THE COLONIAL TREASURER.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 816, 25 August 1870, Page 4

THE COLONIAL TREASURER.

[Evening Post, August 15. J 01hello. —Is he not honest? lai/o. —Honest, my lord ? Othello. —Honest! ay, honest! —Shakspeare. Underlying all the sophistries of politicians, all the platitudes of place-men, all the servility of friends and admirers, all the praise of the Press, and the plaudits of the people, is the great and vital question of the honesty of purpose and financial soundness of the hon. the Colonial Treasurer. Very many are tides have been written in praise of the gigantic financial proposals of the Ministry, but so far we do not think any of our contemporaries have had the boldness to go to the root of the matter. That was an ugly question which the Moor put to lago, but it is only by such ugly queries that the truth is arrived at, and safety ensured. The howl of distrust with which the unfolding of the Ministerial scheme was first greeted has been changed into very general expressions of approval, without in our opinion, there being adequate reason for the change of tone in the public voice. Although the scheme has undergone some modifications since it was first enunciated, in principle it remains unchanged, and some of the most cautious men in the House of Representatives have been seduced from their original disbelief in it by the mercenary hope that they and their constituents will be largely benefited by the promised lavish outlay of large sums of borrowed money. They have fallen down before the golden calf and worshipped it. What necromancy, it may well be asked, has this Julius Vogel employed to make so many con verts to a scheme confessedly " wild and visionary ?" We ha w e examined the man from many points of view, and have failed to discover in Mr Vogel's countenance that undefinable aspect of greatness and wisdom alluded to by the poet Dryden when he spoke of the face of Cromwell as one that Did imprint an awe, And naturally all souls to his did bow, As wands of divination downward draw, And point to beds where sovereign gold doth grow. It is the " sovereign gold " —the " almighty dollar," that has done it all. Recklessness and daring always com mand the admiration of a large class of the community, and recklessness in the political arena is perhaps more fascinating than elsewhere, because it usually implies large rewards to those who will either blindly or confidingly fellow the political adventurer, and aid him in securing at least a temporary success. Mr Vogel literally turns a a deaf ear to all advice, and the most urgent treaty is disregarded. So the House appears to have given up the task of amendment, and the hope of causing more moderate counsels to prevail simultaneously. As a dernier res sort, the most conscientious and farseeing among the host of " Hon. members," have contented themselves with casting the whole responsibilities of carrying out the various Bills, which are component parts of the Financial Scheme, on the Government. But this " casting of responsibility" will not save the country from the ultimate evil effects of the acts of Ministers. It matters but little upon whom rests the abstract primary responsibility; the Legislature collectively cannot declare it guiltless of transactions in which it has taken an approving part: each vote recorded by each Parliamentary representative is a sufficient reply to those who would exculpate themselves at the expense of others. The committee of the whole house upon various bills, and especially the one on the Immigration and Public Works Bill, appear to us to have been the most farcical proceedings ever recorded in Parliamentary annals. The Government (in the person of the vigilant Vogel) came down with a distinct determination not to accept any amendments! Why go into committee at all, then? Mr Hall told a home truth when he said, " it was for the Government to carry out this measure, but it was for the committee to frame it; this was a responsibility of which they could not divest themselves —and the country would look to them not to do so." But the country is now well aware that the very thing which ought not to have been done, has been done. All honor to those who" tried to stem the torrent, and who stood up for constitutional rights,

and the following of Parliamentary precedence and practice. Messrs. Stafford, Hall, Richmond, Fitzberbert, Gillies, and others, have tried hard, but have striven in vain against the impracticable obstinacy which is the stronghold of the Fox Ministry. Even Mr Reader Wood has " caved in.''* He evidently has arrived at the conclusion that it is useless to attempt obstructing the fall of an avalanche — Facilis descensus Avernis, &c, and so the ball rolls on. The " House and the country " are left without any material guarantee for honesty, wisdom, or even ordinary efficiency in the carrying out of a great scheme—or rather multitude of schemes —which is to make or mar this country for many years to come. It is a significant, and not at all re-assuring, fact that the neighboring Colonies predict failure and disaster, as the harvest we shall probably reap from the borrowed seed which the Ministry are so intent on sowing. Victoria and other colonies will be content to learn wisdom at our expense. And the progress of the costly experiment will be closely watched not only in the Colonies but also in Great Britain and the United States. Political writing is uphill work when the argument is altogether on the unpopular side, but we contend that the General Assembly and the country have no right to repose a blind confidence in a reckless Ministry, whose ultimatum is irresponsibility; that is Mr Vogel'S aim, and every weak concession to him and his colleagues simply aids them in reaching the goal which they have all along had in view, but have not yet dared to declare.