The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1870.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2193, 18 May 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1870.

The waste of time iu the Provincial Council caused by the cavilling of the Clodocrats at their own work, amounts to a heavy per centage on the revenue. The afternoon of yesterday and part of the evening was occupied by the efforts of Mr Thomson and his followers to undo all they helped to do during the special session of December, It is very plain that the representatives for the Clutha have got themselves into trouble with their constituents, and have not the manliness to take the only consistent corn’s e in such a case of resigning their seats. Instead of this, they try to retain their prestige by the unworthy shift of trying to throw the blame upon somebody else’s shoulders, and would break up the Ministry they so blindly followed, if by that means they can manage to make peace with those who elected them. Wo are quite prepared to believe that, if they had done what any man of spirit would have done, the Council would have

gained nothing. Had they allowed the electors the opportunity of sending others in their places, there would have been the same political bigotry and ignorance displayed the same selfish grasping after advantages, no matter how gained, so long as they had the coloring of law to justify them—'the same recklessness with regard to the welfare of other classes if anything was to be gained by it for themselves. We are quite prepared to believe that men are to be found their equals in these necessary qualifications for clodocratic representation ; but we do not think that many could be picked out of even an agricultural community who, with so much skill, could gloss over their real motives, and hide their selfish ends under so specious a cloak as they have done. Had their seats been occupied by others the real object might have oozed out that is at the bottom of the Clutha agitation; and there cannot be the shadow of a doubt what that object is. The pastoral interest is an object of envy and those who call themselves settlers want to have a share in it. In addition to their farms they want to be graziers. This is at the bottom of all theiragitation. This is the manifest tendency of all their speeches during the special session of December 1 . That they are not squatters on Hundreds is the burden of their complaints. They look upon the squatters as intruders upon their rights and privileges, bemoan those halcyon days when a man could turn his cattle upon unoccupied ground without assessment duty and make as much opposition to any legislation that secures the pastoral interest in an agreement entered into with the government of the country, as if doing bare justice were a positive crime. The policy of the dominant party has already pro* duced disastrous effects. We do not of course, ascribe the present depression to their action alone, but they have intensified it. Their majority of one has upheld the halting policy of the Reid Government, and the Clutha people, through Mr Thomson - , have tried to perpetuate it. With the proceeds of .the land sales reduced one hundred thousand pounds, how was it possible that necessary works could be presented'? Is it not rather strange that the Government have not had such a hue and cry ringing iu their ears from all quarters as to drive them from office '1 In the face of trade depressed and men calling out for employment, interested men come forward, sitting in judgment upon their own case, and ask that all land sales shall be stopped for twelve months more, in order that they may have opportunity of agitating the country to obtain the repeal of an Act founded upon intelligent investigation, and passed by a Legislature unbiassed by local influences. Some time ago an up-country journal defended the obstructiveness of the settlers by informing the world that they knew the terms on which they could make farming pay, and therefore they were justified in legislating for themselves. It may be fairly admitted that they have a right to making one side of a bargain : the evil is they will not be content wit!i that—they want to have it all their own way. On this ground we consider it unfortunate for the country that there is such a predominance of one interest in the Council. There are a few amongst the settlers who have intelligence enough to see that the course pursued lias been a wrong one ; but in general they seem uncommonly satisfied with the notion that the whole of the prosperity of the Province is in their hands—that their interest is everybody’s interest, and that even if they do put their hand into a woi’king-mau’s pocket for their own profit, the more they take from him the better oil he must be. The debates on the Hundreds Regulations Bill ought to be printed in a cheap form for gratuitous circulation amongst all classes. At present the question is very little understood by the majority of the electors. They have heard garbled accounts of it from the members who have ventured to face their constituents, and in all cases where a fair amount of knowledge of the truth was possessed, the compromise of last session was approved. It is only in Arcadias like the Clutha or Waikouaiti, where up-country journals produce food suited to the popular taste, that discontent is expressed. We believe were the flansard in every elector’s possession, agitation, instead of being in favor of the repeal of the Bill, would be in favor of its being brought immediately into operation.