The Stars. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1868.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 139, 22 October 1868, Page 2

The Stars. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1868.

"°" Tueue ia a small word in the English language which " the tongue refuses to utLer or the pen to write," and yet no other word is &o strictly applicable to a portion of the prorogation speech, JV3 reported by telegraph from Wellington. The usage of respectable journalism forbidb us to say that Mr Sfcafibi'd has put a lie into the mouth of Her Majesty's representative, but it-is within the limits of decorum to tell our readers that the Premier of New Zealand has not adhered to the truth in the language he employs. That there may be no mistake whatever about tho matter, we quote the passage in the prorogation speech to which wo refer. " The numerous " petitions from inhabitants of out- " lying districts of the colony, ad- " dre3recl to the Assembly during the " present session, praying in ono form "• or another for increased power over "matters of local concern, indicate the " existence of a wide-spread feeling of^ 11 -dissatisfaction with the working of " existing local institutions, and leave " no doubt of the necessity for an itn- " proved^ system .of local government '• ii 4 the most 'effective means of

" removing discontent and disunion " amongst important sections of " the population, and of preserving: " the unity of New Zealand." Now, if we examine the above paragraph carefully — and it is decidedly our duty to do so — we shall find several untruths in it. There is no use mincing the matter, and we don't intend to do so. In the first place tiiere have not been " numerous " petitions. We could count them all on our fingers. Timaru, O.unaru, Waikouuiti, Wauganui, Wairarapa, Raglan, and one or two more about which we are not quite certain. In all, not more than a dozen petitions have been sent in, and yet, when he knows that there can be no opportunity to contradict him in the House, Mr Stafford has the impudence — we repeat ib, the impudence — to declare that " numerous" petitions have been sent in. A word as to the nature of these petitions. Mr Stafford aays that they indicate a " wide-spread " feeling of dissatisfaction with the worluug of existing local institutions. They do not. We have no hesitation in saying that if each petition be takeu by itself, and carefully scrutinised, it will be found that, in some case?, many of those who have a largo stake in the district are not represented. In tht* case of Waikouaiti, the people were about equally divided between petition and no-petition. In the case of Wauganui hardly a man with property in the district signed the petition. In the case of Wairarapa not a third of the inhabitants signed, and the petition was got up by Mr Bunny, who is notoriously a creature of Mr Stafford's. It is the plain truth, then, and nothing else, to say that, neither collectively nor individually do these petitions prove that there is a " wide-spread " feeling of discontent with existing local institutions. We come now to, perhaps, the most glaring untruth in the whole paragraph. Mr Stafford makes the men who signed these dozen petitions say that they are anxious to pre« serve the unity of the colony. . Now, this is simply brazen assumption of the very worst description. We venture to assert that not one of these petitions contains a single word about the unity of the colony. They are simply prayers, got up by a few discontented and interested men who believe that their particular district has been unfairly dealt with, and they are "prayers for some form of local government only Not a word about the unity of the colony. But the cry of Separation has arisen, and is rapidly gaining strength in the Middle Island, and so Mr Stafford thought it necessary to answer it by — well, an invention. Our readers well remember the New Zealand statesman who said that a beaten cock is a very respectable animal, if he has fought fairly and died gamely. Mr Stafford is a beaten cock, but he is not respectable. He has not fought fairly, and he comes but sorrily out of the battle. Most people may have noticed that when a cock of the real dunghill species has been thoroughly beaten in a contest with some rival, he runs off a miserable looking object till he has placed a safe distance between himself and his victorious foe. This accomplished, he flaps his wings, does his best to erect his crest, and gives one loud crow. This is precisely what Mr Stafford has done. He has been beaten in every measure of importance which the Government brought in ; he has been declared unworthy of the confidence of the people in several important public meetings ; and, like the dunghill bird before mentioned, he gives a final crow from the safe distance of the Governor's speech.