THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 21, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1547, 21 July 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 21, 1873.

The probability is that, as soon as the Parliamentary session closes, the political atmosphere in Nelson Province will be agitated by the election of Superintendent and of the twenty-two representatives of ■whom the Council is for the future to consist. If a judgment may be formed from present signs, that agitation, so far as concerns the Superintendency, is not, however, likely to be of a very exciting character. There is as yet but one candidate definitely announced, and that is the present occupant of the office, Mr Oswald Curtis. It is true that mention has been made of two other candidates, both of whom are at present members of the Council — one being a representative of the Grey Valley, Mr Guinness, and the other a member for the district of the Buller — but opportunity has not yet been taken by the former to express publicly his compliance with the wishes of his friends, and in the case of the latter it is to be hoped that ambition will not vault higher than the pinnacle which it has already attained. There has been more than mere mention of others, such as Mr Seymour, the present Superintendent of the Province of Marlborough, and the Hon. Mr Nathaniel Edwards, of Nelson City, but the hopes which were at one time entertained as to one or other of these gentlemen allowing himsolf to be nominated seem now to be abandoned, in consequence,, in the one case, of the very slight probability of the success of his candidature, and, in the other, of the distinct statement that he was not disposed to contest the election. The announcement of Mr Curtis's candidature is made by the Nelson Examiner, and in these words:- — "A report having been for some time in circulation, to the effect that the Superintendent has been recommended by his medical advisers to avoid the excitement of a contested election, we are glad to be able to say, upon the best authority, that there is no foundation whatever for the report, and that Mr Curtis will be prepared to contest the election for the Superintendency with all comers." To this announcement the Examiner appends what may be appropriately designated a promissory note— the note in question consisting of a' promise of improvement, not in the manner of Mr Curtis's own personal supervision of Provincial affairs, but in the personnel of the Executive by whom he is supported. The necessity for improvement in- that particular was, druing the recent session of the Council, so obvious that it was a matter of constant and occasionally bitter remark on the part of members who, were not of the Executive, and was admitted by members of the : Executive themselves. In the addresses of representatives to their constituencies : since the close of the session, it has also been referred to, and the 'opinions expressed have been all so similar and , strong that it would have .been impossible , for the Superintendent to have long ignored the existence of the feeling of the Council on the subject. Simultaneous wifch the promise to which we now refer, pointed allusion to the matter was made by one of the West Coa9t members, Mr A. Eeid. In a written address to his con-stituents-at Westport, "at the practical termination of their relationship" as representative and represented, he thus expresses himself on the subject: — "The experience of four sessions in the Nelson Council, I am sorry to say, confirms the mutual belief with which bur relationship began— that that body, in .the absence of efficient Executive power, is of indifferent value to the Province. In this belief it was, during the first session, the endeavor of several members with whom , I agreed, to secure that efficiency as far as possible, and, with the ultimate assent of the Superintendent., what I believe to have been a beneficial though imperfect change in that respect was brought about. Subsequent circumstances, however, have placed matters in the position in which they originally were, if it is not worse ; the circumstances being aggravated by the fact that Executives are not improved, like turnips, by ,thinning, or, like wine, by age. More than during any previous session, it was this year patent to every member of the Council, that the Government of the Province, as at present constituted, is deficient in force, if not in latent ability ; and if the session closed with any one idea paramount in the minds of the members, it was that reform in that respect is absolutely necessary to enable the Council to even remotely represent and fulfil the wishes, of the electorate. Thereasoa.of no salutary change in this respect being attempted was simply that the session was the last of a series; but, should the apparently inevitable result of the election of Superintendent be realised by thereturn of the present occupant of the office, it is to be hoped that such a reform will follow, otherwise the new Council can only become practically what the past Council made strenuous but unavailing efforts to avoid becoming — supernumeraries for stage effect." In another paragraph of the same address there is this allusion to the matter, in connection with the increase of the number of representatives from the West Coast, and their prospective influence \— H That increase, though not according to the Gold-fields their due proportion of representation, should be,influential in promoting the reform to which I have referred, but, failing that, it can only enhance the in utility and costliness of the Council as a whole." That the feelings which have been thus and similarly expressed ar<e at length appreciated by the Superintendent is evident from the explanation which the B/xajfflMifiY appends to the announcement of his candidature, and which is to this effect :— " We are authorised to state that, in the event of his re-election, the Superintendent will at once make auch changes in the existing Executive Council as will be satisfactory both to the public and to the Provincial

Council." It is only to be regretted that the Superintendent did not see at the proper time, and 'does not yet see, the propriety of making these socalled satisfactory changes, except as a contingency upon his re-election. His doing so, not then, but now, or several months ago, would, have exhibited more consideration for the interests of the Province, and his action would have been less liable to be questioned or to become, as it inevitably will, the subject of insinuation and unfavorable remark. The only consolation is that what is worthy doing is better done late than never. The Council elections will, of course, follow close upon that of Superintendent, and, with this promise of changes in the Executive, there may be more ambition to be returned thau has hitherto been exhibited. . Should there be the further promise of the Gold-fields enjoying special representation in the Executive, there will be good reason for the best possible selection of members being made on the Coast. The electors of the Grey Valley District will do themselves a benefit, and their representatives a bare justice, by returning those gentlemen by whom they are now represented, should they care to consent to the solicitations of the constituency. . What Cobden contemplates on the subject, with the aid of Brunnerton and the North Beach, it is hard to discover, and it is equally difficult to conceive who may be the coming man from the Lyell, the Matakitaki, the Marnia, or ohter mining'. centre in the socalled Central Buller. Reefton's representative, being in politics youthful and in temperament active, will probably fight the battle o'er, again. And at Charleston, though it is the most honestly and efficiently represented district on the Coast, there will probably be a contest. The Westport district, though reduced in area, has still the privilege of returning two members, and one of these, having the disposition to identify himself with the district and with politics, will probably be re-elected. The other, from whose address we have already quoted, has been long non-resident in the district which did him the first and last honor which he desires in connection with Provincial " politics, 3 ' and he concludes his address by saying " I retire from the position in which you did me the honor of placing me, entertaining the hope that the importance of your district will induce you to elect for the future a more eligible representative, and. enjoying the belief that there are other capacities than that of a member of the Nelson Council in which it is possible for a man, without any sacrifice of dignity, to make himself useful in his day and generation." There will thus be, at least, three seats in the next Council for which new members will be returned, and in each district there must be an ample choice of men competent enough for the situation, if they choose to select it as a field for the exercise of theirenergies and intelligence.