THE CABINET!

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 2, Issue 11, 18 October 1843, Page 2

THE CABINET!

A Revolution is at hand and "sauve qui peuf" is the order of the day ! another week or two, and there wi<l be such a jingling, jumping, crushing and thumping buzz, as was never heard the fike of before ; at least since the builders of the tower of Babel were dumbfounded ! It is our intention to hand down to posterity (! !) the emblazoned names of those gentlemen who at present (in this the 6th year of our reign 1843,) constitute the Cabinet of New Zealand ; and we shall separately, calmly and disinterestedly discuss their different abilities for the situations which they hold, and with the'-spirit of perfect independence fill the spark'inogoblet of praise when deemed worthy, and expose the factious rascal of discord and despicable unpopularity, when, by the dictates of sober reason it is so ordered, and we have only to observe in this our prologue, that we care not one fig what, the "powers that be," may think of us or of our opinions, seeing that we speak entirely with the spirit of unbiassed candour,

and uninfluenced determination : and nimby, we must hope that, where we are favourable to any party or parties, that justice wiil be awarded us by the public, in the belief that no sinister or underhand motive has actuated us, so far as the " Great High Lords" are concerned ; knowing that most of them will be, so very shortly deprived of all opportunity 'of conferring any public benefit upon anv person, or any class of pe.sons, in any way whatsoever. We commence with the First Lord of the Treasury. WILLOUGHBY SHORTLAND, Esq. What interdicts ! what bulls ! ! and what excommunications !!! have been thundered about the devoted head of Willoughby Shortland, by the august Vatican of Public Prejudice ! and what an awful mass of responsibility, has the rotund contour of his colossal shoulders supported ! What a desperate brunt of irony, and whs t an irresistible burst of party virulence and vexation have swept against the unflinching flood-gates of patience ! since the commencement of his political career, and his assumption of the fickle reins of Colonial Governorship ! Mr. Short'and was unexpectedly pushed into a situation, requiring at once, ad the vigour, experience, intelligence, and penetration of a practised statesman, and a situation, which, it is only reasonable to suppose, he was. never calculated to fill with that* sagacity and foresight, he might have done, had he been previously accustomed to the intricate and complex minutiae of diplomatical routine, and political maneuvre. Mr. Shortland is a Naval Officer, and has undoubtedly been bred up to that profession from his youth ; and we all know how very dissimilar are the duties to be performed on board a ship, to those accrueing to persons on shore ; and especially to those in situations of such trust, and such paramount importance in society, as that which Mr. S, has now the honor to fill. We know that Mr, Shortland was chosen by the late respected Captain Hobson, to be the Colonial Secretary for New Zealand, (which appointment was confirmed by the Queen) and it is only very natural and just to suppose that he was so chosen, from reasons of policy, and because he was a worthy man, and a good Officer. Mr. Shortland accepted the situation, and unless he had been possessed of more than ordinary ability," we maintain that he could not have filled it so well as he did, and moreover.it is not fair, it is not justice, to suppose that some of those public acts which have so repeatedly called forth public indignation, should be laid exclusively to Mr. Shortland's charge. No act that could at ali influence the destinies of New Zealand, was ever passed without the advice and consent or the Legislative Council, the sanction of the Governor, and the concurrent of the Attorney-General, and we again assert that he was not by any means responsible, (although perhaps slight y implicated in their formation,) for any of the consequences of the misdeeds of a party. No, no, justice is justice, and common-sense is common-sense. In his capacity of Colonial Secretary he was bound to obey every command of Captain Hobson, equally the same as though lie had been on board the "Rattlesnake," he might have advised, we dare say he did, but why should we tax him with every petty private act, because of this ? or magnify every trifling and insignificant misunderstanding, and spout it forth as the emanation of his brain ? or which would never have occurred but through his instrumentality ? these questions are universal stumbling-blocks, which may be animadverted on. but. we apprehend can never be annihilated by contrary evidence. We do not say that Mr. Shortland has never committed any flagrant act of pub ic injustice, on the contrary* we

believe he has—nay, we know he has ; but we deny that he has done so wilfully, and instead of attributing them to tijie man, we all the blame on the blocks and halyards of a man-of-war ! and the ceremonies of the gun-room ! It is really ridiculous to heir what is continually u'-g-ed against Mr. Shortland, we know that the greatest and most hardened vidian that was ever born, possessed some redeeming q la'ity, but alas! Mr. Short'and is allowed none ! this very fact strong ; y testifies in his lavour ! We have pursued his career so far. and we now open upon it a new light. Captain Hobson dies, and in consequence of Mr. Shortland holding the situation next in rank to him—he steps into his shoes, and ascends the throne of Colonial anarchy and inextricable confusion'.—and there he must remain until Lord Stanley send a New Governor, to dispossess him. At a moment's warning, Mr. S. found himself placed i~ as awkward and trying a situation, as any person could ever wish t) be in, he entered the arena of politics, the guide of a public finance, and the supporter of a national tariff, when they had assumed the most complicated and intricate an aspect; and we wonder he did not long ago stick in the middle of them;—and notwithstanding how repeatedly the press has vomited forth the startling vollies of condemnation in the words of Richard " yet he lives" and shows no signs of giving up the ghost: were an Angel to come down from Heaven, he would not please every body ! We repeat, that, the situation of Mr. Shortland has been a most trying one—without the gratification of knowing himself, a Governor in reality, he has had all the anxiety, all the responsibility, and all the harassing cares and arduous duties of one thrown upon him; and it is not in the nature of man to act with all the spirit and energy in such a situation which he otherwise would do, were he differently placed. The improprieties of which it is said Mr. S. has been guilty, have been construed into enormous and deeply felt public injuries, and national curses—and his good deeds have been unappreciated, and treated with contemptuous and unchristian-like silence. Some have asserted that his previous position in society was so unambitious as (properly speaking) to have precluded the possibility of his ever aspiring to that which he has now attained -and the horrible epithet of " upstart," has quivered from many a lip! ! But Mr. Shortland is positively a. gentleman ; for even if nothing else could entitle him to that appellation, the very fact of his being a Lieutenant in Her Majesty's Royal Navy, would. The Financial and Commercial affais of New Zealand are undoubtedly at a very low ebb ; but the Colonists themselves are in a great measure to blame; if we consider the continual apathetic and unrnterprising spirit that has manifested itself in them ; had we the best government in the world, it would go to ruin, with nothing but it's own energy and perseverance to support it; and, in conclusion, so far as Mr. Shortland is concerned, and considering all things, we think he has done exceedingly well. THE LORD BISHOP. . The office of a Bishop is, in our opinion too sacred to be lightly meddled with, and we must therefore forbear to enter into detail. Dr. Selwyn, the Lord Bishop of New Zealand, is a most energetic man, and we have no doubt, a beneficent protector of his incongruous flock ; of his abilities no one can doubt; he is a star of the first magnitude ; and whether we regard him as a dignitary of the church, or as a scholar, he must command our respect and veneration : but we have one fault to find with him, and that is, he does not sufficiently patronize, with his presence, the Capital of the Colony.

Wm. MARTIN, Esq., C J. Win. Martin, Esq., is the Chief Judge of New Zealand—and as we have never heard the least murmur against him, we suppose that he exercises h s important duties with undeviating (idel ty to the tlirine of Truth and Justice. He like;wise is a clever, talented, and most energetic man. Ne t in importance, at least so far as his immediate official duties can influence the interests of the good people of Auckland, comes

FELTON MATHEW, Esq.

Felton Mathevv, Esq., formerly held a situation of some importance in Sydney, was Surveyor General, and its Chief Police Magistrate ; and viewing him only in that character, we forget that he has existed in any other. There are many persons holding situations of respectability, under this Government, who never were, and never can be (strictly speaking) gentlemen -and in an opposite direction there are those who possess every accomplishment, and every acquisition requisite to entitle them to that distinction :—in the latter class we are happy to number Felton Mathew, Esq. No one can charge this gentleman with ever having oer-lept the bounds of justice, or of ever having failed to award it when necessary. It is no use writing what one does not think, or of making public statements merely because my "father said so/ 1 or mv " uncle or my grand-mother said so/' We resist the laws of precedent, and i'i doing so, distinctly assert that, we could not well' have a more consistent, a more indefatigable, persevering, or attentive Police Magistrate than we have :—chew the cud peop e of Auckland—here it is for you! (In consequence of our having dwelt more at length, on the character and abilities of Mr. Shortland, than we at «irst intended —we are bound to close the "Cabinet" at present-next number it will be concluded.)

Our readers will be somewhat surprised to notice the withdraw el of our Advertisement, which stated that a New Newspaper, to be entitled the " Bulletin ' would shortly be published under our snperinteridance. It must be well known by every person in Auck'and who has been in the habit of paying any attention to Newspapers, that, there has never been one established yet, the publication of which, has not resulted in a positive pecuniary loss to the proprietor or proprietors : no, not even in the most palmy days of the Colony, when money, was (comparatively speaking) a matter of slight importance, and when the hard sovereigns were clinking in the pockets of every body as carelessly as though they had been tir.*drii ing pieces, or marbles; and, therefore considering the depressed state of affairs at present; the extreme scarcity of money ; previous losses; and last, not least, the difficulty every where met with in getting what is actually due: the Proprietor has been induced to sell his Printing apparatus, and other materials (necessary for conducting a Newspaper,) and abandon the undertaking altogether for the present ; but not without hopes that at some future day, he will be able to fulfil his promise ; in the event of which, we shall again have the pleasure and honor of appearing before the people of Auckland, a humble advocate of their political interests, &c, unless indeed, other circumstances, immediately connected with ourselves prevent it. Two more numbers, and the Chronica will have ceased to exist, will have breathed its last, and will have died a natural death, and like all other brilliant luminaries that have flourishe.l since the world began, it will be numbered with its illustrious predecessors, amongst the perished things that were I ! !