THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1281, 14 September 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1872.

In the event of the new Ministry being able to retain office until the end of the session, and in the event of Mr Curtis continuing to be one of its members, there will, at least, be some set-off to the evils of his presence there by his absence from tho Superintendent's chair which for the last four years he has filled with such little advantage to the Province whose affairs he has pretended to administer. It would, no doubt, be preferred by the population of the West Coast that he should bo absent from one and all of the positions of power in which he has fortuitously found himself, but when there is only a choice between two evils it is the proverbial and proper course to choose the lesser, and people may have more reason to be satisfied with Mr Curtis as an item of a Colonial Ministiy than as the supreme source of power in the Province in which it is their fate or fortune to reside. As a member of the Ministry ho will live to learn that he cannot affurd to contemn criticism as he has hitherto done ; he will have to subordinate himself to the wishes and opinions of colleagues who are not possessed of the sweetest tempers under the sun ; and, between the two pressures, he will be less likely to bo unto the Colony the evil which he has been unto his Province. Once removed from his inferior realm, it will become the duty of the population of the Province to find a successor to him as Superintendent, and it ought to bo their effort to find the fittest successor among the few, very few, available men. As will be seen by a telegram which was received yesterday from our correspondent at Wellington, the new Ministry have determined to do nothing in the direction of ameliorating the condition of the people of the West Coast portion of this Province, by any such legislation as that which was promised by their predecessors, and which has been eagerly asked for in petitions innumerable. There is, therefore, no alternative for the West Coast population but to "bear the ills they have," or to "take up arns" against their " sea of troubles, and by opposing end them." Ot these two resources, the second is, however, more easily suggested than put into active execution, and the disposition, no doubt, will be to drift on as has been done in the past, hoping; Micawber-like, that some day some change for the better may " turn up.'* Disfranchised as the settlers and miners of the West Coast are, by the very limited number of votes which they are able to exercise or influence in connection with the election of Superintendent, it is hardly worth their while to trouble themselves in the matter. Any successful candidate for the Superintendency ia certain to be elected by the suffrages of the people of Nelson City and its immediate surroundings. The number of votes on the West Coast are at best but "a drop in the bucket." While there is thus much justification for a feeling of indifference, it would be a pity, however, that that indifference should aid in any way in even temporarily contributing to the conceit or "consequence" of indifferent men, and, if we aro not misinformed, some men of very medium capacity or character are not improbable candidates. It will not surprise some of our readers, though it may astonish the majority, that even the individual whose effigy was lately displayed at Westport, Reef ton, and the Ahaura is credited with aiming at the occupation of the Superintendent's chair. This, at least, is one of the extraordinary items of some extraordinary gossip with which we have been supplied from Wellington — not by the Press Association, nor by the member for this district, but by one who is not without opportunities of observing how some persons can, among strangers, "play fantastic, tricks before high heaven." It should be needless to say that, even were a West Coast man at all likely to be. successful, that likelihood should not bo permitted to override all other considerations — considerations far more weighty than the mere name of a West Coast Superintendent. If to the Nelson community resort must be had, as we fear it must be, in the selection of a Superintendent, there is no fitter. man yet mentioned as a probable candidate than the present Provincial Treasurer, Mr Joseph Shephard. jDuring the preseut session, and in his position as member of the Assembly, Mr Shephard, by his strong opposition to the late Ministry, and especially by bis unfounded insinuations against tho late Premier, has certainly not done much to recommend him to the approbation of the West Coast constituency. He has rather done a good deal to alienate many who were honored by his friendship, and it is the very opposite of a recommendation to him that he should have been so closely associated, in spirit and action, with that party from whom the Coast can expect nothing but a continuance of the policy which has hitherto been its curse. His very, connection with that party, and their possession of political power, are sufficient to cover the multitude of virtues which he may otherwise possess, and which may fit him eminently for elevation to the Superintendent's chair. It is true that he had previously been the political opponent of the late Superintendent ; true that he was put forward for nomination to the Provincial Treasurership by the party in tho Provincial Council wbich was opposed to Mr Curtis's administration ; and it might also prove that, as Superintendent, he would exercise his own akeng

will and sense, regardless of passing or past sympathies with those with whom he is officially associated. That granted, and granted also that the Superintendent's chair will inevitably be inherited by a resident of the " somniferous concavity" of Nelson, A it will, not bo easy to elect a gentleman better suited for the position than Mr Shephard, and certainly no " superior person" has yet been mentioned as likely to listen to overtures from the electors.