The Southland Times FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 1875.

Southland Times, Issue 2165, 13 August 1875, Page 2

The Southland Times FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 1875.

On Wednesday evening Mr Lumsden addressed a number of liis constituents in the Theatre. The mectinu: was a tame affair, unrelieved by spirit on the part either of speaker or hearers. The audience was small for so important au occasion, and hacl no pretence to represent the electors of Invercargill. The most influential men in tbe town were absent, with a few exceptions, and mnny who have been loud enougli in denunciation of the sitting member were content to let slip the opportunity of taking him to task. Mr Lumsden is not a good speaker, and evinces a rare contempt for the proprieties and graces of die tion. Therefore a discourse from him is never, in itself, a superlative treat or attraction. But it was no less the' duty of every one interested in the well-being of the town and district, especially at this juncture, to be present on an occasion like that of Wednesday. If gentlemen are so fond of their slippers and firesides that they cannot leave thetn for a single night at any call of the State, they must pay tho penalty in the loss of political influence and the exhibition of a false public opinion. AYe happen to know, as a fact, tliat Mr Lumsden is not slow, at Provincial head-quar-ters, to point to any indication ol his alleged popularity here ; and the sham of Wednesday by which he obtained a vote of confidence — and which, outside of luvercargill, is not known to be a sham — will be sufiicient to justify Mr fluid in continuing to impose his present minister on the district, so long as he has it in liis power to impose anybody. "iit* Lumsden at the outset of his address disclaimed the intent inn ol turning his meeting to the purpose of supporting Provincialism. He jj-avea narrative ol the proceedings of last Provincial Council, beginning by censuring the action of those southern members who were thf means ut overtli rmvin^' the first Reid Government, aud establishing that of Mr Bastings. ile spoke of them disparagingly as having been actuated by tlie motive of pounds, shillings, and pence Their course has been already so thorouglily justified by the people of Southland, and its wisdom so confirmed by the substantial advantages thai have followed — not to speak of the prestige and influence gained by their victory — that it would be guile superfluous to answer Mr Lumsden's reproach. Wo hope that out- representatives will know few more commanding motives than the material uood of the district, and that, unlike Mr Lumsden, they will consider the supremacy of Mr Donald Keid dearly purchased at the cost of any Southland interest". The views stated by Mr Lumsden on the subject of education involve nothing worthy of special remark, except in so f;tr as they propound it theory <>n the 'question of borrowing that few men aequainled with business are likely lo subscribe to. Borrowing, so far from having anything in if necessarily desperate, or ofthe character of a dernier resort ', is often, in the presence even of other resources the most simple, natural, and economical of expedients. For anything that Mr Lumsden advanced, therefore, the pro posnl to borrow for school buildings ou the security ofthe Education Reserves , may havo been wise and statesmanlike. The question of flic Hospital could not: fail to come under review, and a very latin: attempt was made by the speaker to escape the odium id' having failed to support Mr Wood in his ell'ort to get the institution placed on | the same footing as the one iv Dunei dm. We will say frankly that the | letter written by Mr Lumsden to the I Acting Provincial Secretaiy in August, I IS7I-, was a firm ami earnest appeal on behalf of the Southland Hospital, yet that very letter contains enough to condemn the subsequent action of the writer. It says—" I cau iorsee that, unless the Government make more liberal provision for its (the Hospital's) support, no committee will be willing to accept the responsibility of its management." Nov, seeing that such support had heen refused, and the committee had shown tlia! ifc was tired of ihe whole affair, how could Mr Lumsden imagine that Ihe people would he otherwise than thankful to have the Government take tho instilu tion into its own hands, to be conducted at ils own cost ? "Yet Mr Lumsden tells us that it was because ho did not know that the people wished to resign the management that he refused support to Mr Wood's motion ! We do not like to impute motives, but cannot help thinking Ihat a desire to save the purse of the Province, and fo please Mr Reid, imd .*:-; much to do with Mr Lum-d"ii's opposition aa any wish to spare tho susceptibilities of the people of Invercargill. If Mr Lumsden had only had the courage to back up his own lotter, and had spoken to the Council the just and manly words that he wrote to Mr Turnbuil, his own position would haw: hern different. »n-l tho position of the Hospital might haye beon diflereut too. Mr Lumsden was right, so far, in ;he view he took of the anticipated transaction between the General nnd Provincial Governine-os iv the [iur chase and sale oft he Llufl'aud Wmlon Railway. The purchase money will,

as ho says, constitute a Provincial charge, and the interest and sinking f:\i\(\ will be a burden on the whole Province. But there ia this important point to be noticed, that fche outlay of the money, by the terms of reunion, is to be local and specific The price is to be expended on public, works in the district of Southland. We are obliged to Mr Lumsden for his allusion to tho matter, for ifc leads us to say thafc the whole transaction should be closely watched, and we commend it to the special attentiou of the Railway Committee. The price of the railway should never be allowed to find its wav into the provincial exchequer except under a specific destination, and security should be taken by the General Government that tbe ex- j penditure shall be purely on South- j land account. The four Southland mem- j bers, if duly instructed, are very well able to see tbis safeguard applied Mr Lumsden is not so happy when he attempts an estimate of the finan cial position of Southland in relation to tbe united province of Otago. How is it that the member for Invercargill cannot look at anything witli the eye of a Southlander ? Strangers have been congratulating us on our emergence from bankruptcy, and on our having got the balance at last on the right side of tho books. But Mr Lumsden won't have it, Southland must be humiliated somehow, even at the cost of bad accounting. You have £07,000 at your credit, itis true, says our patriotic member, but there aro appropriations that you have, uot 1 taken into account. Certainly; but neither have we taken into account tho revenue out of wliich theso appropriations are to be met. When outbalance of £07,000 is added to the revenue of the current year, and the whole is passed to Southland's credit ; and when, ou the other hand, she is debited with sums appropriated, she will still, doubtless, have a balance on : the right side of the ledger. We are :' sorry to deny Mr Lumsden' the luxury of being still in debt. We have hardly left ourselves ! space to notice Mr Lumsden's ex- | planations in the matter of the Tost Office corner. He professed to give a ■ complete account of tiie transaction, but he failed signally to do so. lie can never clear himself of the charge of haying jockeyed the Atheii.Tiim subscribers and committee, with whom he professed to confer and deliberate. it was behind their backs and behind Ihe backs ot the General Government's agent that he plotted for his pet scheme of a Town Hall site. Had he fought fairly—had he told Mr Brunton anif Mr Hannah that they were, as be thought, negotiating on a false basis, ihey could only have said that he was wrong headed and obstructive. As it w.-.s, "he let them stumble into what may prove a pit, unless, as we expect, his design be frustrated iv Wellington.