CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS ON CURRENT EVENTS.

Evening Star, Issue 2986, 13 September 1872, Page 2

CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS ON CURRENT EVENTS.

buller’s member.

O tempora! O mores I O Eucen# O’Conor!

But yesterday the word of Eugene Stood against the world ; now lies he, And none so poor to do him reverence. It is a sorry spectacle. Faithful among the faithless, we were so faithful as to be foolish enough to say, only a few days ago, that in being designated “doubtful” Mr O’Conor was once more being “persecuted by malicious, evil minded enemies.” Our faith was based upon a fact. That fact was that at Westport, a week or two before the session, when it was mildly hinted by one of his “political opponents” or “personal enemies ” that there would soon bo seen a change come o’er the spirit of his dream, through circumstances which were even then appearing on the surface, he boldly repelled the base insinuation, and avowed himself, in the past and in the present, “ a warm supporter of the Ministry.” In almost apologetic tones it was suggested that there was too great an interest being all of a and* , den taken in the hon. member by Mr Stafford and his satellites to be altogether good for the moral health of a weak member, and the constituency were invited to watch the progress of events, and to mark the speaker’s words. Prophet of evil that be was, his words have come true ! Heralded into the House by Mr Arthur Collins as a probably injured man, handed over to the tender mercies of a committee headed by Mr Gillies, watched for and welcomed on his return by Mr Stafford, Joseph fell upon the bosom of his new political step father, and—kicked out right and left at his former friends. Mr Fox was friendly, it is true j but what is friendship ? Friendship nothing more, j And it was under these circumstances—when the value of que vote was enhanced to a degree which it is difficult to estimate —that a so-called “judicial inquiry” was conducted to its satisfactory close, with this satisfactory sequel! The least satisfactory part of the whole proceeding is that not a word of all Mr O‘Conor is reported to said was, so far as we arc aware, ever anticipated by Mr O‘Conor’s constituency. Loud he was, as a member of the Nelson Provincial Council, in his praises of the Premier as compared with the Superintendent; loud he was in his expressions of his admiration of the General Government administration, as compared with Provincial ; proud he was to the last that the Premier and he were on such friendly terms as to interchange private correspondence ; aud strong ho was, as wo have said, in the assertion that he was a supporter of the Ministry.— G, li. Argus. THE NEW MINISTRY. Mr Sewell (the new. Colonial Secretary) we look upon as the weakest point in th* Ministry—a man for several years shunned by all healthy politicians, and one who has well earned for himself the name of the Political Jesuit of New Zealand —Timarxt Gazette, The constitution of the new Government we do not consider satisfactory, nor do we think it promises lengthy retention of office, .... The strength of the Ministry lies in Messis Stafford and Waterhouse; its weakness in the remaining members. Thp former arc Centralists ; the latter UltraProvincialists. Irrespective of outward pressure, we cannot see how they can hold together. If they do, it will be a case of the lion lying down with the hmh.—Ttanpeka, Times.

A FOKTEAST OF PARTIES,

On the one aide we have a compact minority of thirty-seven, animated, we may fairly suppose, by much the same feelings, bound together by the same broad principles of policy and administration. On the other, we have the majority of forty, add of whom it is composed—politically speaking—no man mote tell. We know, of course, that there is a small, very small, band called the Old Colonial party. This is Mr Stafford’s more immediate following, and its principles, if it has any, are or have been diametrically op. posed to the second section of the majority —the UJtra-Provincialists—who have fought for their own band, and because the Government would not weakly incur the danger of mangling its policy by complying with their demands. But this section, if carefully examined, will be seen to consist of two sub-

sections, the Ipader and guide of one being Mr Fitzherbert, who has views peculiarly his own, or peculiarly local, to advance. The third section is that motley, straggling, and striving lot of free-lances—not to say

camp-followers—who are found in every legislative body. Expectant, discontented —always willing and prepared to wound those from whom they have received nothing, and ready to strike on either side so long as they are striking for themselves—they are exceedingly dangerous friends because they may at any moment be converted into rabid enemies. Such, as far as can be made out at present, is the position—we can hardly say of parties, but of the House. The minority is compact, and therefore strong; the majority is heterogeneous, antagonistic, and hungry, and therefore inherently weak. Looking also at the fact that Mr Stafford’s majority of three comprises two of the Maori representatives, who, whatever their individual good qualities, have the capriciousness of their kind, it cannot be said that the battle is other than a drawn one. -Two of his three winning votes are not to be depended upon with any degree of certainty, and his majority of three is convertible into a minority of one at very short notice, or without notice at all tor that matter. Further, the thirty-seven who have held together are men who, it must be assumed, firmly believe in the policy with which the name of the Fox-Vogel Cabinet will always be associated. The forty—how spggestjvp of a certain nursery tale, which ip some pe? spects would not be inapplicable ! —comprises men to whom progress and settlement are gall and wormwood, and it also comprises men who, accepting either on compulsion or from conviction the principles of the public works policy, have peculiar—singularly pe-culiar-ideas as to how it should ne earned

out. Under such circumstances as we have described, with votes so narrowly divided and no question of policy at issue, it is natural that men should think of and advocate A COALITION ; ITS CHANCES. The subject must be discussed apart from any personal or party considerations. It is ho t—would a coalition meet the views of the leading men on both sides } blit, assuming for the nonce that a coalition is practicable, would it conduce to the best interests of the Colony ? We submit that it would not, that concessions of an undesirable and possibly dangerous character would most likely have to be made, and that, finally, those who are in the minority really represent the opinions, wishes, and expectations of the great bulk of the people. Mr Stafford has carried his resolutions solely by the aid of men of whom, without attributing t» them any personal motives beyond those by which average human nature is actuated, it may be fairly said they have been battling for interests with which they are all personally identified, and on which some are personally dependent. These interests are antagonistic to, and destructive of, the interests represented by the minority. The former are either purely local nr purely personal ; the latter are colonial, general, and of vital importance. The overtures for a coalition—for it is clear that overtures have been made and great pressure brought to bear—come from Mr Stafford and his friends. This, if nothing else did, shows their weakness, and is at the same time a tacit ad. mission that the minority has all the strength of cohesion and all the elements of ultimate success. Conscious of this strength, estimating clearly the extent of the admission which Mr Stafford has made, knowing the diverse and unworkable character of the majority, and feeling certain that the principles they represent must in the end be triumphant, because < n them depends the peace and progress of the Colony, why should the minority entertain the idea of a coalition? Nothing has been so clearly brought out during the debate as the fact that Ministers might have easily retained their seats if, forgetting their self-respect and sacrificing the interests of the Colony, they had acceded to the demands made by the Superintendent of Wellington and bis immediate followers. The late Ministry have no reason to envy Mr Stafford a victory which has been obtained at such a price. On the contrary, reviewing w h»t they have accomplished, and bearing in mind what they have resisted on behalf of the Colony, they are entitled to claim their defeat as a merited honor, their temporary exclusion from office as an additional credit and a substantial claim to public confidence.— Lyttelton Times.