"OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1873.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 232, 4 November 1873, Page 2

"OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1873.

Within a few hours the electors of the Auckland province wilt be culled upon to elect as to whom of i hree candidates shall be their chief officer for the cv.suing four years. It is in the first degree impor•unt tbat »11 shoalcl bear in mind that the man who holds the leins of office during the next term will lmve some very knotty and some very difficult qnnstiotis to brndle. On his discretion and on his i.bility to handle those questions very much depends the w elfaie of Auckland. Personal friendship should not influence a man's vote; feelings of charity tow-ad* au mdividaul should not influence it; feeliu£b uf grui it-.dc for past &vors should not influence n. Fi'kndsh'p, charity, and gratitude are all commvudaLle qualities, and in the- ordinary course of iilo tfdoulJ l.bvtr be loht bight of. They should be

lurifottcii, however, at the polling boutli When u man uketi his peu in baud to vote, if he is h«uest to himself and the colony, he strikes out the names of those he thinks least able or least likely to fulfil the duties of the office sought. In arriving at conclusions on electoral mutters, men can only judge by the past acts, ' promises for the future, and the characters, so far as known, of the different candidates. As regards the election that interests us at the present moment, all know that there are three candidates in the Held, i.e., Messrs. "Williamson, Lusk, and Dargaville We [nit-pose, in the first place, to judge of the quaJih'cations of the different candidates by the standard of their past acts. Mr Williamson, being the oldest politician, we will commence with him. His provincial career has been a lengthened one ; he has naturally initiated many good things, and has, also, made some mistakes. His scheme of land settlement in the North is one of the acts spoken of by his friends as peculiarly entitling him to the sup. port of the electors. We admit that the conception was a good one, but failed, from want of administrative ability, to carry it out properly. He did not foresee that to put men upon land without making provision for the construction of roads was simply absurd. The result of the scheme, for the above reason, proved as disastrous as the conception was happy. He tells us that he took office in the days of old with empty money chests, and retired with them well filled for the benefit of his successors. The chests, however, it must be remembered were principally glutted by the alienation of the property of the province. It does not require a great financier to live well on his principal. It is a question to be asked, and one we take it that would not be easily answered satisfactorily by his supporters "Cannot to the temporary filling of the money chests by Mr Williamson be traced much of our present financial depression ?" We are loth to go back to previous episodes in Mr Williamsons electioneering career ; the majority of the electors however cannot fail to have fresh in their memories the disgraceful scenes that took place previous to the last election of Superintendent. It is fair to presume that a man will give prominence by bis policy to the opinions of the class he seeks most to conciliate. We ask electors, who were his friends on that occasion ? In case some of our readers have forgotten we will inform them. They were principally the most ignorant and the most rowdy of a floating mining population. As regards the past acts of Mr Lusk there is only this to be said—he is an old servant of the province, and has during the last four years held the office of Provincial Secretary, an office that he has shown himself quite capable of holding with credit. He is, in addition, the father of the Education Act, and we may almost say that this is the first act which evidences that this province has advanced in intelligence beyond that of the days of old identity. Its passing proves Mr Lusk to have had sufficient perspicacity to discern that the time to make an effort to educate our children had arrived. The father of every child in the country districts owes him a debt of gratitude. Mr Dargaville, of course, has no past to allude to ; he comes straight from his spirit store, and from the books that record the profits of " grog shanty" keeping in the nortk. In the eyes of some it is favorable to a man to have no history; in political matters we are unable to think so. As regards the ability and experience to hold the office with credit to the province, we believe that both Mr Williamson and Mr Lusk are possessed of it. They both have a policy somewhat similar, /.<?., that as it is clear that provincial institutions must at no very distant date die of inanition, it will be the duty of the Superintendent to prepare the people to govern themselves in order that a state of chaos may not be the immediate result. Mr Dargaville, on the other hand, says he is going to toss everything provincial into the air except himself, and if such a misfortune were to happen as his election, we have little difficulty in predicting that the people would soon find it necessary to toss him after them. No man who has taken the trouble to read his speeches can fail, if he has an iota of knowledge in political matters, to see that he talks nonsense. If he does so wil. fully he is not fit to be Superintendent for the reason that he is .We have no desire to risk an action for libel — truth is libel sometimes. On the other hand, if he talks nonsense because he knows no better, he should certainly not be elected. As we said above, both Mr Williamson and Mr Lusk are intellectually fitted for the office. The policy they hare enunciated is very similar, except with regard to education. If Mr Williamson be elected, and he* is allowed to carry out his policy, most of the schools in the country will have to be closed. No intelligent man can possibly desire to see tha,t. We, on the grounds above given, trust, and there is every probability of its being the case, to see Mr Lusk the last Superintendent of the Auckland province.

A number of young trout arrived in Cambridge by coach on Tuesday laat, but, unfortunately, on opening the tin in which they were put, Jibs, of them were found to be dead, and the few that were alive leomed very sick, and it is doubtful whether they will survive or not. Much surprise is expressed by the Cambridge prople, (who have contributed ! largely to the funds of the Acclimatisation Society), that ! these trout should be forwarded m such a careless way without any one to look after them, mid without their intended nrrivnl being notified to the parties who had desired them to be forwarded on the part of the settlers. We believe that Mr Runciman telegraphed to Auckland desirin^ that information should be sent wlipn the fish would be forwarded, and stating that some one would be sent down to ' look after them No notice, however, appears to have been taken of this communication. Preparations are being actively made for the approaching Agricultural Society'a Show, to take place next Wednesday week. Messrs Archard and Drown have for the fourth ye 5 r u be M?- entrUB *« d yi«» the task of fitting up the pens and building. The latter will comprise a°shed covering i!f X /tt V*? 6 * h / bxt \ on of (1 «q». » buiMing measuring 125 feet by 2o feet for the reception of articles of local industry and agricultural implements There will also be * S f1 6 acc ?' nniOllatioi i of swine, and pena for cattle »nd sheep. It is gratifying to observe that some little co -^I'lp-ation will be shown tho dogs this year asa building wil. be provided for them. -Herald * ' T?««- O'nuibridgf Cricket Club ha* been fairly started It now numbers .<*-. ,- 30 members A cbullen™ lm* wo bol'iVm, been s,nt to tl, Alexandra Club to play a friendlY matcuTn'' Mondm. tli.. Lutb November, which will be observed bv bu«ne 9? pmple and othew h,>n- as a holiday in celebrat.on of the Prince of Wales' birthday, which falls this year O n Sunday. J It will be ft en by advertisement in another column that the Chief Postmaster of Auckland calls for tenders for the conveyance of mails between Cutubridgo and Alexandra via Ohaupo and Te Awnmutn, twice weekly, from Ist January to 81st December, 187 1 J A train proceeded with a party of c\curaioniits from Mrcbtnioi Bay to Onehuiiga on Stturday morning. The weather was beautifully fi no, «n<l the " excursiomiti " who were invited, expressed t?ie.u< v hcs to be delighted with the I triD. We nn'loM-m-1 tli.it flu- ltn» will b.3 opon.-d for nas•ongew and oilier truffif on the IStLiastaiit. - Herald

-KleUuii matters in Cambridge urc not causing much cv eiU-mont, although Messrs Williamsons and Dargaville's supporters, especially tho former's, aro working hard to place their respeutivo candidates, as far as this district is concerned i at the head of the pull. Mr Lilt's candidature is also favored b> a large number ol people, , w I .Tiion^sthis supporters are numbered sewral of Hie principal set tiers in the district. Invitations havi», we believe, boon waned for a ball which is 1o take place in Cambridge un Mou.lav, the 10th November, at which alt the principal settlers' in Cambridge and neighbourhood nru BxjKvled' to bo pivsenh It 1a intended t > make it unipbrtl.icaily a so; tier* ball, »nd we doubt not the alTuir will be a gr«al aurct'-a/ It will be of inlctt •• to colonists to hear that the best lota of Lincolnshire r«ui-» uilV.vd in August last, have boon secured for New Zcaian.t, the which colony was represented bj Mr Thoinus Ituueli, of A.ucklund, Mr Porson, of Canterbury, and Mr Smiti., o f Naptcr. Mr Fuher, of Adelaide, wns also present at sjmc of the sales, but his'Aame does not appear on the lUt of buyers. At Mr Dudding of Panton's wile, Mr Russell purchased the winner of the first prizj as shearling al tho Koyal Agricultural Society', show last 3 ear for 200 guineas. ile also purchased for 100 "uineas the winner of the iir»t prize shearling at the Hull i'low of tho present 3 ear. In addition to these purchases, Mr Russell became the owner of nine rams for £i 76 3s 6d, being an average of nearly £53 each, Mr Smith, of Napier, purchased several wiluable raias at tho same sale. At the Biscathorpe sale Mr llussell bought thirteen rams ibr £477; Mr Sbarpe, j of New Zealand, securing a pair for sixty-five guineas. The whole of these sheep will be shipped in the Elizabeth Graham, expected to sail on Sept. 15, and we may fairly congratulate | the colony on their possession should they arrive. — Home News. The most numerous following at any funeral that has taken place in the Waikato since the military left wms that which followed to the grave on Sunday, Thomas, the son of Mr Anthony Ralph, ,<bose death, we record in another column. The deceased youth was a great favorite with all who knew him, and great sympathy is fi.lt for his family. There were about two hundred persons prese it. Sir Cracroft Wilson, C.8., in addressing his conbtituents, said in reference to Native affairs, he would now speak of the Hon Mr McLean, the Native Minister, the Maori Doctor, or, as he was called, " The Man of Mystery." Mr McLean had twice refused to give any account of the state of Native affairs. He had ben brought to book with regard to the well-knewn visit of the Luna to the harbour of Kawhia, but he never said a word about that aftair, or informed the House why it was that a Custom-house was not established in Kawhia harbour, and the lesult was that the Maoris were left free to get as much arms and ammunition in by way of Kawhia harbour, as they pleased. The result of the whole Nativj question was that the people really knew very little of what was going on. Since his proposal to coerce the Natives by the Goorkas, a vast amount of money had been spent in Native matters, and with what result?— that they did not after all govern the natives. They were going on in a happy-go-lucky sort of way. Mr McLean, who by the by wa» a Scotchman, said " Wait a wee," and they might wait. The Maoris were kept quiet by a little douceur here and a douceur there, but this was not governing the natives. They were sitting on a barrel of gunpowder, in fact, with a pipe in their mouth ; they mi^ht have a cover on their pipe, and a spark might not fall into the barrel for a time, but they might depend upon it that sooner or later that spark would fall into the powder; there would then be a fizz ; the Ministry would go up in the air, au.l they would find nobody to put them in their places again. Sir Cracroft Wilson then went on to refer to the Treaty of Waiting!, ond the failure of the Lind Compact of 1856, remarking that the following sums had been ■voted for the purchase of native lauds in the North Island :— ln 1856, £200,000 ; in 1870, £200,000 ; and in 1873, £500,000, or a total of £900,000. Anolher thing that be objected to was, that they were never told the truth with regard to the murders that had taken place. There was no doubt whatever that it all resulted from the King movement, and it was nonsense to say that it did not. There was a political object, no matter what Ministers might say to the contrary, in Sullivan's murder, and Purukutu and his accomplices were sheltered at Kuiti by Tawhi.lo, and Manuhiri, the prime mover, had not yet come in. Indeed, affairs in the North Island were in such a state that there was no dependence to be placed in the natives. So much for the department presided over by Mr McLean. Mr McLean, he might say, was a personal friend of his, but he felt impelled to speak of him in his ' ministerial capacity, honestly, and without fear of offeme In alluding to the constitution of the House the honorable gentleman said he regretted to say that there wag a sad falling off from former years in the personnel of the Legislature, and that there were members in that House who ought never to have been sent ther*. If people expected to have good laws passed, they must send to the Assembly those who wese capable ef making good laws, and it therefore rested with the electors to send none but good men to Wellington, if they wished to have laws made for the good government of the people. Consequently a sacred trust rested in the hands of the electors themselves, and if they had not returned good men, it was not surprising that good laws were not passed from time to time. In the past session of the Assembly, there was no doubt that a very great amount of time had been wasted, and througli no other reason than that there were men in the Assembly who ought never to have been sent there by the electors. " There were in that House men who were not fitted by education or any other qualification to be members of the Parliament of New Zsaland — men who got up to talk on all conceivabtc subjects, without ' really knowing what they were talking about, and conspicuous amongst these were the goldfieldg members, who had a habit of speaking to their constituents through Hansard In thii way a great deal of time had been wasted to no purpose. He would mention a notable instance of this. He would make no secret of the matter, but would mention the name of the hon member ho referred to. The hon member for Mount Dunstan on one orcision had a set speech to m«ke, which he desired to havo reported and circulated amongst his constituents. In the course of discussion, however, the attention of the Speaker was drawn to the fact that there were strangers in the gallery. The galleries wpr»» immediately oleared, but when the hon member observed that the reporters were not in their places, and that his speech would, therefore, not bo reported in Hansard, he very quickly s.it down, and his nim in preparing a set appech was defeated. He did not wish it to be understood that ho had an objection to Hansard. On the contrary, he thought that Hansard was a very necessary and useful publication, but nt the same time he did not see any reawn why it should be made the medium for the circulation of long'apeoches that were made for no other object than having them printed. There were in that House, however, a number of •rcnt'.emen of education and ability, and it was extraordinary to observe how seldom they got up to address the House compared with other memberi who apoke on almost every occasion, and frequently without knowing what they were talking about. It was advisable that tho House should be purged of this latter class of members, and he hoped that at tho next general election, the electors would discharge tho sacrod trust reposed in them, and return to the General Assembly only such men as were qualified to fulfil tho onerous duties imposed upon them as their representatives. So long as the General Assembly was made up of some of its present elements, they might depend upon it that it would be fatal to good legislation, and that log-rolling and intrigues would be regularly organised. In reply to ft question from an elector, as to whether a country benefited by the education of the people, he said "Certainly. If you don't educate your children, you will certainly find the fifth Commandment, which is the foundation of society, will be very little attended to. If your children are not educated, 'they will be little better than brutes." It is difficult to understand, says the Otago Guardian, the purport of the telegram published in another column from Newcastle, or as it is much better known by its Maori name, Ngaruawahia. If the report of Mr Mackays speech is accurate, we have no hesitation in saying that be was singularly indiscreet. There does not appear to have been any excuse for using the language attributed to him. Some Hauhaus wero present at the meeting, and " Mr Mack-ay told them that if another pakeha or friendly native were killed there would be no parley. Government would fight at once, and the first thing they would do would be to take Kawhia." We can hardly bring ourselves to think that Mr James Maokay, jun., used any such language at a meeting of natives in the Upper Waikato. There was nothing exceptional in the fact that Hauhaus were present at the meeting ; it would be impossible to get a dozen Maoris together anywhere in the North Island and not find 1 Hauhau amongst them. Hauhauism does not necessarily mean hostility to the Europeans or enmity to the Government It has lost great part of its political siguifi a ice, and Haubauism is harmless in its way. The Hauhau and the Kupap . or Government native, stand in nearly the same relation to each other as the Whigs and Tories occupied half a century ago in the politics of Great Britain. Mr Mackay understands this 5 none better ; and therefore we must look upon the report as an exaggeration, or else material facts connected with the meeting have not been communicated to the public. Now, we suspect that the metftiirg in question is in some way connected with the tangi orer Martha Barton, to which we alluded in a former issue, and if so, we are convinced that the telegram doea not fairly record what took place. No one doubts that the " natives meant mischief," when they killed Sullivan and To-id, but their attitude has considerably changed since then. It is not probable that the Government desire to stir up strife when the natives appear disposed to livo in peace. [Our contemporary insinuates that something in reference to the meeting has been withheld. A paragraph similar to the one quoted appeared in our issue of the Kith nit, and we can only rtato that the paragraph in question fairly represented all of a political uatuio that took place publicly at the meeting. Mr Mackay, ". our contemporary stated, did attend at the langi over Martha Barton, also for the purpose of paying some natives for road work.