West Coast Times. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1867.

West Coast Times, Issue 671, 18 November 1867, Page 2

West Coast Times. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1867.

A meeting is to be held at the Theatre this afternoon, to devise measures for securing a visit to Westland of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. On political grounds we should be very glad to have him amongst us, if even for a few days. Prince Alfred is destined to hold an influential position at home. The navy will not be his permanent profession, any more than it was that of the Duke of Clarence — King William the Fourth. As a naval officer in command of a fine ship, with almost uncontrolled powers,he has however a rare and enviable opportunity of making himself acquainted with the political and social phases of many parts of the world. And the impressions he receives during his sojourn in Australasia, will permanently shape his opinions as a public man. Separated from the throne by many intervening claims, the Prince is yet destined, if his manhood realises tho promise of his youth, to hold a conspicuous place in the domestic politics of the Empire. Amongst tho political questions likely to engage the attention of statesmen at home during the next twenty years, one of the most important will be the relations to be maintained between Great Britain and her colonial dependencies. Shall there be Federation under the Crown? Shall there be Separation on the basis of an independent Republic? Shall there be an Australasian monarchy under the kingship of a cadet of the Ro)'al Family?- Are not these the practical forms into which the problem of the future resolves itself? It is well, under any circumstances, that the Queen's second sou, who holds his seat in the House of Peers as Duke of Edinburgh, should learn as much of the colonies during his visit, as his time and opportunities permit ; and he will j certainly leave this part of the world with a very imperfect knowledge of the conditions under which colonisation is being effected if he loses the chance of seeing the latest development of that wondrous process by which the people of the great empii yev c over which his mother reigns extend its boundaries and reclaim waste lands to civilization. We can, however, urge the Prince's visit to Westland on more commonplace grounds. Laying the political features of the case altogether aside, it will be for the material interests of the whole district to get the Duke of Edinburgh here. Money will of course be spent freely. There will be a very unusual circulation of coin. The hardest worked people in town will be the Bank clerks, whose duty it is to cash cheques. If the Prince does not come, they will be equally busy in handing money over the bank-counters for exportation. Presuming that we ' can get his Royal Highness amongst us by affording him the guarantee of a suitable reception, the practical question is simply, shall we do that, and so secure the expenditure amongst ourselves of the money that is certain to be spent somewhere, or let other places have the benefit of it to our loss. Our " leading men" ought to take a foremost part in subscribing to the Reception Fund. Let the merchants and principal hotel-keepers in the town come forward with their fifty pounds each, and they will find the money doubled and trebled in their purses afterwards. Shall ten or fifteen thouaand pounds be spent in Hokitika, or be taken away to be spent elsewhere ? That is something like the question that the meeting this afternoon has to decide upon.