The Evening Star FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1870

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2177, 29 April 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1870

The course of the session can hardly be judged of by the debates in the Provincial Council of yesterday. There was an attempt on the part of Mr M‘Dermid to elicit from Mr Reid the degree of discord between his Honor’s views on the matters marked out for consideration, and those of his advisers, but he did not succeed in gaining information on thepoint. We may therefore fairly assume that in the main the Executive agree with the spirit of the speech, although they may vary as to the extent to which the various rcconmicnda-

dons shall be carded. The debate on the reply to the address was as tame as the address in reply itself, which was a more than usually faithful echo of the thoughts and sentiments of his Honor’s speech. The ouly bidder for leadership of any party who will place themselves under his guidance was one of our absentee members, Mr Shepherd, who gave the House the benefit of his opinions on railway and other matters with which they must be very much better acquainted than himself. A debate on the reply to an address is a sort of free fight in which eve y one considers himself at liberty to air his eloquence, by dragging in every conceivable topic to show that he notices they have been left out of it. Perhaps it would not have mattered to Mr Shepherd what the subject was, so long as he could inflict a speech upon the House, or whether, in illustration of his fitness for office, he were to give

a sketch of the domestic policy of the Aztecs. A long absenteeship may have good effects on a certain class of minds by rubbing off the rust that shrouds ideas, when passing events, in their monotony, cease to stir the spirit. But it has its disadvantages too, especially in the absence of those permanent interests in the Province that prevent a man becoming a mere waif—like the free lance of ancient days, equally ready to serve those who pay him best. There are men of large hearts and minds, whose well-defined and settled principles give them a cosmopolitan value, although they may not be fixtures in any place. But these are seldom found ; and we are not disposed to think, from anything that has yet fallen from the lips of that hon. member, that he is one of them. We should be sorry to see him take Mr Reid’s place. In the main the Government got through the ordeal very well. As usual, the greatest fault was found about what was left out, rather than what was put into his Honor’s address, It is evident, however, from the words let slip, that many of the subjects that will come under discussion will be subjected to severe sifting, although we are not disposed to think that any serious attempt will be made to super sede Mr Reid’s Ministry. We gather on the whole that the Executive have no intention to interfere with the Land Resolutions adopted at the special session of the Provincial Council. Only a few of the members can consistently re-open the question, and they cannot be consistently supported by any but the members of the Opposition, who virtually obtained more than they asked in the measures agreed to by the Government, They are not therefore likely to aid and abet any alteration that may be proposed. As for the Clutha members, one can hardly be surprised at them after their action with their constituents. Consistency does not seem to flourish in that district. If they did not approve the resolutions, they ought to have voted against them, irrespective of personal considerations. But they voted for them then, and nothing has transpired since that should lead them to retract. The Government accepted their support, and, Mr Reid informs us, are taking measures to give effect to the vote, In Mr Reid’s reply, there is one significant sentence, which points to the damaging effects of faction. Mr M ‘lndob had pointed out that in his Honor’s address, the construction of no public works was referred to during the past year. Mr Reid replied, “ the Govern- “ meat could not make bricks without “ straw.” In other words—“ We have “ not proclaimed Hundreds, and there- “ fore cannot sell the land—we have “ no money to spend on public works.” This is precisely the position that the Opposition predicted the Province would be in through not taking advantage of the powers conferred by the Hundreds Regulation Act. This is precisely the position in which it will remain, should there be any further dawdling. Already the delay has been too great, but through the action of the Provincial Council it must of necessity be still longer; for the Assembly must accept or reject the resolutions of the special Session. Faction has aided to intensify the action of other causes of depression of trade, and if its dictates be not over-ridden by the sound common sense of the majority, none can predict the damage that must ensue to the Province.