The Evening Star TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4298, 5 December 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1876.

Wk know not which most to admire-the healthy change which has come over the ‘ Daily Times,’ or the courage with which it ventures to parade its conversion. Nobody can doubt the bewilderment with which for years it has sought for truth—nobody can help being dazzled with the sudden blaze consequent upon having found it. But a week ago, Mr De Lautour’s speech deneuncing the corruption of the General Government and praising the purity of Provincialism was pronounced an excellent oration. But, the scales having fallen from the eyes of the ‘Daily Times,’ the petty log-rolling that has been practised under Provincial rule has become manifest to it, and Mr De Lautour’s rigmarole, denouncing every statesman who ventured to disagree with his ill-formed and crude political views as actuated by corrupt motives, is proved to be but the —baseless fabric of a vision Very remarkable is it that this shbilM not *** B , ee “ hefort, Very strange is it that the idoJsthe Daily Times ’ worshipped two months ago should in this morning s issue be insinuated to have been corrupt. What a contract there is in the Vactire drawn by Mr De LaWoVr -m\ that delineated by the * Daily times ’ ! The upcountry political mountebank, in his highfainting sketch, said— ° ™lt WM.ua (Ui™, i 'll, 11 '?!.”* Muentoln a wiK Sir bhfet and M? - with Which our GolihtfV 111, and tO , r | build a Constitution tlm™ ever granted to a Colonial depen- " twenty-three years' possession, i ? ud ’ \ a a mom ent of apathy or folly, had declared herself to be unworthy to possess. lb-8 4 Daily Times ’ gives tbs following graphic pictures forked Up With eibry to give eftcct to it• ■there have been favored contractors iu Native. Defence, and other Colonial matters, and favored contractors in Awamoko and Western railways in xrovincial matters, and favoritism in th'a dheidu." will, no doubt, contim**, the pebble Ucp »ii the more warthiUl Uye Upoll our rlilbrs. No dodbt, i«. lift -yes of Weak rulers thefts afte altVdyS gnocifil and specious fteafiOuS Why phe ShttiUd behi-efercca before atootbeft, r* bWr one RboUUl obi bin privileges aud c; ttcegtobs Winch are outside the common ride • W aso s s ,ncver have home, and never will Bo , ull . <i ? f tlie principles involved in purity of administration, and perfect equality and uniformity ot Government practice. We tolhetHbiiv. in ised, thai one wisciWt*: WlioSd Rflcidl pbMtion n10,.« caused Mm to he listened to at thfc tithe, denV 1 " l 2 f fru ra a # ? f P'Mc of Otago on the adUltra Provin latism, and nslhb spebial »w “ 6 V y - of X bafc ‘bfipehsatiph intoriiiecl vb that tho people in OtagU woftd &chtt9tomSd, wht'ti «* IteiU. to doinfi b =£’ ♦ ' and . b y Personal intercourse \ , f , avo r what m every well-governed ’ ,tr y should only be obtainable as a right. Of course tho object of coming td ''Me" ~T ti was «ofc placed iU this t light, but. the meaning nf It, *as the same. ??.S ei T- Mr , D ® I,AUI ' OVR is right iiul the i Vy dniaca not wrong, MV MacakuriAv ami Mr Reid arc groat moral reformers tu v\ ellmgtou ; but “ weak rulers,” fcvoHua contractors, conceding privilege to favo^ in Ora‘crn d g T I ty atflnimslration the ‘ n n 'i t- not , tbe true leading of the Daily limes s virtuous and peniteu- , r r°tlLL 5 " ww<! local influences are absent than where personal fnenas press claims in which When rr nocess:u % sympathise, hvl -t llis ehdeavor hiittci- spread a limited quantity of tu i .oi a.; unbrmood area of bread” lie r -^ Cri^u "f the means rev' , Vi " nC]il IS, n to distribute In "'w U v ,tR n, t i ,lli to the best advanaSv b ittk‘ 3 n‘ d Jll , lueliident effort to wtitfy petty persocM But m

altogether protest against Mr Reid being mixed up with the Western Railways, so far as his approval of the work is concerned. We care not who did the work. It needed doing, and there is no reason why Mr Pkoodfoot soould not do it, provided Ms tendu was the lowest, and the contract properly fulfilled. If Mr Proudfoot has been favored, the Provincial Government were to blame, and we sec no reason why he should be singled out as a victim and pilloried before the world. They had their remedy, and had but to apply it as honestly as Mr M‘Lean has done It Mr Proudfoot with the power of the purse controlled the Provincial Executive, they proved themselves unfit for their position. But it was not the men, but the system that was iu fault, and no stronger argument could have been urged for its abolition. But let us say one word for Air Proudfoot, which we do from outown knowledge of facte not communicated by him and altogether without his cognisaure. The ‘Dally Times' parades the statement that Mr Proudfoot had “ been allowed the use of about £SOO of Government money for so many months,” but it does not state that the Provincial Government withheld some £30,000 or more for months from Mr Proudfoot, and that, by the award of a competent and impartial arbitrator, it was decided that about £BO,OOO was owing, which they wanted to pay with one-third of that sum. We do not offer any opinion about the disputes that arose, or their causes, although we have reason to think Southland Provincialism and appointing men as supervisors who had their duties to learn had much to do with them. But if, in its new-born pursuit of virtue, the ‘Daily Times thinks it right to pillory Mr Proudwhat ground of justice does it withhold the merchant’s name who warehoused his goods in the railway sheds free of storage? If Mr Proudfoot got paid for work, he did it } but this warehouse room was obtained for nothing. We think it Very right that these things should be known, and perhaps as they are related by a journal the best endeavors of which for years have been used to blacken the characters of men who have speat their health and strength for New Zealand’s good, they may be believed} although had the Star stated them, it might have been set down to party vindictiveness. The game is up, and our contemporary is on a new track in which we claim him as a new ally; and we trust henceforth we shall not have to complain of his inconsistency. For this very sudden conversion there must be a cause. Of course, self-interest which, in Mr Proudfoot, the ‘Daily Times’ denounces as corruption, is altogether out of the question with so immaculate a journal; but it is somewhat odd that this new-born zeal in the interests of the General Government should be coincident with the following advertisement, the substance of which was announced a few days ago by telegraph : The ‘ Otago Daily Times* has been appointed by His Excellency the Governor the newspaper in which aa public notifications which have hitherto appeared iu the * Otags Provincial Government Gaeette shall henceforth be published.