flag at the signal-staff, and the captain lost some time before he concluded it must be a mistake, the real cause bein^ that there Was no pilot left at the station. This is hardly as it should be. Inside the Heads, marking off the upper channel, the so-called buoys and beacons must impress the nautical mind with the extravagance aud ingenuity of the Southland authorities. A stranger might imagine that we were a fis ing community, and the various sticks stuck up in the river were marks where the nets had been spread. It is time some little attention was being paid to this harbor. We have a harbor master and an assistant ditto ; perhaps one of these gentlemen might contrive to substitute for the time-honored manuka pole, something having a nearer resemblance to the old-fashioned notion of an efficient buoy. We trust that everything will be done to push the railway pier at the Mokomoko, and also the jetty at the south end of the town. The want of jetty accommodation is one of the greatest drawbacks to the province. At the next sitting of the Couu. cil the Government will find itself in a different position to that it has hitherto occupied. It will have to come provided with better arguments than those contained in what is termed " chaff; '' a better knowledge of those very principles they advocate, but which they hitherto seem to have studied very little prior to defending them in the Council, and a better understanding of their own position than to seek to force principles by snubbing the Opposition. Both for the Government and the people, this altered state of things will prove beneficial. We have stated above we make our remarks from no captious opposition to the Government — we repeat it. We sincerely trust His HoDor will in future take a different view of the duties of a Superintendent to that which he has hitherto done, or we fear the settlers of Southland will think it necessary to their interests that a change should take place. We say fear, because were it not for this singular dislike to govern constitutionally, we should have difficulty in finding as good a man. In education, social position ■ — strict, uudoubted, unimpeachable integrity — Dr. Menzies stands second to no Superintendent in New Zealand. Would that he would condescend to imagine that the Superintendent of Southland is not the Czar of Russia. The Grand Llama is, doubtless, looked upon as a great institution by the good folks of Thibet, but we question whether it would find much favor with Englishmen. If Dr. Menzies will govern constitutionally, we could not desire a better man ; but if not, it were better a change were effected, even if by that change we got an inferior substitute.

In consequence <">f the pressure on our space, we are c .impelled to omit several articles of intere-.:!-, which will appear in cmr naxt i6sue.