THE WAIRARAPA STANDARD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1875.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume 4, Issue 357, 4 November 1875, Page 2

THE WAIRARAPA STANDARD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1875.

The omission of two words in a sentence in our last leader rendered what we intended to aay very confused and pointless. What we mould have been made to aay was—* 1 It is a gross mistake to suppose that newspapers, as a rule, are either the organs or representatives of more than a small, though, possibly, an influential section of the community.” A would be gathered from that article that the relations at present subsisting between the press of the province, ana

the Wellington Provincial Government were not of a very satisfactory kind ; and that the relations were still less satisfac torv between the press of the province and the Provincial question Hitherto the Evening Post has been the able and consistent advocate of the Wellington Provincial Executive. It supported them on administrative, rather than consiitutional grounds. We have now the authority of the editor himself for asserting that he cannot support in any way such a policy as they now advocate. As he truly says, it is opposed to the whole tenor of his journalistic career. This is doubly unfortunate. It is extremely unfortunate to the Provincial Government, and it is still more so to the cause they profess to have at heart. Even if he had been as warm a supporter of piovincialism as he has been its opponent he might well have hesitated to embark in a cause which promised no greater prospect of success than that of provincialism at the ensuing elections. It would have been almost as self-sacri-ficing a proceeding as for a seaman to ship in an unseaworthy vessel which he felt morally certain would never reach the port for which it was bound. The Provincial Government had no right to expect any such self-sacrificing devotion on the part of its supporters. It has done nothing itself to inspire any feelings of this kind in the breasts of its advocates. There is a stronger reason why it should not have expected the co-operation of the editor of tl\e Post on behalf of provincial institutions. It is well known that he is a candidate for the representation of Porirna at the coming election, when he intends to oppose the present member, who is, and always has been, an avowed provinciahst. The only chance he would have of being returned by a constituency the majority of whom are, probably, antiprovincialists, would be by coming forward on the anti-provincial ticket. Consequently his personal views and political prospects alike mark out the course which he has deliberately adopted. Possibly the case might be shown to be different as regards the proprietors of the Post, but no blame can be attached to the editor under the circumstances. If, however, his course was clear, is not that of the Provincial Government equally so 1 If he could not consistently support their policy they are bound to secure some other organ that will, that is if they have any real desire to render it a success. This appears to us to be so clear and indisputable that we shall conclude that they have no real desire for it to succeed, or even any real desire for their own personal success if some such course is not adopted.

From the time the Constitution Act was brought into operation the writer has stood forward as the defender of that political equality and popular representative Government which it conferred and guaranteed. He observed that the prominent enemies of the Constitution from the outset were jealous of the popular liberties it established, and the deadly opponents of popular rights. He heard one of the leaders of the centralist party publicly declare that the separation of the colony was inevitable, and he from that day forward has ever looked on the maintenance of provincial institutions as the only means of preventing the event so authoritatively predicted. We have now more reason than ever to hold these views ; but we can see quite plainly that if some greater effort is not quickly made than that which the leaders of the provincial party are now making to secure success at the coming elections for the case they aim at, its failure is assured.