The Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, THURSDAY, 14th DECEMBER, 1865.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 6, Issue 332, 14 December 1865, Page 2

The Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, THURSDAY, 14th DECEMBER, 1865.

Class-legislation is an evil of enormous magnitude, and it is recognised as such by all intelligent thinkers throughout the world. In the Mother Country it has been combated during a long series of years, and may be said to have come to its end .through the progress of the popular intellect and the triumphs of Free-Trade. For a long period the Government of the British Islands was as it were vested in the landed aristocracy, and the result of this state of affairs was found in the restrictions imposed upon trade and commerce in the corn laws, navigation laws, and many others of a like nature, enacted for the sole benefit of the ruling class, and to the manifest injury of the nation, but this state of affairs received its death-blow by the repeal of the corn law, and the freeing of trade from some of the unwise restrictions that had been imposed upon it, and from that date class-legislation may be said to be amongst the things that were. On the other hand there is great danger that the same evil will be felt amongst us; inasmuch as the Government of the colony is passing with rapid strides into the hands of a party whose interests are identical with each other, but diverse from those of the great bulk of the community. In fact, the evil is already felt in the fiscal burdens imposed upon the colony, which already have a decided bearing in favor of the runholder, and threaten to extend in this direction to a much greater extent, while pressing more heavily on all other classes.

la our last issue this subject was ablytreated by our esteemed representative, Mr W. Colenso, and we cannot do better than refer our readers to that letter, and impress upon them a careful consideration of the facts and arguments contained therein.

It is well that the electors of the Colony will now shortly have an opportunity of remedying errors of this nature that may have been formerly made, by the judicious exercise of the franchise at the forthcoming election of members of the general legislature, and it is to be hoped that the opportunity will not be lost. It may be well believed that do what they will the runholders will be certain to hold many of the seats in the next Assembly. Hence the greater need of avoiding that error in our own case. For the Napier district, we are pretty sure this will be so, and we hope to see an anti-i unholder candidate for the Clive district before many days pass over.