OTAGO

Taranaki Herald, Volume III, Issue 107, 16 August 1854, Page 4

OTAG O

fT'rom tho New Zf-alandcr] Tsv pnvutc couriceywc hnve been fuvoureil with the '/ugi> V/itn.-i"i of the Gth of May. It it. a dmihle iiuiiiher, i»d b ucaily fill' d throughout with one r,ubj ct, naimly vvlia'-(t<i me * term f.imilmr lo our I'Vcr (Jiurch friendo) — we may ptrhnps call the iltsruption of the Provincial Government. The cupiesbtozi will scarcely be considered too »tion<; •when we briefly stale, firnt, that on tlis °.f>th of Aj>rilj tJio Superintendent prorouged the Piovincml

Council, notwithntnndinß a formal rcqunt made by I the Council tbat /Jis Honour " would delay the prorogation for a short time, us there wa« in important now Bill about to he introduced Into the Houso ;" and next, thnt, after the proroguing spceoh, the Council broke up, like the guests nt Macbeth'sbnnquet, — «'in mo^tadmiieil disorder;" onnof the four members present (Mr. Gillicß) immediately, and an tho spot, tendering his re»ignation of his float, whilo another (Mr. RrMcGlashnn) incontinently rushed to write an address to tho elccton, declaring tbat if hn had consulted his own fcelingß, " after hiq Honour's virulent addrcsa," bo I would have taken a tirrtilar stop ; but ho did not feel called on to resign a trust which had boon re- ' posed in him by lm fellow doctors, who with himself, " hold on some vital points antagonistic views to tho»e of tho Superintendent and his zealous par« tizans." 110 intimated, however, thnt tho rcsigna* lion of Mr. Gillies was '■ likoly to be followed by others." TlieSuporintendent'aspoccli occupies six columns of the Witness. It Is followed by a Report, with the signature; of Mr.Gillies and Mr. E.McGlashan, aa a Committeo on tho Superintendent's Mesnngo on tho " Perries Bill "in which thoqe genllcinou enter — to the extent of nenrly fourcolumnn— on the vexed question of the right, or rather tho no right, of the Superintendent to the powers ho claimed to eicrciic, Then, ngnin, como remarks on thii Report nnd the Renolution of ihe Council adopting It, by Mr. J. McGlashnn, tho Provincial Solicitor, which occupy upwards of eight columns of small type. Copious as are thoso documents, it \i not very easy for renders Imperfectly acquainted with tho local politics of Otngo to form q clenr conception of the real grounds and aspects of these painful collisions. It does appear, however, that the Su. perintendent took a view of his own Executive " Prerogative " which a portion of his Council wore determined not to concede; while on the other hand, his honour and his suppoiters wore equally resolved to resist viewi which they thoucht would hftvo the effect of reducing the Provindnl Government from the poiitiou assignor] to it by tho Con« Btitution Act to that of " a mere Municipal Board," Besides tho question of" prorogation," his honor in his address, dwells on the question of the price of land as oonncetcd with the Otngo " Terms of Purchase," and with tho Proclamation of March 1853, and enters at somo length into a critiquo on the course adoptod at Wellington "under what is called the cheap land system." Ilia own judgment if, that the price of land within the Otngo block should be 30s. an acre, of which he would appropriate 10s, for immigration, 1.55, for roads, and Sn, for religious and educational uses under the scheme." This last item having been tho culijcct of some inciilcntul comments in tho Houso of Representatives a few days since, wo shall quote his honours words relating to it :~ " I would further sny, with respect to tho 5», that, nt tho point we have attained, and tho work to which Ihe people havo set themieiveo, the grentcat amount of relief and public benefit would ncerue fiom itn belnK now exclusively applied to Church and educational buildings ; and to thin end I would farther propose that properties not yet paid for bo given up, so as to havo no clnim upon the ss, on that account. Tho properties paid for (eleven in number) would still remain for glebes, building sites, Sid, as called for by the Presbytery." It would seem in this that his honour must refer exclusively to the QUf;n Block, which (according to his statement in another paragmph) is " but a mere patch of the 'Province*" Yet It is not altogether apparent hoiv this construction harmonises with the distinctive character of the addrctn, as coming from tho Superintendent, and addressed to the Council of the whole Province, in -which, no doubt, there arovcrv ninny who hold different opin« ions on theological and ecclesiastical points. But we Bhall probably receivo fuller information on this and other mutters relating to Otago before the Scs» sion of the General Assembly closes. Indeed, we observe that Mr. Bcllnirshas placed a notice on a question on one part of tho subject, on the books of the Legislative Council. To return to the speech as bearing directly on his honour's vigorous proceeding. He forcibly describes tho disunion, from one cause or another, prevailing in the Council. " The Representatives" he says, " have been 6trangely divided, — four against four— and the general business of tho Session decided by the onsting vote of the Speaker." He more than insinuate 1 ) that the electors had display* oil " too much fncility in taking tho proioaiiioni of I changeable men "and repeatedly makes pcintcd ' nIHiHKinK to some of the members', tho gcnoral char» aci»t of which, as well as n principal ground of the di'Cunsion, will be seen from tho following para- , ginph-— | " But, meanwhile, Ido demur, for the sake of j public business, to such an resumption ns that of tlie Superintendent having no Executive powers wlmlover except whnt Iho Council n>ny pli-nnn to give him j and alto that in the absence of gentlemen on their duties to the Hou'e of Representatives, which leaves a uniform majority of the Council op« posed to tho principles on which (with one csccp. tion) they were returned — that these men of change and assumption should so carry it as lo obitruct tho public business. They have voted the Superintcni dent a cypher, and have only further to vote them. ' selves in perpetual Session in order to get rid of the electors aho. But this will not do, We have heard of o Rump Parliament, but a Rump Oingo ! Council, of which indications are from by propo« lals to adjourn itself by tho month (holding fast, of course, by *he reins it would njsume, from year's I and to yccr'a end) is out of the question. The , Constitution Act is of the 19th century, und a solid fact/ It is with 'unnffectpd regret that we ouscrvo no unpleasant.and ncresmnly injurious a Brato of things prevailing in a Province \vh eh might luvo been expected to exhibit and which indicd has been held | up as actually cihibuin,>— a condition of tho most tnvinble political nauluity nnd litumony. It \vill ho n matter of much sati/neton if the Gcncrnl Aasembly should so leijislnte nn tn nT.tify thcie dium* tiers where they <xi t, ami pment their occurrence in other placco ; but in the menntimo, ivo apprelitwl, hnn. gentlemen must n'ck elsewhere than in Olvo fo. illustraiions o( of the smooth and happy woi! in,; of Jlcponiibli; (Jovcmineiit " in a couu- ; try tueumiitunced ai New inland h <U piYßnt.