The Evening Star. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1870.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2450, 22 December 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1870.

Had Mr Reid’s speech been made by a mere tyro in politics, it might have been passed by aa not requiring notice ; but as it represents the “ platform ” of the party with which he has identified himself, and the grounds on which lie aspires to the Superintendency, his statements must be subjected to close examination. Few persons have so good an opportunity of sifting speeches as the reporters who hear and record them, and who re-write them for publication. During the latter process, barrjng the evident errors in statement —for we should not like to think of them more harshly—Lord Rochester’s anticipatory epitaph on Charles the Second, rose constantly to our mind as equally applicable in sentiment to Mr Reid’s programme

Here lies our sovereign lord the King, "W hose word no man relies on : Who never said a foolish thing, And never did a wise one. It has rarely been our lot to transcribe such a mixture of fact and error, sound premises and -wrong substitution of the ideal for the real, and sentiments unequivocally condemnatory of the whole course of the Provincial Executive of which he is the head, as in Mr Reid’s speech of Monday. There is one point, however, regarding our own position that we may as well set Mr Reid right upon. We give him credit for as much shrewdness as falls to the general lot of agriculturists —perhaps for a little more ; but, like the rest of his class, he is very apt to take for granted that he can see further than other men into motives and springs of action. Probably through consciousness of having motives for what he says and does, which it -would not do to disclose, he arrives at the conclusion that everybody else must havo some one “ pulling the strings,” He said, on Monday, he thought he could name who pulled the strings that moved the Evening Star ; whereat his friends and supporters of the Grant clique, through ignorance of the fact, laughed : in which laugh we ourselves, through knowledge of the fact, joined. Now we may as well tell him who does not pull the strings. Tlio Evening Star is not moved by any man, nor any set of men, outside its editorial room. Its sole object, so far as its public influence i« concerned, is the welfare of Dunedin, Otago, and New Zealand ; and no matter who tho men are, or what position they occupy, their measures are subjected to as fair -&q4 impartial criticism as can be commanded. : If Mr Reid and those who have acted i with him have winced under its lash, they must blame themselves ; for they have laid themselves open to the condemnation of every one who can estimate the effect of the erratic course adopted by them. We long since suspected what was behind, when such crooked policy was followed as has marked the Executive course of the last two years. It was a puzzle for some time to comprehend why everything that sound men of business would

have adopted for the welfare of the Province, was systematically ignored. The only reason we could imagine for such conduct was, that some secret ambition was at work; and that the object to be gained was the Superintendency. The result has proved this idea to be correct. We had far rather this had been gone about more straightforwardly. We do nob like climbing up, by pulling down another man. It is not fair and honorable competition, apart from the attendant evils. We honor the man who secures high position through genius or talent. No matter whether a friend or an opponent, so long as he wins his triumphs fairly, we can greet him warmly ; and if discomfited ourselves, in spirit bear him sympathy. But just as much do we deprecate the sacrifice of public to private interests or ambition. Mr Reid’s speech has not supplied one single satisfactory reason for the obstructive policy he has followed : it has not supplied a single justifiable ground for refusing to bring the Hundreds Regulation Act into operation ; for refusing the only opportunity he ever had of making the Clutha Railway ; for the blind bargain entered into for making the Port Chalmers Railway ; or for opposition to the Public Works and Immigration measures of the General Assembly. It supplies abundant condemnation of those errors. In many respects it is a mere echo, or perhaps we might more justly say appropriation, of Mr Vogel’s sentiments, under the idea of condemning that gentleman. At present we must defer going into detail, and conclude with assuring Mr Reid that it would have given us much greater pleasure to have upheld his measures than to feel it a public duty to expose their fallacy.