The Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Saturday, May 7, 1864.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 107, 7 May 1864, Page 4

The Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Saturday, May 7, 1864.

The climax has come at last. The Council 1 have told the goldfields as plainly as possible j that they want none of them. They have now | unmistakeably shown the cloven foot: they j have answered the appeals made on behalf of, the goldfields interests, for a share of the loaf, ' by giving a stone. Even the very promises made by the Superintendent have been, and are being repudiated. We can imagine the feelings of this gentleman, and the gratitude he must feel to his honorable Executive | for the position they have placed him in. He led—and so did ministers by their correspondence —the goldfields to believe that at last attention would be paid to their requirements; that politicians were now thoroughly impressed with the necessity of paying greater • attention to the mining interest, and promoting, by wise legislation, its advancement. All ] that is left is the mocking echo of those rash words and hollow promises. In an article 1 published on 23rd March we stated "that J " promises had hitherto been the staple of " legislation, as regards the goldfields," and 1 representing then the feelings of that not dis- * tant time, showed how vvilling the people of the Wakatip district were to let the past be ' forgotten, and to accept the assurances given { them of a happier era. It was then also as- J serted that there was " no desire to usurp the j { tk functions of the Government or create a re- " volution in the affairs of the state," and all ( that was asked Tas, " that a broader view" might be taken on matters connected with the j ( goldfields. The demands the people then i made were reasonable and equitable; they * weie simply for a responsible mining minister and an increased number of representatives 1 commensurate with the importance of the goldfields. There was no scramble for the public money—as the district, to a great extent, was making its own roads, building its own bridges, supplying itself the sinews of war for useful purposes, and leaving the immense revenue of some £IOO,OOO per annum, without reckoning that derived from the sale of township lands, at the disposal of the Government almost for other places. It wasnn- t turally to be expected therefore, that these t demands would be complied with, based as a

' j they were, upon the soundest doctrines of poi litical economy. i ' t j But, as we have said, the climax has come. i . The letters we publish in another column from 1 j Capt. Baldwin and Mr Hughes—two out of 1 j three of the goldfields members—clearly prove 2 : how impossible it is for our representatives to * j remain in the Council with honor to thema j selves or the interest they represent. They - are not even in the position of delegates; for 1 these are treated with some consideration at least: not so our members, who have to subj mit. to every species of indignity, and much i chicanery, at every step in their career. We ' believe that not only will the goldfields, but . the country at large, applaud their retirement from the Council as the only means of vindicating the independence of principle that cha--1 racterises the electors of the goldfields. The j , goldfields are no pocket boroughs—no exclu- ! sive clique can command the votes. We ;. should like to see some attempt to buy the | votes of a mining constituency in any selfish v ay. Are they slaves, possessed of no intel" 1 \ ligence—sordid, miserable, ignoraut schemers 1 unacquainted with the privileges of selfgovernment? Sensible men require no answer ; but the majority of the Council evidently require enlightenment on this point. . " If a people, prostrated by character and cir- " cumstances, could obtain representative I " institutions, they would inevitably choose j " their tyrants as their representatives, and [ '' the yoke would be made heavier by their " continuance ; which, prima facie, might be " expected to lighten it." This is the remark of J. Stuart Mill, and we ask, is there no similitude or parallel in our position at the present moment ? Let them, then, accept Mr Hughes' suggestion, and visit these dreaded goldfields, and judge personally for themselves. Our members are acting nobly, and we are greatly mistaken if public meetings are not j held throughout every portion of the district j in which this journal is read, approving of the j j motives that guide the representatives who I this day address the electors through our I columns. j j Apart from these matters, there is however, I a policy that must not be lost sight of—a prini ciple to be thoroughly established. The i policy of an increased representation for what ! Otago politicians have first made a class inI terest and then illogically kicked against—- ! the principle, an undivided responsible authority regarding the legislation of the goldfields. They have been the useful camel, but the increasing burden continually placed upon them has broken the power of endurance. | They are rapidly sinking, and unless the General Government come to the rescue, the ancient Eastern story of the goose killed for the sake of the golden egg, will again be realised in our days. Writers and others have been puzzling themselves to account for the recent exodus of the miners from the province. They need not have exercised such ingenuity in arriving at false conclusions. So far as the Wakatip goldfields are concerned, we can readily ascribe the chief reason to an illjudged, narrow minded policy This assertion, weighed and viewed as it may be, is essentially true. But in laying much of the present complaint, the source of grievance has to , be traced to the fountain head. Sir George Grey, in delegating his powers to an irresponsible authority, has unwittingly committed a grave error opposed to all principles, and the result is now plainly showing itself. The great thinker we have already quoted expresses himself as below on this really important subject, and our case is a point in evidence of its truth. The motion for a responsible minister was not carried, but rather than the motion should be lost entirely, Major Richardson moved that the Executive be made responsible. It is stated, " as a general "rule, every executive function, whether su- " perior or subordinate, should be the ap- " pointed duty of some given individual. It «' should be apparent to all the world, who " did everything, and through whose default " everything was left undone. Responsibility " is null when nobody knows who is respon- " sible." After all, it comes back to the Wakatip petition, signed by thousands who had already then tasted of the sweets of delegated powers, j and asked Sir George Grey to assume con- 11

trol of the goldfields. Our representatives give us now, in other words, almost the same advice. Constitutional government was then prayed for, as the only one under which we could flourish. The reply is not yet given to this appeal. Of the separation of the two islands we despair, and a strong federal government seems to be the only source to which the mining community can now look for a fair and equitable consideration. The miners have not asked in the petition for separation, but for a closer union; and we should not be surprised to see, before long, a strong demonstration being made in favor of the seat of power being placed in Cook's Straits. Should the Pelorus goldfield only fortunately prove a real fact, the matter may be considered as decided, and then at least our representatives in a federal assembly would not have to submit t 0 the indignities heaped upon them in a selfish, vested-interest Provincial Council, and the miners would not be asked to eat dirt. We have not done with this question, important to all, and it would be well for the district to express itself in various places upon the subject. It is a trial of strength. Are the goldfields' members to be treated with contempt ? The response is eagerly looked for.