THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, JULY 16, 1881. ANTIQUARIAN LEGISLATION.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2274, 16 July 1881, Page 2

THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, JULY 16, 1881. ANTIQUARIAN LEGISLATION.

Perhaps there is no occupation more absorbing than that of an antiquarian. In the successful unearthing of the relics of the past must be a fund of excitement, alongside of which the joys of the chase mnst seem flat, stale, and unprofitable. Who does not envy Schliemann in the ruins of Troy, Layard at Nineveh. What extraordinary luck was his who first broke into the Great Pyramid, or his who was privileged among the tombs of Veil to see for an instant the body of the Lucumo before it crumbled into dust on the admission of the outer air.

But, if to the excitement of discovery could bo added that of a possibility of restoring the object discovered to life or to its primitive uses, -we can well imagine, that the interest would be heightened, tenfold. Supposing, for instance, that chief of Veil could have been galvanized back into flesh and blood—into the same warrior who a thousand years ago led his men against the infant state of Rome—how much more absorbing, even than it was, would the discovery of hint have been. It is, we fancy, this same fine frenzy for digging up the past that has seized upon the Opposition and its belongings. Hence the frantic excitement displayed by the gallant discoverers. At a considerable personal sacrifice and at imminent risk of brain fever and of being smothered by the accumulation of rubbish through which he has penetrated, Sir George Grey has unearthed a number of interesting facts. He has found out that about ten years ago the country was subdivided into a number of small states as closely resembling the Saxon Heptarchy as nine can resemble seven. In each of these states there was a small king called a Superintendent and a legislative paraphernalia of a complete order. There might

then have been nine ministerial crises going on at the same time; nine financial statements (most of them showing a deficit) ; nine Sir George Greys rallying the suffering masses round a black, or any other coloured, flag. There were nine Bellamys, nine Yincent Pybes glorying therein, and nine Shrimskis button-holing members in the lobbies.

All this the ex-Premier has, with considerable difficulty, unearthed, and, like all great discoverers, he has identified himself with his discovery and has succeeded in imparting some of his enthusiasm to his followers. His Local SelfGovernment Bill has been hailed by his friends as a triumph of legislative acumen based on a glorious past. Provincial Councils are to be revivified and reclothed with more than their old glory. Superintendents are to be called Presidents, and the Councils are to have extended powers over (he administration of justice, and are, in addition to their old functions, to become extensive landlords. They are, besides, to live on the fat of the land, i. e., the overflowings of the treasury when the wants of the General Government are satisfied. It is true that Sir George's followers are not all of the same mind. That troublesome Mr. Sheehan wants the Provinces back again without any change whatsoever, but the principles of the two are after all much the same, although the elder politician has skilfully mixed up in his proposals a catch cry as to the leasing of lands, which it is presumed will be the keynote of his next electioneering stump progress. Both Mr. Sheehan and Sir George are struck with the beauties of the fine old mummy of Provincialism which they have unearthed, and think how glorious it would bo if it could be unswathed aud set once more on

its venerable legs. The lapse of years has cast a softening halo over the deeds of the departed worthy. The utter insolvency of nearly all the provinces, the manner in which they nsed pitifully to beg from the General Assembly for absolute necessities, and the general slip-

shod character of their lives have been forgotten and forgiven. They are to bo rehabilitated and glorified by the process, the simplicity of which the “ Lyttelton Times ” admires so much. No complicated legis’ation, such as the Government has absurdly thought necessary in dealing with a complicated subject, is to be used. By a few strokes of the pen Provincialism is to become the order of the day. Our painted chamber will onco more echo to the soul-inspiring strains of a Wilson, or some other high-toned councillor. Presidential messages—even weightier than the Superintendents! article—will be forwarded by panting officials for the consideration of the Council. Logrolling will be stopped in the General Assembly because there will be no more logs to roll, and an inherent spirit of virtue will stop the process in the minor assemblies. That absurdity—a national spirit—willbo nipped in the bud. Sir George Grey is stamped, as the “Lyttelton Times ” says, by his masterly proposals as the first man on the Opposition side of the House. Wo wish that side of the House joy of its chief. Any man who thinks he can revivify a mummy must have a mind quite out of the common.