The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Lnceo Non Uro. MONDAY, JANUARY 20.

Southland Times, Issue 3302, 20 January 1879, Page 2

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Lnceo Non Uro. MONDAY, JANUARY 20.

The result of the Mataura electron- in the return of Mr Shanks, occasioned "us no surprise, for it had been apparent to us that political opinion here, and elsewhere as well,- was undergoing considerable modification. The meretricious glamour of the extreme views enunciated by so-called reformers of the day is losing effect.- The scales are falling from the eyes of men who were, for the time, deceived by it, and they are now beginning to perceive that their true interests lie .with moderation and that absolutely equitable system of legislation that considers the requirements of every class without' prejudice, and rigorously abstains from encroaching, even a hair'sbreadth, upon the rights of any one section of the community at, the expense of thoße of another. This, we believe, coincides with the views of the • new member for the Mataura.- We recog- j nised the germs of liberalism in its truest sense in his address to the electors of the district. It was moderate in tone, and sensible in its general bearings, and although the candidate was well aware of the character of the Opposition, and that a catch-cry to tickle the ears of the unthinking would, in all likelihood, secure votes in his favor, yet he preserved his text faithfully throughout the many addresses he delivered in 'the course of , his candidature; : :r'esolving to stand or fall ; by the principles he had enunciated. - This testified to his. honesty, .of ; purpose and manly straightforwardness-equalities • 'which"u nfortunately: are ndt always as- , sociated ; -with politics now-a-days. > 'It has been attempted .to place Messrs Shanks and Kinross upon a common platform, but, to the most: casual observer even, this . is impossible. The men; ;are -as ;;distirict iri politics as they are in personal -characteristics. The former is a irue liberal, "' the latter is as ultra in his views ..as; his leader, the ;■ Premier. We. remarked -above that cur--1 : rent;v political opinion was undergoing ■ modification, but", with regard to the \ changes, of late years the process has .been ,so gradual that the exact definition of- : parties now is not •generally understood, or recognised. The 'term "tpryism " has lost its force, .and- is almost as fossilised as that of "jacobitism." It is merely a memento of the past. Conservation, again, into which it merged, is becoming effete, and is no longer (distinctive of the principles of the party to which it is still apphed, generally in opprobrium. The qualification of --liberal," "which it subse- . quently; received, fails to define the platform of the party. Properly speaking, conservatism, like toryism, ought to be set aside as; no longer possessing significance, and, instead, the term " liberal " 'should be adopted as the distinguishing appellation of -he higher strata of society. There is no disguising the fact that politics have markedly differentiated, and differences of opinion are now (at this end of the world at any rate) confined to two well-defined parties — those who have accumulated substantial possessions or positions by virtue of qualities which ahvays tell in the race of life, and the bulk of the people of lower classification, the majority living from hand to mouth, . but all instinctively aspiring to better their condition, and, when worked upon by political ' agitators, too prone to be swayed by considerations , neither reasonable nor just. We have •very striking evidence of this in the Berry faction of Victoria, and in lesser degree here amongst the out and out subscribers to the .political faith enunciated by Sir George Grey. By a niisapplicati n of terms, the party is called -* liberal," whereas, in truth, its designation should be-" The Extremists." Year by year the conservative platform has expanded into liberalism, whilst liberalism, on the other hand, has developed radicalism, and the latter is fast degenerating into communism. The true liberals have and still are advocating by word and deed the amelioration of the condition of those less happily circumstanced 'than themselves. To improve the status of the working classes of late years-has. been the aim, of social and political reformers. Much has been accomplished, the classes themselves responded, arid have gained such power thereby that, ! with the • extension' of the franchise, the- result , is the threatening of higher intelligence, intellect^' and property and capital by the force .of mere majority. Might is again to. be right only by another way than that. of taking by : the throat. Sappirigis to be resorted to by gradually handicapping property andGapital by taxation, until those who possess 1 them will be pulled back to a level with i the ;great-bnlk?f^ to be permitted to excel. * That this is the ] tendency has been made manifest of late iri a most . tmmistakeable manner. The so-termed reformers of the day announce it as their jprograhime of the future. „As waJ3 -reniarkeaV ;^ in his speech .^;|)unedm, the other day-4 \ " They must take care that property and money were somewhat equally distributed amongst the people." -The AttorneyGeneral is only one man," it is true, but he is a representative 'man, and his peculiar opinions are not confined to, himself. We have- said -these are the tendencies of the age, but we are not prepared to affirm-that such tendencies will lead to the destruction of our social system. -We believe we are a long way off communism yet, but unless care is taken to guard against undue encroachment ' much injustice and mischief may be perpetrated meantime. That the very essence of political progress lies in continuous reforms is a liberal text, but -true reform does not tend in one direction only, 1 but acts in a variety of directions, wherever in fact it is needed. If it is confined to one rigid groove, it loses its right 'to be termed reform, and becomes a monstrous tyranny. We v are very much mistaken if the sentiments we express arenos shared by Mr Shanks. Believing that he is a liberal, and feeling confident that he does not belong to the Grey and Berry .school, we greet with satisfaction his, victory oyer MiKinross! 'At. the same' time we hope that, the liberal party t of the district will be prepared to, when the general election take • place'; -vastly jmprove upon Mr Shanks in thi candidates they put for-

-yard, f . or at any rate that they will associate with him men .of higher characteristics; It is unfortunately too true that political representation has degenerated, and is degenerating. The calibre of the General Assembly, taken as -a whole, is not by any means what could -be desired. Men of inferior capacity, but superior- audacity, push their way in to. the exclusion of they betters, and hence the lowering of the tone of politics. -We are far from insinuating even that the seat for the 'Mataura is worse filled than* it was before ; on the contrary, we think the change is very much for the : better, and that the new member will develop into a sound and useful politician. He has his way to make, and will either make it consistent with good principles and honesty of purpose, or he will retire from the arena! • . The upshot of .the .late election testifies to the wise foresight which induced the liberal party not to prosecute the candidature of Mr Denniston. Running as he must -have done on a ticket very similar to that of Mr Shanks, he would have played into the hands of the extremists, and Mr Kinross's return would have been assured. The neutral ground between liberals and extremists is too straightened just now to permit of much manoeuvring in it. The extremists constitute a compact and powerful organisation, which, notwithstanding that Mataura proper Avas nearly to a man with Mr Shanks, put him on his mettle to secure a good, majority. Under other circumstances Mr. Denniston's candidature ' would have been most desirable, and had it merely rested between Mr Kinross and himself we believe his victory would have been no less decided than the one recorded in favor of Mr Shanks. As the case stood, hoAvever, nothing but action the most decided could have saved the seat. It is as well that for once coquetting with possibilities was avoided, and the stern rule of expediency adopted instead.