THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1858.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 115, 26 November 1858, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1858.

" Oh, these are times, the like of which were never seen, When everyone is anxious to become" M.C." We observed in the course of our last article that such on the one hand was the imbecility ofthe human understanding, and on the other the readiness of the great mass of the people to take a false view of any subject rather than the pains necessary to obtain a correct one, of almost every subject submitted to their consideration, the truth of which is too visible to the shallowest under-. standing to require further proof. We nevertheless rarely meet with an individual who does not fancy himself qualified to become a legislator, if not tbe head of the Government under which he lives.. Is it not. notorious that you cannot pass along our principal thoroughfares, nor even the by-ways of our important town, without every third person you meet asking you what you think of the - " somnambulists" of Barrack-square, and, modestly coupling you with themselves, exclaiming, at the same time giving you a punch of the ribs by way of adding force to the expression, " would not you and I shew the folks what it is to govern our important province were-we in the places of our num skulls." We confess we have riot such a favorable opinion of the, collective wisdom of the great body of Nelsonians as to exclaini, in regard to the business of selecting our representatives either in, Council or as Executives, " inter bonos optimum discernere," that is, " among the good the best to choose." Neither do we think-our. readers or fellow-colonists need be offended if, coming nearer the truth, we were (politically speaking) to substitute the term malos for bonos; for, without meaning the slightest reflection upon the moral or social qualities of any individual, we will venture to predict that, except perhaps in very few instances, there is not an individual amongst us who has ever taken his seat as a member of any provincial corporate body at home* or as a

select vestryman at any Parochial Board* ia the the metropolis. If we are right in our conjectures on this point; where, we would ask, have some of our would-be-thought political critics had auy opportunity of acquiring even a smattering of .the necessary-information and practical experience to qualify them for the office for administering the public affairs of a community, embracing as it would do, the interests of all classes ?—of which, excepting perhaps their own, they in all probability areas ignorant of as the the man in the moon; to say nothing ofthe ability to take in at a glance the effects of any general proposition ripon the combined.interests of the whole, so as to interfere as little as possible with that of any one class.

Now*, while we admit that the habits of the local man of business may be those of punctuality, clearness, promptitude, and energy, ..for the purposes for which they are exerted, we still contend it is a great mistake to suppose they will therefore make him all at once a " legislator." The qualities just enumerated, while they are as common, to the middle classes as to the higher, are also as common to the lower. With both the preceding, many and many is the man among working village tradesmen, mechanics, and artizans,, who is as much entitled " to' claim credit.. for. diligent application **io his calling—as well as in many instances for intellectual and moral exdellence—as any merchant, nobleman, or squire. The mistake that is made is, when the individual we have described is induced by the partiality pf his immediate neighbors, or when they, looking to these qualities iv the abstract, overlook the confined scale on which they have been habitually exercised, as well as the very few subjects that that scale is capable of measuring. Again, it should be recollected, the persons who have given proofs of them have commonly arrived at the middle (to say the least of it) stage of life, or even more generally beyond it, before they are sufficiently recognised by their fellow-towns-men, and before they are elected to the highest places of trust and confidence it is in their power to bestow. Again, allowing when so elected as representatives of their fellow-townsmen in Parliament, or as in our own case in Council, that they may be disposed zealously and heartily to dedicate, even say, a large portion of their, time to the duties of their high calling, still, if they are wealthy, the desire of accumulation does, not leave them ; if otherwise, other considerations interfere to preclude the sacrifice. But even should they determine to dedicate their whole time and energies to the public service, they cannot, for they are not of an age to change the mental habits; the range of their mental and intellectual vision is .fixed-— the organs and muscles are set, and any attempt at sudden expansion'or extension, would cast a dimness over the field, and if strained too much, terminate in their total destruction. At that stage of life it is-too late to acquire the aptitude ( .of a veteran in politics; his flexibility and elasticity of mind-—his varied scope of view—his universality which finds a common measure for reasons and considerations in themselves utterly heterogeneous—-his unlimited freedom in the disposal and concentration of the powers he possesses upon a point, or rather upon an hundred points taken one after another, and having no common character, no mutual connexion, except that they are massed, or it may be jumbled together by the exigencies of the hour, all militate against him.

For instance, as Mr. Pitt or Mr. Fox, or Mr. Canning " cum mullis aliis" (with many others) would in all probability have made very bad merchants or tradesmen—even if they entered on their career early in life, but would most certainly have done so had they taken to such, pursuits at five-and-forty —it appears also, from experience, that the middle class men of the country, rising by local desert to local credit, and then turned loose into the national political arena, add little in proportion to their numbers, to the political mind and accomplishments of the national assembly ; and.the same observations will apply to all popular elected bodies. At the same time, we would not be understood as opposed to the introduction of a moderate infusion of the class we have been criticising, into every representative assembly. For whatever prepossessions we may have for tbe introduction of the democratic principle into every branch of tbe body politic, we should be cautious how we give too great ah ascendancy to the growing tendency of local motives and considerations to spread more and more, and to become paramount without any apparent limit.

We have no hesitation in saying we think this movement has already attained'to too great a head in our small and infantine community, as regards not only the town, but our country districts; and thus substituting the retail mind for that expansion and conformation which is most ordinarily required by long and early contact with public affairs, by a more extended intercourse with the world, and an early initiation and insight into the discharge of responsible public duties. To these latter qualifications, and the influence of the higher range of education among the great body of the children of tbe English gentry (faulty, though it may be, in many respects), we may safely refertbe fact that that class have furnished more apt materials for public functionaries and.statesmen than the mercantile, or manufacturing, or moriied classes, whose cramped education begins sometimes even in the present day at a very early period of life, and who, being immured with little intermission within their own little world, wherein the principles disseminated aud inculcated are not of the'most liberal or generous kind, rarely acquire in after life that enlarged and disinterested view of the world which best qualify the man for the Senate. We cannot better conclude these remarks, which, we trust, will be taken in the spirit with which they are

written,, than hy recommending the aspirants after political honors to acquire a clear and

lucid idea of the numerous trying inconveniences attendant, more or less,**on all public employments, and to be assured that the instances are not few or conifined to any one'department of a State, in which persons have been known to resign, after a very brief trial and experience, the post they had all their lives been ambitious to attain.

The Marchioness. arrived here yesterday 'afternoon from Melbourne-the 10th instant. ..Captain Hammond kindly furnished us with a very complete file of papers, but they are altogether barren of anything of very striking interest. The Columbian, with the September mails, had not arrived.* Nelson Coal Mine.—'We are happy to find that active steps have been taken to explore our coal mine at a lower depth. On Monday last, the Directors proceeded to the works, and inspected the drive that has been made, and satisfied themselves as far as they possibly could as to the direction and inclination of the seams visible in the drive. After a consultation above ground, they finally settled upon the spot for a shaft, and Mr. Marsden, the superintendent of the mine, received his instructions at once to proceed with the work, using every despatch. We think ia a few weeks'' we shall HWe the extreme satisfaction of seeing samples'obtained from a much greater' depth than any hitherto seen, and of even better quality than that we at present possess. Excursion to Pelortts.—-To-morrow evening the Tasmanian Maid will. leave for an excursion trip to the Pelorus, lying in that river till Wednesday morning, when she -will return to Nelson. The particulars appear in another column, and we think the lowness of the fare should cause many excursionists to a place that is not frequently visited. The novelty should prove an attraction. The Passenger Act.—-The Cheetah, now in our port, is detained through non-compliance with the requirements of the above act, being without a life-boat, and some other matters also deficient, the Surveyors having intimated the necessity for strict compliance with its regulations. Having left adjacent ports with a number of passengers on board with immunity, is no reason why we should be lax in questions of such importance; and we are glad to-find that the proper investigators are sufficiently aware of this, and are not acting carelessly in the matter. This is so perceptible an advantage to the better found steamers,, in assisting them-to monopolise the passenger trade, that it is surprising owners of vessels do not equip them better for the sake of interest alone; although as a precaution it would be supposed that a better spirit would dictate an observance of its rules.

The New Wharf.—Our worthy HarborMaster and Mr. Akersten might have been seen at a very early hour yesterday morning plying the sounding line, while prosecuting their search for the best spot to erect the wharf that is to be made for the accommodation of the numerous steamers that will soon require greater convenience than we now possess. The vigorous prosecution of this work is of the greatest importance, and we take this application to the task as a good augury of its speedy fulfilment.

Lectures and Readings.—-As a" proof of our inertness in this very attractive system of imparting information, and how much. WP are surpassed in literary endeavors in- other places, we see that in Inverness, Scotland, Mr. Melville Bell, an elocutionist of some eminence, is giving readings to its inhabitants, selected from the works of Hood, Stowe, Dickens, Shakspeare, &c , the admission to which can be procured for one shilling and six-pence lhe set of four, although the population does not much exceed 12,000 people. We might draw an inference for our own guidance and general advantage from these facts.

The Theatre.—On Tuesday last, the production of " Othello" was an event that we expected would have brought a more numerous audience/being the first*Shakspearian play ever attempted here. The cast of the characters was different in. the first issue of bills,'a, circumstance that may have operated to affect the success of the piece perhaps, the name of Miss Seymour having been displaced by that of Mrs. Clinton. This late substitution, with very insufficiency of time to learn a difficult part, rendered thafc lady less successful than usual. The rest of the company made very respectable first efforts in a play of severe test. Mr. Cox, as Othello, played exceedingly well. In the reading of the part when swayed by conflicting passions, melting with kindlier thought, and anon stirred with vehement rage by the villainy of lago,—he marked the transitions with no injudicious excess, rendering the part all through very naturally. Mr. Bertram, as lago, kept up his character as a very useful member to this company. Mr. Clinton, as Cassio, also played" well. The farce of "The Secret" followed, creating much merriment, and the performance concluded at a late hour. This evening the successful play of " Ingomar" .will be repeated, followed by " My Precious Betsy," an excellent farce in the original.

On Saturday morning 16th instant, at eight o'clock, Samuel Gibbs and George Thomson suffered ' the extreme penalty of the law at the Melbourne Gaol. George Thomson ..was a West Indian negro, and was executed for the murder of Anderson, at Ballaarat. Gibbs,-also^ was a negro from the United States, arid was convicted of haying thrown his wife down a hole at Ballaarat. Thomson met his fate with perfect indifference. Nofc so Gibbs, who protested his innocence to the last, and offered great resistance to his execution. By an unfortunate casualty the rope gave way, and it became necessary to hang him a second time. A Fugitive from the Salt Lake.—A Camp Scott correspondent relates the following piteous tale of the sufferings of a female who had escaped from the " habitation of the saints:"—"On the 16th of May there arrived here a party of 29 persons, of whom six were women, five men, and 18 children. One materfamilias had crossed the mountains during very severe weather in almost a state of nudity. Her dress consisted of part of a single, solitary skirt, part of a man's shirt, and a portion of a jacket. Thus habited, without a shoe or a thread more than is above catalogued, she had walked 157 miles in snow, the greater part of her way up to her knees, and carried in her arms a - suckling, babe less than six Weeks old. The soldiers, it will be readily conceived, have not too'great an abundance of clothes but when they saw such a piteous picture they pulled off their clothes and gave them to the unfortunate woman, who, gratefully accepting, dressed herself warmly in them." _ y.y In the English papery we find several communications published; in which the great Professor Rarey is denounced as a downright humbug. It is calculated that he has gulled the "tarnation Britishers " to the extent of £12,000. The patent slip at Williamstown, Victoria, i3 at length completed. It will accommodate vessels of 800 or 1000 tons. • < y,y ■,? *