WHY IS THE GOVERNOR TO BE HONOURED ?

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 304, 14 February 1879, Page 17

WHY IS THE GOVERNOR TO BE HONOURED ?

To the Editor of the N. Z. Tablet. Sir, — It will be in the recollection of a number of your readers who arc interested in curiosities of literature that some time ago, to wit before the present spotless ministry got into power, on the occasion of a visit of the Governor to Dunediu, a long, rambling letter appeared in the columns of the Otago Dally Times by the now Attorney-General which letter was entitled "WHY WAS THE GOVERNOR HISSED ?" It appears that some naughty little boy from. I suppose a certain northern island in the neighbourhood of Greenland, under "spirit" influence, made a feeble attempt to utter

«i hiss, but it died away in the dh sound which characterises that race. The then plain Mr. Hubert Stout taking the tide at its turn, which leads on to glory, wrote the above named letter, in which it is hard to say which was most conspicuous— bad grammar, or bad taste. And, now. sir, the wheel of fortune having turned on its axle, Mr. Robert Stout having become the hon. the AttorneyGeneral and the Marquis of Normanby about to leave the colony it is well to consider for a moment our surroundings and having cast the log to find whereabout we are. ' It happened once upon a time that a wasp found its way into the palace of a great king ; by and by it lighted upon the king's nose, and, true to its instincts, as all wasps ever are, it stung its poor victim ; being unused to such summary treatment, the kini? sprung from his seat in pain, but his foot catching in the dress of some of his nobles, he fell and broke his ueck. His sons quarrelled over the division of the kingdom, and the result was that that wasp earned for itself in the annals of the nation a name to which it was not otherwise entitled. Now, to compaie small things with great, Mr. It. Stout has by attempting to annoy our coming illustrious visitor sought to earn for himself a niche in the temple of fame, but like many more he is likely to find that it is not permitted to a cobler to judge ultra etvpidatn. It is no doubt hard to convince the Attorney-Ciencral, even when he is manifestly wrong. The spirit that characterised Goldsmith's country schoolmaster, is strong in some natures — ' ' though conquered he could argue still." and no doubt he will not sec in the preparation to do honour to cur departing Governor any indication unfavourable to himself. Still it might almost convince the AttorneyGeneral that his sun has pretty well set when the personnel of his platform friends is compared with that of those who on the present oseasion lead in the preparation to receive the ex-Governor. It may well be asked why is all this desire to do honour to our late Governor/ No doubt, it is, in a measure, because ho has acted the part of a manty upright gentleman during the time of sojourn with us. : He has been quite a contrast to some of his predecessors ; he has shown both firmness and urbanity, and in the face of insult he has shown no disposition to meet littleness of soul, otherwise than with the dignity that became her majesty's representative. All this, however, was only his duty, and on this ground alone we hardly have gone out of our way to honour him. There is, however, a reason, a very humbling one. why we should honour him, — our representatives have grievously misrepresented us in their treatmeut of him. Let the other parts of the colony deal with their own offenders, we have enough to do with our own, and we mean to show that sham points of order, that questions as to who hissed the Governor, as profound as the question " who killed cock robin," that stump orations as to elective governors, we mean I say to show that we as heartily despise such things as we see clearly through, and abhor the spiri; from which they flow, and what is more such things read in the light of past experience effectually warn us of something ahead. It may be a strange psychological fact, but a fact it is that in all thoughts aul motive* of some men there is a shadowy something that stands out in bold relief ; it is carefully hid from others but it somehow is ever revealing itself. Hobbs must either have been such a man or he must have mingled largely with such men. That something is *'//, they will do little for God's sake, if they believe their is such a being, and they will do as little for man's sake, unless a quid pro quo is to be had. And you may rest assured that when anything is done by those men there is something personal to which it points. Now, just look at the Attorney-General's political career, he " pitched into" all and sundry in power. Macandrew, among others, when he was an unfeaihered lawyer, seeking place, and what followed 1 why place and power. The same process was gone over in the House of Representatives, aud what followed I — place and power. Now all this was perfectly lawful, but it makes us shy, and it causes us to ask what is the object aimed at in this transcendent nonsense about an elective governor. Surely there is something more than merely annoyance to our Governor, etc. Do our representatives all or any of them aspire still higher, if so then we say — '• pride goeth before a fall." Sir, we are richly deserving our humiliation in having made the AttorneyGeneral our representative. When a man casts aside the faith of his fathers so lightly, as some among us do, we degrade ourselves by doing them honour, and why should we be startled at the result ? I suppose the foolish farmer who put the frozen snake into his bosom wondered that the ungrateful reptile stung him— others did not wonder. Why in our circumstancss should we be surprised that Christianity is tabood by the laws invented by men, who see nothing better in Christianity, as a divine revelation, than in Hindooism, unless we bestir ourselves matters wont rest here, there is little basis for loyality or any other part of the frame-work of society, if religion is destroyed. We may show our abhorrence of its results in spasmodic efforts, like the present reception of the Governor, and so far it is well, but the evil is deeply seated, and it must be pulled up by the roots. Aud not only Catholics, but all men who have got the least regard for the religion of Christ are bound in principle to rise aud hurl from their scats men who will not recognise the claims of a religion that has procured for us everything good which we possess. Pro Boxo Publico.