A SAD LOSS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 660, 25 March 1865, Page 2 (Supplement)

A SAD LOSS.

[From the Canterbury Press.

Sir Goorge Grey has at last appeared at Wellington. The Auckland papers describe his voyage as a trip to the South, in which he will probably "call in" at Wellington, and whioh will conclude, at least so runs the inference, by a speedy return to the delights of Auckland. But there is a sore drawback to our pleasure iv welcoming his Excellency to the South. Alas ! Mr. Reader Wood has resigned his seat in the House of Representatives. The Governor will visit us. Mr. Reader Wood will not. He discards us as altogether incorrigible. What else can wo expect ? Have we not — niggards tEat- we are — repudiated the idea of raising any more threemillion loans ?' No more pleasant trip's to fatherland, with introduction to the very best society. That was a pleasant dream, too bright,' too beautiful to last. There is now- nothing worth coming for, so Mr. Reader Wood" resigns. The plea he puts forward isa qlieer one. He says that there is " combination by an overwhelming majority of 'the Assembly- to 'ignore .the interests of the province of Auckland, and to refuse to pay attention to the views of tho representatives." And as h,e could do no good, and would be seriously inconvenienced by going, he prefers staying at home. Have we ever represented in too strong colours the inherent selfishness of the community which Mr. Reader Wood represents ? After the Representatives of the South have gone up with punctuality, spending a fortnight on the journey to that remote corner of the island, gone up year after year to attend to their public duties, the moment tho seat of Government is removed to £*

position, which, beyond all question, more fairly divides amongst the whelo colony tho inconveniences to which all aro subject than any other which oan be found, the leading mon of the community of Auckland set tho example of declining to attend tho Assembly on the sore of personal inconvenience. Not only Mr. Reader Wood has resigned, but Mr. Whitaker has resigned his seat in the -Legislative Council. Two of the late Ministers, who might be naturally expected to set an example of publio spirit to the rest of the community, are tho first to abandon thoir public duties the moment thoy cease to bo connected with their private interests. But this is not Mr. Reader Wood's only excuse ; he says thcro is a "combination" to ignore Auckland interests. Of course thero is— not a "combination," for we do not know wliatthe word means — but a very large majority, who are positively determined that Auckland interests shall be entirely ignored, so far as they are Auckland and not New Zealand interests. Thore is a strange vanity about these gentlemen, which the evidence of thoir own. eyesight will not correct, in virtue of whioh they continue to scream out, with all the world laughing at them, that Auckland is the colony of New Zealand. Wo know' they have tried to make it so. We know that by measures which were a scandalous fraud on tho rest of the colony they have tried to people Auckland by money raised on our credit^ and tliat nob with a population of military settlers, as intended by tho Assembly, but by immigrants of a class — as our letters from England inform vs — whose presence they will themselves bitterly rue, if at least they can retain those immigrants amongst them. Can they be surprised at the natural feeling of indignation which this conduct has provoked? And yet they havo the audacity, when thi3 provincial peculation of colonial re- • sources is put a stop to, to complain that Auckland interests are ignored/ If this sentence meanß that Auckland must look to herself for her own advancement, as all the other provinces do and have done, we congratulate tho colony on the admission that a large majority, of the Assembly are determined in future to ignore Auckland interests, precisely as we'hope they will ignore Canterbury interests or Otago interests, , or the special interests of any other province in" the colony. The interests with which the Assembly is charged are those of the whole colony. But this is not the first time we have heard this nonsense of a combination talked of lately. One ' of the speakers at Dunedin, we believe Mr. Gillies went so far as to say that there was a Wellington-cum-Canterbury combination, based on the'interests of the Wellington Steam Navigation Com- - pany. Why will public men invent facts to support their views ? There cannot be anything more untrue than that Canterbury*as a province, or especially its representatives, have any in- , tcrest in the Wellington Company. It has often been said that there was an attempt to unite the commercial interests of those interested in steam navigation in Otago and Wellington, but there is certainly no joint interest between Canterbury and Wellington in this matter. But when these gentlemen have the impertinence, for it is a very great piece of impertinenoe in any^member of the - Assembly to talk of other members forming "a combination," to hold such language they ought to explain what they mean. What do they mean -. by a combination ? What is any majority or any party, but a combination ? But what they say or insinuate is, that there has been a combination " arising out of other than legitimate political interests — a combination for interested motives — to place the seat of Government at Wellington. There is oue sufficient answer to this, and then wo shall have done with the question. The prominent members, we believe we might say nearly all the members, who have carried that important measure, are nien»whose opinions on the subject have beon unchanged for many years — who, in writing and Bpe,aking, have for year 3 asserted that tho seat of Government ought to be in Cook Strait — who said so before steam companies Avero dreamt of, and even before the Canstitution Act was in force. No moro consistent party ever existed than that Which at last accomplished this great movement. Those who opposed it have not been so consistent, for some of them, liko Mr. Gillies, once were advooaleß of the same policy ; but they have changed their views with circumstances. Thoy now want separation, and Ihey are mortified and annoyed at the accomplishment of a 'measure which, whatever they think, has struck a death-blow at that narrow proposal j and so they exposed their disquietude by calling that a combination whioh has been an ordinary majority. But calling bad names is, after all, a feeble weapon in politics. They tell us the removal of the Govor.imont wilt produce separation. We tell them that the cry for separation removed the seat of Government. It was that, and that only, wluch united in one all those -sections of tho party which, whilst they agreed that the Government should bo in Cook Strait, did not agree on which side of the Strait it should be. The danger of separation put an end to tho minor difficulties and hiirriod on the result, and we have the most . confident expectation that the final settlement of .this question -will, in a few months, produce a marked effect ou the whole colony. Within a year we may hope that tho whole of the Middle Island will be connected with the seat of Government by telegraph; and that its interests will become a matter of more immediate concern than formerly to the General Government, whDsfc' Auckland will reoeive fully as much attention as any other part of the colony. We cannot-indeed— but condole with Auckland on the pplitical demise of their favorite financier. No one-will probably ever again arise with the courage which could.' make a present of one or two-hundred thousand pounds to the Credit Mobilier Company ratherthan that Auckland should remain unpeopled or her electoral rolls remain nnswelled. No one ever again will prove with such pompous and sounding eloquence the iniquity of making war at Taranaki, the financial morality of making war in Auokland. Mr. Wood was a shining light inAuckland. He was reared upon the flapdoodle of "Auckland interests," but alas the manna fell - short before the promised hind was gained. The supply of food failing, exhausted political nature has sunk under the privation. Och hone a rie, bch hone a rle. The pride of Parnell's line is o'er ; Fall'n is Auckland's stateliest tree, We ne'er shall see Lord Reader more,