The Evening Herald. TUESDAY, FEB. 16, 1869.

Wanganui Herald, Volume III, Issue 533, 16 February 1869, Page 2

The Evening Herald. TUESDAY, FEB. 16, 1869.

The calling* tog-ether of the Assembly will probably be postponed until April, but there is no one in the secrets of the1 cabinet upon the matter, and the time of meeting- is a subject of mere speculation. When it does meet, Wang-anui will occupy the largest share of its attention, and the district must not assume a mean position, or one of dependency and helplessness. How stands our political barometer? Customs duties £20.000 a-year. Wanganni is* not insignificant in the Colonial scale, if we judge of its resources and its prospects, but it may receive a rude buffeting and be made a scape-goat for all the sins of the war, if it h.is no one capable of offering an apology or defence in the House. We must change our representative. The nature of the work*to be done, its gigantic proportions and importance, all demand this much. The question may be asl<ed, who shall we pur, in the place of our present member ? There are man}' capable of urging- the cause of the district with intelligence and •force, but who the individual is to be, must be for the consideration of the constituency. No man has a right to nominate another, and say, this is the man you must select. . The Stafford government, with some i modifications, particularly in the Native and Defence departments, will probably remain in office, and it is for the interest of this district it should. Starting- upon this hypothesis, certain results sre sure to follow. The county of Wang-anui will be a fait accompli. This will be a matter of supreme importance to this district. The bill financially will be moulded and formed upon the present provincial system of Customs revenue, or with*the abolition of the surplus revenue system upon a principle of local taxation. In either case, we must have a zealous and intelligent advocate, who will be able to foil the political manoeuvres of the Provincial party, There is the Native department with its agents, which we look upon as a land-.of augean stable that will take a Hercules to cleanse. Some of the ablest supporters of the Government have expressed their intention of sweeping the thing away, and we should lend them bur hearty cooperation. A thousand matters of detail will spring" up, requiring a careful watchihjr;' and in all questions our member's support should be valuable to the Governmentwhen their legislation is favorable to the district, and his opposition dangerous when ourin-

terests are overlooked or despised. The principle, we admit, would lie set aside, that the interests of a particular part/ should be sunk in the general good j but to us at present it is almost a question of life or death, and our circumstances make us an exception. The question of settlement; on the confiscated lands is of the first importance to this district; and that is dependent upon the principle that may be adopted in making compensation for losses sns'ained through the war. We have briefly outlined some of the work of the session in which our member will have to perform an importnnt part. We hope vlr Harrison will graciously send in his resignation.

Price of Bread.—lt will be seen from an advertisement in our columns that the bakers have reduced the. price of bread; a judicious step on their part which must gfte general satisfaction.

Another Supposed Case of Smatx Pox. —It was reported yesterday in town that the child of one of the men who attended on the small-pox patient, has been infected, and was ill in small pox. We have made inquiries upon the subject and can find no foundation for the report.

Trip of the Wanganui.—The Wan-' panui will leave here tomorrow for Dunedin, returning in about 7 or 8 days. The fare for the trip is only £6, which offers a favorable opportunity to a large number, of visiting the capital of the South. We believe a great many tradesmen are going, partly on business, and partly on pleasure, and we have no doubt a very agreeable party will be formed, which will lessen the diffidence of strangers in a strange place, and add to the pleasures of the voyage.