THE Wellington Independent "NOTHING EXTEXUATE; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IS MALICE." TUESDAY MORNING, 7tii MARCH. HAS DR. FEATHERSTON BEEN A DICTATOR?

Wellington Independent, Volume XIX, Issue 2176, 7 March 1865, Page 3

THE Wellington Independent "NOTHING EXTEXUATE; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IS MALICE." TUESDAY MORNING, 7tii MARCH. HAS DR. FEATHERSTON BEEN A DICTATOR?

Tiie organ of the opposition lias not a very high, opinion of Mr Borlase and though it attempts to defend his recent extraordinary address to the electors, yet, in doing so, it contrives to make the author of that production more ridiculous than ever. "The address, says the Advertiser, "is not a state paper ; it bears unmistakeable evidence on the face of it of having been hurriedly written." We cordially endorse both of those assertions, but we would scarcely have taken the liberty of setting down Mr Borlase as a fool, which the Advertiser does when it tries to excuse his deficiencies by saying, that, poor fellow, he had no one to help him in preparing it. "He had not, like others," continues the Advertiser in a tone of quiet contempt, " the invaluable assistance of gentleman either intellectually their superiors, or qualified by practical knowledge and experience to supply them in drawing up'such documents, with suggestions and advice." Then there was no man of mark belonging to the reform party, in Wellington, which means, we presume, that the Editor of the Advertiser was absent at the time in the Wairarapa ; so poor Mr Borlase was left to his own devices, attempted something beyond his ability, and, in consequence, made a conspicuous and ludicrous failure. This is really what the Advertiser thinks, and it goes very near to saying it. Colloquially, the writer and one or two leading men of the same party would exclaim : — " Now, Borlase, you've made a precious mess of it by issuing such an address. How could you think of writing all this nonsense, or, indeed, of publishing anything at all till you had consulted ua. Between ourselves, we don't think you particulavly bright, andindeedto be Superintendent, your abilities or opinions are not of much consequence. But we don't want the people outside to suppose that, and if you hadn't already shown yourself to be the reverse, we should have held you up before all the world as a very clever fellow. We know very well that some of Mr Borlase's chief supporters hold these opinions, and now we find the Advertiser trying to prove that this very want of ability on the part of Mr Borlase is a decided advantage ; because while in a Government with Dr Feather3ton at its head, the Superintendent would be a dictator, and the Council but a cypher ; in the case of the opposition candidate being elected, this would be quite ■ the reverse, the Council would rule supreme, . and the Superintendent in the person of Mr . Borlase be a mere nonentity. Decidedly Mr 1 Borlase receives support for very singular reasons. It is quite a novelty to find a body \ of the electors striving to place a man in the ; highest post of honor which the Province af--1 fords, because they think he has nothing iv - him, and will give but little trouble, but the f reasons advanced for adopting such an in- \ sane plan are almost equally surprising. They * do not deny that Dr Featherston is one of the ablest men in New Zealand, nor do they

l ' ' deny that his abilities as a statesman have • j been long and strenuously exerted for the • i benefit of the Province. They admit thai . his native policy has kept down disaffection I till war; within our borders has become almost I impossible, and they acknowledge with gra- } tituJe that mainly to him is due the fact that f Wellington is now the Seat of Government, ! and will shortly become the terminus in New , Zealand for the Panama steamers. "We are | of course speaking just now of the opposition ! generally, as men of common sense, in attri- [ buting to them such sentiments. There are ! men such as Mr Borlase and Mr Richard Wakelin who have all along asserted tha* Dr Featherston'a native policy was ruining the Province, that the war at our Northern boundary, is its result, that the friendly natives who have done us such good service* ; were treacherous allies, unworthy either of j recognition or reward, and that his missions j more than a year ago to the hotbeds of i Kingism on the West Coast and the Wairaj rapa, were displays of miserable truckling to savage power. Thero are such men, too, as Mr John Howard Wallace, who protest against any credit being given to Dr Feathers ton for securing the Seat o£ Government and the Panama Route, but it is surely not by the assertions either of a 2 }r omini7ig election candidate, a discharged official, or a political renegade fired with zeal for his new creed, that the real sentiments ofthcoppositiou are to be judged. "We believe their opinion of Dr Featherston is pretty much what we have stated it to be, and it is, therefore, almostunnacoun table why they prefer Mrßorlase. Their reason for a preference so strange is untenable. They assert that Dr Featherston disregards the]wishes of his Council, and, great as is his abilit}', they prefer a man whom they admit to have no particular qualification, because ho promises to act differently. Now, in the first place, it is not true that Dr Featherston systematically disregards the wishes of his Council, and we defy either Mr Borlase, Mr Wallace, or the Advertiser, to prove the assertion. Dr Featherston is not the nominee of his Council nor a mere instrument to obey its will. He is the elect and choice of the people. He owes his seat to the votes of the electors throughout the Province. In such a pojihe is neither a dictator nor a servant of the Council. Possessed of considerable discretionary power, he is yet subject to certain constitutional restraints at the hands of the local Parliament. The position is one requiring ability, tact, and discretion in the holder, and it is to the possession of these qualities in a very high degree that we attribute the success of Dr Featherston's Administration. With such a man at their head, Provincial Institutions, otherwise of a petty character, become elevated into dignity and importance. Dr Featherstou has a Colonial-nay, almostaßritish reputation, and under his regime the province has become not merely prosperous within itself, but has also risen to be a great power in the New Zealand State. With past experience such as this to guide them in judging wisely, it is impossible that more than a very small body of the electors can be willing to exchange Dr Featherston for Mr Borlase. If they do so it must be on other and more tenable grounds than the charge of dictatorship. The records of the last four sessions prove that his policy during that period has been almost uniformly supported by a large majority iv the Council, and where that has been the case it is impossible that he could have systematically disregarded their wishes. And if further proof were wanting of this it would be found in that expression of thanks and goodwill which, but a few weeks ago, was spontaneously given in the Provincial Chamber. At that time, the representatives of the people thought their chief was about to leave New Zealand, and they could not allow him to do so without passing a vote in recognition of his great services. Against that vote no voice was raised. Members on the Government and opposition benches alike supported it, and the very man who is now in the field against Dr Featherston, fully concurred in recognizing the zeal, ability, and energy with which he had conducted the affairs of the province in the past, though he would not agree with that part of the resolution which asked that his services might again be given in the future. This honor was not paid to the Dictator who ruled them with a rod of iron, but to the statesman, whose ability they had recognised and whose policy they had/gladly supported. /

} instructions had already been sent to Messrs i Mason and Clayton to advertise the plans, t &c., in the principal newspapers of all the i Provinces, extending the date for receiving ; tenders to about the 20th April. Expressing • our own opinion we must say that it does '■> look like rather sharp practice, on the part , of the architects, to advertise iv tho hurried r and partial way they have done. It is a na- > tional building, and we are glad to know that 1 the builders of all the provinces will now • have ample time to compete for its erection.