Untitled

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 83, 22 January 1863, Page 2

Unquestionably there must be something peculiarly interesting to the observing among us, in the fact that our highly esteemed contemporary the Herald has been by some of our recent observations on the question of the Superintendency of the Province actually elevated from its normal state of apathy and dullness, to pour the vials of its wrath on our devoted head. ‘Well, we confess we are happy to meet with such a phenomenon just now, when everything else is so dull, the excitement attendant on the elections having nearly passed away, and “ the inimitable"’ being departed from among us. Most certainly the thanks of the public are due to the Herald for getting up this little episode for their amusement; for ourselves, of necessity we sink altogether beneath so heavy an infliction, and acknowledge the Herald to be none other than the “ coming man —truly he is the people, and wisdom will die with him. But, seriously, we are very gravely charged by the journal referred to with being “ Colenso's organ” (were we not quoting we should have given that gentleman the prefix), and the journal which enjoys his confidence ; also with making sundry “ attempts to depreciate in public estimation the gentleman who is likely for some time to hold the chief magistracy of this Province; - ’ and tells us that notwithstanding such attempts (which at the same time he deems it “ a work of supererogation to notice”) he cannot but reiterate the remark that in Mr. McLean “ we have the man oLall others fitted from experience and position to grapple with present difficulties, and to tide us over the shoals and quicksands which will every now and then arrest or check our progress.” We almost “ deem it a work of supererogation” to notice ravings such as the above, and certainly should not do so but for the sake of evolving a principle of some importance —not, indeed, from the verbiage of the Herald, but from the circumstances by which we are surrounded at this juncture in this Province. And first, then, for our own justification, we most emphatically deny that we are in any sense the organ of Mr. Colenso, or that we enjoy more of his confidence than of any other occasional correspondent —that our columns are impartially open to any and all our fellow-townsmen for free discussion, is too well-known to need more in this place than a mere passing allusion—that the political career of Mr. Golenso in particular has been subjected in our columns to severe criticism is also well-known, and of this our contemporary is of necessity well aware. When first embarking in our important undertaking, we did not hesitate to declare our intention “ to criticize freely the actions of our Governments, General and Provincial, to expose the many abuses existing under both,” &c., &c. The course at that time marked out we commenced in our first issue, and we believe we may say it has been uniformly and consistently followed by us. In this course it has not uufrcqucntly occurred that we have been called on to condemn

the extravagant waste of the provincial resources in the multiplication of useless, or at best, unnecessary offices, and at such times those filled by Mr. Colenso have at the least received from our hands their due share of attention, neither shall we deviate from this line of action until the cost of government in the province is reduced to something like that which falls within its means, and is actually required by its necessities. But the Herald, in the before-quoted paragraph, goes on to speak of “present difficulties,” and our being “ tided over shoals and quicksands.” This temporary view of the case contains the whole gist of the question of our convictions respecting the qualifications of Mr. M’Lean for the office of Superintendent of Hawke’s Bay. This is, in fact, none other than the temporising, vaccinating, receding policy that has now so long been pursued by our General Government and by Sir George Grey, and it is simply on this account that we have raised our voice in the matter. That Mr. M’Leau would be “ the man of all others” to act between the Governor and the disaffected natives of the province, by means of concessions, bribes, submission to them, to preserve the semblance of a peace at the expense of the settlers, while beneath the surface, the whole fabric is rottenness itself—if this were what we wanted—no one can doubt, but the truth is, the disease destroying the vitals of the province is of a deadly nature, and demands a remedy far more searching and effectual than any as yet indicated by our contemporary. It is only a very few days since the Herald, (in its usual cautious way), referred to the native difficulty, as perhaps one of the causes of the depressed state of the province, but it has at length grown somewhat fiercer and bolder, and now owns that it is the main cause of this unpleasant state of things,— debt, the overburdened condition of our pastoral, and the disappointed state of our agricultural population, of our already diminished and still more rapidly diminishing numbers, and owns that until this cause is removed there is not any prospect of ajbetter state of things. So far we and the Herald are at one —beyond this we cannot join issue. The Herald wishes to see present difficulties grappled with, and to be tided over shoals and quicksands, and tells us Mr. M'Leau is the man to do this for us. We say Remove the stumbling-block from the bed of the river of our progress, that we may be no more obstructed by its shoals and quicksands, that the future, as well as the present may be freed from its difficulties. It is sufficiently evident that the man of all others for the one work, may be altogether the wrong one for the other. In another portion of the same Herald we are gravely presented with a nice little bit of news, viz., that the “ locale of the correspondent of the TVellinr/ton Advertiser is popularly supposed to be not 100 yards ” from our office ! Good, simple Herald ! Credulous victim of the waggish impositions of those who delight to enjoy a laugh at your expense ! Because some of the statements of that individual are in unison with our views, you wish to lead the public of Hawke's Bay to suppose that he is identical with ourselves. Can you not rather deduce from this fact, the truth that we are not singular in our views, but carry with us the great body of the province, albeit they are on the question of the Superintendency unrepresented by their new Provincial Council ?—this is the grand point, but as to the “ locale of the object of so much distinction by the Herald, whether it be situated nearer to his own office or to ours, we confess we neither know nor care. In conclusion, we think the Herald must he still laboring under the excitement of the late town election by conferring upon us the honorable distinction of being Mr. Colenso’s organ. This we again repudiate, as we flatter ourselves that we are specially the organ of a people, and not that of a person or a parid- We shall be happy to give publication to any communication witli which Mr. Colenso may favor us, but are by no means responsible for the views entertained or expressed therein.