The Evening Star FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 1873.

Evening Star, Issue 3230, 27 June 1873, Page 2

The Evening Star FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 1873.

It was quite refreshing to find that both his Honor the Superintendent and Mr Gillies succeeded beyond their expectations during the late contest for the Superintendency. So beth said; and so far as Mr Macandrew is concerned there will be no difficulty in believing him. He placed the issue on its merits j took no steps to influence the minds of the electors excepting that of issuing a plain statement of facts; and basing his claim to support purely on the unbiassed judgment of the people of the Province, he has found that he has not appealed to them in vain. His return must, therefore, be accepted as an express approval of that progressive policy which has produced such beneficial effects on the community during his tenure of office. The addresses of the two candidates, in returning thanks, sufficiently indicate the soundness of the electoral choice. Mr Gillies must not be too harshly judged, as a losing candidate has invariably to reconcile himself to the disappointment of defeat, and to find solace in any mitigating circumstances that tend to compensate the mortification. Every one will allow that the almost superhuman efforts made by him in traversing the Province over its length and breadth, and addressing so many public meetings, displayed energy and determination worthy of a better cause. But gifted as he is with power of eloquence of a certain class, it is not sufficiently practical for the requirements of the day. His fervor aiffi Johnsonian words and periods may enlist some sympathy in those present, but they do not weigh well. There is but little to think about when the excitement of the meeting is over. Mr Gillies’s speeches savor too much of party, and too little of that wide and comprehensive grasp which should raise a Superinten.dent above the trammels of caste, and lead him, unbiassed, to look upon each inhabitant of his limited dominion, as having interests which he is bound to acknowledge and respect. Mr MacANDftEfy truly said that although party is said to be ff the price we have to pay for liberty,” it will be yyell if, for a time at least, we “drop We agree with him; it can be dropped without “ any great detriment to our liberties.” Party has been the curse of the Provincial Council for years past. It has lengthened sessions, impe4es the passing of useful measures, induced in our affairs, and weakened Provincial jmsuence in the Colony. It has been frnjfful source of difficulty both here and at j Home. Those who have attended to; passing events, and have the-means of knowing how party spirit has done its work, will be aware that it has led to proceedings that have been seriously injurious to our Colonial reputation. It has led pertain journalists' to misrepresent the of Provincial and Colonial affairs, to

blacken the characters of public men, to oppose plans which, if successful, would have been of immense benefit to the Colony, and to ruin institutions just struggling with their initiatory difficulties. Looking at the history of the Province during the past few years, no unbiassed observer would arrive at any other conclusion than that the party who have. received so weighty a condemnation by the result of the election were Resolv’d to ruin or to rule the State. Mr Gillies was the candidate of party, and breathed party spirit into all his words. He said, when he entered upon the contest, he had no expectation of even receiving the measure of support accorded to him. So that, on his own showing, his only object was to give those who voted for him an opportunity of displaying their weakness. The Province may fairly ask whether such a motive justifies the expenditure of the thousands of pounds which might have been saved, had he allowed his judgment to hold just sway over bis party feelings. Even assuming that Mr Gillies holds special opinions which may one day form the subject of consideration by the Province, he had equal opportunity of bringing them forward as a member of the Council, as he has had as an unsuccessful competitor for the Superintendency. We think every man, woman, and child in the country has a right to complain, when men put them to the expense of paying for a “ protest ” against some unexplained grievance; for we confess we do not know what the 2,759 supporters of Mr Gillies have protested against. There was another amusing protest made by Mr Gillies himself, which indicated the spirit of party even more positively than the euphonious sentences in which he expressed his thanks. This spirit of party, albeit it allows mighty departures from propriety when applied to number one, is excessively prudish in dealing with number two. It is a conveniently elastic spirit, capable of being indefinitely extended whenever its possessor applies it to the regulation of his own doings, and liable to indefinite contraction when intended to measure other people’s. Party spirit sees tyranny where it does not exist, breaches of Constitutionalism where strict Constitutional observance has been maintained ; and cannot even accord an opponent the merit of good intentions. But it becomes a beam in the eye when other men are to be judged. It not only proved equal to stopping Mr Fish’s mouth in the Provincial Council, but it complained chat it could not stop his telegrams too. Mr Gillies would not only place the Superintendent under a bann that he himself would not have endured for a moment, had he been elected, but he would deprive the Mayor of the right of doing one Of the most harmless actions, because he is Mayor. Mr Fish denies having telegraphed to Lawrence as Mayor of Dunedin : we do not think he need have done so, for we really do not see that a simple statement is the less reliable because a Mayor had sent it, nor that, as a citizen, he should be debarred doing what any private citizen might have done, without any one thinking the worse of him. 0 wad some power the giftie gie us To see as ithers see us, It wad ffae monie a blunder free us, And foolish notion j