The Evening Star. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1869.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 2051, 1 December 1869, Page 2

The Evening Star. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1869.

The people of "Wellington are parting with their Superintendent, who is about to proceed to England, in company with the other Commissioner appointed to confer with the English Government on the best way of crushing the extinct Maori war. It is well that they have been burned off, or we think public opinion would have proved too strong for their going on such a Quixotic expedition. We are not inclined to be too severe on the recreation of public men at the public expense. Perhaps it is one of the prizes that should follow devotion to the public interests, that they should enjoy the pleasure of visiting other lands, and rubbing off the rust with which sojourn for so long a time in a remote settlement is apt to enshroud their ideas. But what can they say for themselves when they arrive at Home 1 When in the presence of the Colonial Secretary, their speeches all cut and dried to represent the injustice done to New Zealand through its being left to fight its own battles, he will naturally reply : “ Well, gentlemen, it is evident “ I knew your pluckiness better than “ you did yourselves ; you have done “ the work so well, and at so little ex- “ pense, that to send troops out now “ would be absurd.” What can they answer 1 ? Dr Featherstone certainly has had some little experience in this kind of diplomacy ; but then he had a false alarm to back him. He did not go with a handful of prosperity to plead for help against adversity. There was a speck on the horizon, which, although a sham was at any rate something to direct the attention of General Chute to, and it is just possible that the Doctor might imagine it real and paint it blacker than it originally appeared. At any rate he succeeded, and the ornamental regiment remains at a cost of forty thousand pounds annually—the price of setting up the majesty of Great Britain, that at the sight thereof all the Maoris may fall down and worship it. But even that black speck has disappeared, and the Noi’th Island glitters with gold : gold in Auckland —gold at Tauvanga—the color of gold in Wellington—gold all over. There might have been one shadow left for them to fall back upon, but Mr M'Lean has taken that from before their faces. It was rather too bad that they were not shipped off before this Maori King movement was so skilfully availed of as to crush the last plea of rebellionmongers. When they get home now, when they tell of the debates in the House of Representatives that led to their appointment, they will be replied to that it was plain all the brilliant orations were the mere inspirations of fear. When they point out the distress of the settlers, they will be shewn the Auckland share-list, and asked to explain how a Colony, “so wan—so woe- “ begone,” where murder stalked unchecked, and rapine and ruin stared every man in the face, could subscribe two millions and a half for the prosecution of raining enterprise. When they point to the massacres that have stained the annals of the Colony with blood, they will be told that the Government had the murderers in their keeping and were too much wrapped up in the contemplation of political suicide to take proper means to secure them ; so they escaped, were struck at with a feeble untrained hand, and wreaked their vengeance on the outlying settlers —as might have been expected. When they speak of raising a regiment in England for the protection of those, who, recent events show, are in no danger, they will be told to do as they choose, but that in the judgment of the Colonial Office Commissioner Branigan with his highly trained police will be quite sufficient to deal with any Native force likely to be brought against them; and that it would be better to spend the money on public works of general utility than to waste it on the cost of importation and maintenance of unproductive servants. Viewed in any aspect, the mission of the Commissioners is a difficult one on which to acquit themselves with credit. It would have been better for our reputation to have dealt with some Ghoorka chief, and to have secured the unneeded services of a few of those hillside braves, who on their return home might have spread the report of our liberality, instead of proclaiming our weakness and folly, as is likely to be done by sending to England, It is usual at receptions for ambassadors to appear in the uniform of the country they represent: we suggest that the most suitable for Messrs. Featherston and Bell, in view of the wisdom of their mission, would be a cap and bells. Not the least important among the “ Resolutions of the Otago University “ Council,” is the ninth, which provides, “ That such professor be em- “ powered to select books to the value

“ of £SO, to I be obtained through the “ Provincial Home Agent; such books “ to form the nucleus of the University “ library.” The usefulness of this library will by no means be confined to the professors and students of the University, but will extend itself to all persons of education throughout the Province. It may be said that successful authorship in any of the higher branches of literature and science, is now well-nigh impossible for persons living in Otago. The most indispensable portion of the apparatus of an author is manifestly a good library : without this it is impossible for a writer to know what are the best materials to use in the composition of his work, or to avoid falling into the fatal error, of setting forth as original, that -which has been already stated and better stated by some one else. Professional men too, of all kinds, would be glad to avail themselves of the help of the University library in those numberless instances in which private libraries are unable to afford highly necessary information. It seems to us, therefore, to be a thing to be regretted, that the Council of the University have not voted a larger sum than ".£IOO for this purpose. It is not likely that an opportunity for getting men so well fitted to select suitable books will soon occur again. We must remember, however, that the University, though well endowed, has not as yet any great amount of cash available. There is another matter connected with this institution, which seems to have been hitherto unthought of, It is of course of importance that the classes should at the commencement be as large as possible. The success of the college will indeed depend in no small degree on the sort of start that is made. How we suppose that it will be in the month of May, 1871, that the first term will begin. The advertising for candidates, the selection of Professors, their voyage to Otago—will all take a considerable time. During the period intervening between the present time and May, 1871, numbers of young men will be leaving the High School, and other schools, who will go to business or professions. Many of these without doubt might be secured as students of the University, if some definite and tangible scheme of the first matriculation examination were set before them. The preparation and adoption of this scheme would be merely a temporary expedient for getting together as large a number of students as possible for the Professors to lecture to. The ultimate arrangement of the curriculum should not be made without the advice and consent of the Professors. Fortunately, the Council would need to assume no great amount of responsibility in this matter. They could adopt for their opening the “subjects for examination” of the Melbourne University. We are persuaded that in this way a good many young men would be induced to enter the college who would otherwise be lost to it altogether.