THE ABOLITION QUESTION.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VIII, Issue 2127, 21 August 1875, Page 3

THE ABOLITION QUESTION.

To tho Editor of tho Thames Advertiser, Sid,—Seduced from liis easy retiremeut by tho leaders of a small ring of Ultra-provincialists, Sir George Grey accepted, unopposed, ,tho vacant Superintondency of tho provinco of Auckland. His addresses to tho electors were remarkablo for the enunciation of three ideas. That tho Provincial Institutions aro tho no. plus ultra of beneficent Government. That tlio liberties of tho people should bo jealously guarded and protected-and that tho Colonial Houses of Parliament aro as corrupt as they possibly can bo. I shall endeavour to follow his Honor in order to ascertain how far his ideas aro eousou&nt with his acts. Ho declared himself tho father of Provincialism and its doughty champion—in fact, a second Saint George, prepared to do _ battlft with tho monster Abolition, which threatened not only to destroy tho " pristine beauty" of his darling, but to lako its interesting lifo as well. This fervid sentiment was qualified by tho promise, that if tho pooplo desired a now form of Government it would becomo his duly and caro to bestow upon the measures which introduced it tho benefit of his undoubted abilities. I do not think Sir Georgo Grey has redeemed this promise.'He is tho veritable Don Quixote of tho House—fighting, threatening, and beseeching in turns. Well kuowing the result of tho Abolition question, that tho Opposition aro in a hopeless minority, ho still lights on, tho leader of a forlorn hope. Whero now is his defcrenco to tho wishes of- tho people? Tho unmistakable verdict of an overwhelming majority ho contemptuously styles "tho opinion of those who hold up thoir hands at public meetings." Who aro they but tho "great unwashed," who "ccme between tho wind and his nobility." Aro they to bo compared with the illustrious band,underthe leadorshipofHees, Staines, and Ex-Secretary Lusli, who pack and spout at tho Auckland meetings P If Sir Georgo would imitate tho example of those accomplished statesmen in tho Imperial Parliament, who sacrificed their political connexions to expediency, aiid considered tho claims of tho people superior to a Quixotic idea,' ho would win tho applause and esteem of tho public, but if he persist in a stupid conflict with tho Ministry on this Abolition question, ho will realize how precarious a thing is popular favour, how tho hero of to-day is despised and rejected to-morrow. "The next subject upon which Sir Georgo was great, was tho consideration duo to tho peoplo and their liberties. I feel, sir, at tho remembrance, a roturn of tho sensation I experienced at tho Royal, when his Honor was doing tho " trowelling." _ Ho laid it on so very thick, I felt almost like tho boy who ato twolvo shillings worth of toffy. But how has lie rcduced this pretty theory to practiso ? By endeavouring to resumo Provincial control of the police, in dcfianco of tho wishes of the people. In this Sir Georgo showed himself the autocrat—power and patronage were necessary to his dignity as Superintendent, and in tho face of an empty exchequer, and the knowledge that an additional £1,500 a-year were required to establish a Provincial system of police, quietly tried to obtain tho coveted surrender, to tho glorification of the band of heroes who fight finder him—the last conflict for Provincialism. Ho still continues his appeals to Ministers, to guard tho liberties of tho people, ho imploros them to pause ere they commit so flagrant a breach of constitutional law, but after tho example he has given,, tho peoplo may well enquire tho reason of this frantic iteration. It may bo, sir, tho bollicoso arlicle in tho Auckland livening Star, is a reflex of tho gallant old leader's ideas, and wo may yet behold him tho captain of Provincial salvation, at tho head of tho 1,000 patriots, who, according to the Star, are prepared to seize the Customhouse and set tho law of the colony at dcfianco. The situation would bo uniquo and unprecedented, tho chief magistrate of tho provinco inciting tho people to revolt. The Colonial Parliament may with advantago bo remodelled. The House of Representatives is a costly incumbrance. Tho Public Works and Immigration scheme is a prodigious failure. The disbursement of the loans has been reckless, and not conducive to the immediate welfare of tho colony, but tho most glaring corruption may bo traced to tho Provincial element in the House, The original plausof the Govcrumentbavobeen frustrated by the intrigues and clamours of the Superintendental party for a sharo iu tho plunder. Every petty province demanded its railways and its immigrants without a consideration as to tho reproductive nature of the ono or the necessity for tho other, and thus our enormous loans have been squandered upon political and paper lines of railway,. Tho first a dead loss, the second a malversation of the revenue on surveys and other incidental expenses. Any ono who has watched the proceedings of tho Yogel administration must admit the truth of these charges. I aver that Provincial Institutions' aro not only corrupt themselves, but tho cause of corruption in the Colonial Parliament. Their abolition, therefore, will purgo tho body of tho State, and future reforms will inaugurate a new era, when tho laws will proceed from ono administration, and the peoplo , be governed equitably and wisely.—l am, &c., Old Colonist,