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Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1214, 16 January 1886, Page 2

It is very perplexing to attempt even to understand the politics of the " Otago Daily Times." Versatility just now is its characteristic, and with a charming disregard of consistency, it blown hot one day and cold another, ranging in a week between the poles of high-principled opposition to and fulsome adulation of Ministers. Can the fact be that the Directors of the Company have agreed among themselves to have a day each for the exposition of their individual sentiments ? If so, we can understand how the same paper one day advocates liberal land laws, on another goes in " head over heels" for a perpetuation of pastoral tenanoy over the pick of the Crown lands ; how a business article, fair enough in its way, is followed by farragoes of nonsense on finance, which bear such a family likeness to certain speeches in the Legislative Council that we almost fancy we could divine the inspiration, while acquitting the honorablegentleman concerned,f or reasons obvious enough, of actually writing the articles. The vagaries, odd as they may be, of our contemporary would not, however, have been noticed by us had not the " laying the butter thick " on the Premier a few days ago been followed up by a vicious attack on the administration of the Government in the matter of the recent appointments to the Otago Land Board. When the Provinces were abolished, Mr H. Clark and Mr Jas. Green happened to be Commissioners of Crown Lands, and they were confirmed in office under the Land Act of 1877. The appointment under that Act, as under the present law, is biennial, and the two gentlemen named have been re-appointed again and again. The expiration of, we think, their fifth term of office took place at the end of last year, and the Government have appointed Mr J. C. Brown to one of the vacancies. It was never contemplated by the Legislature that a member, once appointed, should enjoy perpetual succession ; nor can it be reasonably objected that vacancies j as they occur should be filled by gentlemen in accord with the Ministry of the day. The " Daily Times," however, affects to be grievously moved, and in a spiteful article denounces Ministers, and attacks Mr Brown in a virulently personal manner, declaring that, he has "no earthly olaim to the postion." We should not dispute with our contemporary as to the good taste displayed in this diatribe, which is quite on a par with that lately conspicuous in the dreary lucubrations of " Passing .Notes," but we join issue on the point which we concede to be of importance. So far from the member for Tuapeka having no claim to the position, we do not know a public man in Otago who has a higher claim. More than twenty years' service in Parliament as the representative^ the sameconstituency — a consistency in political opinion and a party support which the "Otago Daily Times" would do well to emulate; a thoroughly intimate know* ledge of the nterior of Otago, and, we

may say, of the requirements of the settlers; these surely are and include qualifications of a very high order for a seat at the Land Board. The same influence we believe to have been at work in the disgraceful Billingßgate which degraded the columns of our contemporary on Tuesday which has been exercised to the injury of Mr Brown on former occasions. Whatever may be the case with the Land Board, blundering stupidity is manifestly no disqualification for the Legislative Council ! We may say, in conclusion, that while truly pleased to see Mr Brown a member of the Land Board, we regret that Mr Green should have been the first victim of a very proper reform.