The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4028, 24 January 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1876.

Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying. Sir John Falstaffe”s words were vividly brought to memory on reading the last exhibition of political buffoonery perpetrated by our whirly-brained morning contemporary, the ‘Daily Times.’ But what can bo expected of a journal that seems

to be Not one, but all mankind’s epitome ; Stiff in opinion, always in the wrong (Is) everything by starts, and nothing long. Those who read the articles in the columns of the ‘ Daily Times ’ must, on opening each sheet, ask themselves the question, What next? For years Mr Stafford has been its political idol. Its game apparently was to prepare the ,vay for his superseding Sir Jours Too el. But Mr Stafford is now discarded—we suppose pro tcm. only—is now classed as “that truest Centralist, of all the public men uf the Colony.” As wc never were very great admirers of Mr Stafford as a politician, we are not about to defend him. We consider him an able man, and he has proved himself above party by candidly and honorably supporting the present Ministry in their progressive measures. But why did our contemporary fix upon him? It was not necessary to crucify him in order to prove that Otago should trust the men of Auckland, which we take to be the object of Saturday’s leader. Our contemporary says :

Upon the face of it, however, it will be seen that (here is an air of extreme improbability tluit the ußra-Provincial party, which has won almost all the elections of Auckland should use tor their war-cry —One Colony, one Land Fund. Ami a few lines loner down In Ibo mouth of Auckhind I'roviipinlisls it i.s obviously (.absurd, and wc are happy to say they have too much sense to use it. We arc a ware, that at the beguming of the campaign, before the true hearings of the case were fully understood, some few men in Auek'and used it, but they were, with hardly an exception, speaking to the mob (complitncnlaryi and not announcing a policy.

One of two things is manifest ; either the ■' Daily Times ’ is wrong, or the Auckland men have deceived the people. Those who have been returned to Parliament, almost without an exception, pronounced the watch cry : One Colony, one Legislature, mi c K vernti vc, oi \e. Purse. ” A great many years ago, diirius a monetary panic, two ootumcrvial travellers in the name trade met in a street in Lincoln, when one addressed the other thus : “ Jon, lam told thou hast .-.aid our house is about to fail ; now I say it isn’t, so one of us must be a liar, and I'm sure it i3ii’ c I. :J Supposing a ] Ike confab to take place between Mr WiimAKKU and the Editor of the. ‘Daily Times,’ it might appear thus: “ Friend Editor, I say I mean one Colony, one Legislature, one Executive, and one Purse; thou says 1 don’t mean it. Now one of us must be a liar, and Pm sure it isn’t 1.”

Tt is evident that our candidates in Otago ha\ e all. nved themselves to be deceived by the fair speeches of their Northern friends. 'They have rushed to the conclusion that there was a common object tube gained, and they now, through the ‘Daily Times,’ seek to excuse their imprudent conlidence by Dying to persuade their constituents that ’’iir Ceokot* Grev and his colleagues only seek to perpetuate Provincialism. We know it is said Mr W’mtwjaai- kaa always be<?a a

supporter of the Fox Administration, and that he is not with Sir George Grey. So far as Provincialism| is concerned he is not—although Sir George is said to have abandoned it—biit as to repudiating the Compact he is, and with regard to his (Mr Whittaker’s) Centralism there can be no mistake. A very weak and shallow device, therefore, is it to charge journals which have fearlessly and faithfully pointed out the dangers of the course the ‘Daily Times’ advocates with “fighting for their lives.” Their object has been to preserve the land of Otago for the people of Otago, and to preserve the administration of the affairs of Otag6 in the hands of the people of the PtoVlftce; and we warn 1 Daily Times’ that a very few months will prove that those whom it falsely accuses of Centralism are the truest friends of the people. We do not attribute to those who have been elected in Otago any other motives than a wish to serve the Province. We fully believe them when they say so. It is not their desires that are wrong, but to do good is wanting. With a few exceptions, no weight can be attached to their judgment or opinions. If they ar» led right, their votes will be right, although very few of them can give even a plausible reason for the doctrines they profess to hold. The ‘ Daily Times ’ has, however, allied itself with this queer selection of political units, elected for one purpose in Otago, and for another in Auckland, and who are yet expected to vote together. It has not scrupled, in its zealous advocacy of this party without a platform, to throw overboard a man whose nod was once its cue, and whose word was to that journal the utterance of an oracle. Mr Stafford may truly say to his late worshipper ; Your affections are A sick man’s appetite, who desires most that Which would increase his evil. He that depends Upon your favors, swims with fins of lead, And blows down oaks with rushes. Hang ye! Txustyep With every minute you do change a mind. And call him noble that was now your hate, Him vile that was your garland.