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The Evening Star. DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, JAN. 18, 1866.

We presume we shall ru>t commend ourselves to that eminent politician Air Moss, when we direct attention to the fact that the Press of the Province is unanimous in endorsing the opinion Ji>st expiessed by us as to the necessity for a dissolution of the Provincial Council. The extracts which we publish in another column, and those which have appeared before, show that the country is fully alive to the fact that at the present time ihc Provincial Council does not represent the Province, and that it is therefore desirable if sh elections should take place as speedily as possible. Of course we shall be told by Mr Moss and his friends that the opinions of the Press are contemptible, and not worthy of c nsideratlon. and we presume that if public meetings were held, we should in like manner be informed that they were got up by a few interested demagogues, and that the right- I hi*.king highmiuded section of the community neither sympathises with the cry lor a dissolution of the Council, nor recognises the status of those from whom it emanated. Well, the composition of public meetings and the expression of opinion to be obtained from them is not always to be reli d on. but what shall be said when we find that a large maj »rlty of the C/uicil also agree that a dissolution is -absolutely necessary. Surtly Mr Moss, who holds no higher authority to speak in the name of the public than that of being a Piovmeial Councillor, will surely not object to be tried by his peers. Is air Moss presumptuous enough to imagine that the opinion o. six members of the Government assisted by two members of the Council, who have nothing to gain by a dissolution, is to be placed against the recorded decision of over a third of the Council, most of those voting with the majority being members who were not office seekers-, and whose conduct must therefore be looked upon ns ent;r 1/ unbiassed. We cannot say the same for the present Government, nor for its chief, the Superintendent. ’Which are therefore the tiuest exponents ■of public opinion ? The Government and his Honor with a contemptible minority in the Council ? or the majority of'the Conned backed up by the Press of ihe Province and strengthened by the opinion expressed everywhere outside the Government offices, that iheve should be an immediate dissolution ? His Honor stands in the position of having an Executive in whom he has no confidence ; for has he not told us that he cannot take their advice, and will not dissolve the Council. Of course it will be ur ,J, ed that the request for a dissolution cane from the Conned, and not from the Executive True, but the Executive adopted it when they took the trouble to place it before the Superintendent, otherwise it would have been, their duty, if they possess a spark of that honor about which they prate so much, to have said to the Council, we cannot advise his Honor to comply with the prayer ox join i esolntion, und will therefore resign. No such thing, however, was done, and that much-to-be-relied upon exponent of public opinion, the Treasurer, who, by the way, does not believe in newspapers, holds public meetings in contempt, and treats as a matter "of no consequence the recorded decision of a majority of the people s representatives, prefers to hold office and submit to be dictated to by his Honor the Superintendent, rather than defend the rights of the Provincial Council, and run the risk of haying to retire. We cannot remember any occasion upon which the

-public were so decided as to the desirability of a dissolution vof tlie Prcyineial Council; and yet the electors are so apathetic. or, to use the languid phrase of a Dunedin contemporary, maintain such “ a calm public spirited inter cat” in the political welfare of the Province, that it is more than probable that his Honor and, his satellites will be allowed to hold office in defiance of the opinions of nine tenths of the electors. It is not, however, too late; and as the elections for the General Assembly are coming on, a pledge should be extracted from every candidate to the effect that he will endeavor to carry out the will oi the majority of the Council, and use his influence with the General Government to have the Provincial Counc 1 dissolved. Let the electors look to it. They are a t the present time being governed by a few men of hut mediocre ability, and that too against the wish of the country, to whom they are too frightened to appeal. We trust yet to see same expression of opinion from the electors in the city; and we feel assured, from commotions that are cons.aiitly reaching -u*, that it will be followed, if it has not already been preceded, by similar expressions throughout the country.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD18660118.2.5

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Evening Star, Volume III, Issue 843, 18 January 1866, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
838

The Evening Star. DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, JAN. 18, 1866. Evening Star, Volume III, Issue 843, 18 January 1866, Page 2

The Evening Star. DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, JAN. 18, 1866. Evening Star, Volume III, Issue 843, 18 January 1866, Page 2

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