The Star. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1868.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 114, 24 September 1868, Page 2

The Star. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1868.

T*sb people of New Zealand have been accustomed — and with good reason — to pride themselves on the high lone vKfa.'i?h h«H characterised their Legislature, wither (General or Provincial. T J >e\ Iv.wv been able, when '' scones" Ifciu the Parliaments of neighbouring cCC"nied wore quoted in the newap»jj<3rt), to nay to themselves that their representatives had not descended to ■pyraona! a buss and recrimination. 'Jfliey can no Jouger do so, and it is v*:v sad to think that the high clianurter ol' the General Assembly has b**>u stained \>y the Premier of the eeioi;y. Our readers must have felt paUod when they perused the report of a- "scene" in the House of Representative*, published in our issue of yesterday. They may not have fully o(fflnprel»endfd that " sceue" in all its bearings, may not have been able to rjfci lipc the circumstances out of which iS arose, and consequently may not lutvo fully understood the degradation which the. colony has suffered at the "iiAniis of Mr Stafford. That they may Btt in a pyeition to do so, we shall give fivyousecutive uarrativo of the eircutns fences. When Mr Hull, Acting Colonial &c., &c, &c , made his fni*nciiil stntomcot, he proposed, as tiio very essence of the financial policy o£ the Government, that the partnership between the Geueral Government anxi the provinces should cease — that, itr short, the}' should no longer draw Ntfpplic* from a common purse. As part of this scheme, he proposed that the General Government, Having ft 1 ready made itself liable tsi? Provincial loans, should further take on itaelf the payment of the interest and sinking fund on these loans. r J3ie money necessary for this purpose he. proposed to pay out of the Consolidated .Revenue of the colony; that U, out of the customs duties, stamp duties, & f t , raised in each province. But he recognised, at once, that this sehome would be unjust to some of the provinces ; to those, that is, who had ant borrowed much. Nelson, for mutftucc, which had been very thrifty aud frugal, would thus be compelled to bear a part of the burdens of Auckland, Southland, or any other province tbafc had borrowed recklessly. To compensate the provinces that had borrawed little, the Government proposed to give them a sum of money down Nelson was to get £90,000, "Wellington £15,000, aud so on. It turned out that this proposal was distasteful to several members, notably so to Mr Curtis, the Superintendent b£ Nelson, an i representative of that city in the General Assembly. As soon a* the Government found this out, aud when it became apparent that they would lose some of their supporters, they are alleged to have made higher bida. .For instance : Nelson was to get £150,000 instead of £90,000; Wellington was promised £50,000; and Otago, which had been left out in tbo.iii'st proposal, was now to get something. Ivumours of these new offers wex*e "flying about the lobbies of the House, and thsy naturally euough excited the attention of members who were anxious to know what the Government really intended to do. There were uneasiness and dread on the part of those who wished ta do their duty honestly by the colony, aud thesy gentlemen adopted the open and honourable course of

asking Mr Stafford to explaiu the real position of the case. It is to this point that the report we gave yesterday of a " scene " in the House is applicable. After a considerable amount of personal " chaff," Mr. Dillon Bell appears to have pointedly alluded to the " lobby rumours." Mr Stafford, evidently in great heat, asked Mr Dillon Bell to put formal questions, protnisiDg "an ansivev" Mr Dillon Bell accepted the challenge, and asked distinctly whether it was true that £150,000 was to be given to Nelson instead of £90,000, and whether there was any alteration in the suras proposed to be given to any other province. Mr Stafford evaded the questions, whereupon Mr Dillon Bell reminded him of his promise to answer them. Mr Stafford at once declared : " I never said I would answer those questions." Aud there appears to have been a general expression of disgust in the House. On this declaration, Mr Dillon Bell pointedly appealed to every " gentleman " iv the House to say whether he had not put the commou and ordinary interpretation on the Premier's words. No doubt he had done so, and Mr Stafford's evasion is only in keeping with his general conduct.

Ox Monday we pointed out that the Evening Mail of Saturday last contained important telegraphic news stolen from the columns of the Star of the same dale. We proved conclusively that such was the case. The Mail of Tuesday contains the following reply, from which it will be seen that the conductors of that journal not only admit the larceny with which we charged them, but actually glory in it, and imply that they will continue the practice : — "The Hunkers Again. — "I cay, Bill, warn't the c>ves at the Times riled about the Mail cribbing the Telegram about Fox they put in the Star, eh?" "My word, tiob ! 'alf a column all about nuffin else. But, I say, Bob ! did yer erer 'ear the hanser to that ere sayin — ' The early bird catches the worm'"? "No, Bill, what is it?— '• Why, so much the more fool the worm for gettin up so early I — Fak is, Bob, our cuasomers don't care much how the news is got, so they gets it : a'pose the Scar does get it first — well, the Mail can put it into shape for the Times in the morning. Star makes a blunder. Times ought to he glad of Mail puttin' it straight ready for him." " higbt you are, Bill." " The Evening Mail is published by a joint stock company, of which Dr Prina and Mr J. L. Wilson are directors. We say "are," because we know that they were till very recently, and no intimation has been given that they have ceased to act in that capacity. On a very memorable occasion, almost the only occasion on which he has favoured the public, in his own person, with an expression of his views, namely, on May 2-i, 18(33, when Messrs Moorhouse, Lance, and Travers were nominated us candidates for the Superi n tendency, Mr J. L. Wilson is reported to have said, in seconding Mr Lance's nomination : — lie did not think Mr oorhouse was equal, in the present circumstances oi the province, to take office. Secondly, liis pnst administration would not bear investigation ; lastly, his moral character whs not up to the mark. They wanted a respectable and a moral man. It is hardly necespary to point out to a gentleman who could give utterance to such unexceptionable eeutiments, that they are not in accordance with the mode in which the Evening Mail company, of which he is chairman, conducts its business. Of course, Mr J. L. Wilson is not aware that the Evening Mail steals telegrams, glories in doing so, and boldly avows its iutention of continuing the practice. Mr Wilson* avowed sentiments, which we have quoted, aud his position, alike forbid us even to suppose that he can be aware of such practices. Dr Prins det-ervedly holds a high place in the estimation of the public; he is a locally distinguished member of a profession which has always been noted for its nice sense of honour and honourable conduct. It is, therefore, impossible to imagine that he is aware of the manner in which the publisher of the Evening Mail conducts business. Such a supposition is utterly inconsistent with what the public know of and have a right to expect from Dr Prins. We have waited, in order tli.it these gentlemen might have an opportunity either to disavow any connection with

the Evening Mail, or to repudiate any connivance in the conduct of the publisher. It is not even yet too late for them to do so. The Mail assumes that ita customers are indifferent to these proceedings, and that they do not care how news is obtained so long as it is furnished to thetn. We think it fair to assume, ou the contrary, that the customers of the Evening Mail are not fully aware that they are purchasing stolen goods, and so becoming, ignorantly, participators in a netarious system.