TO THE PEOPLE OF OTAGO!

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 224, 13 June 1873, Page 3

TO THE PEOPLE OF OTAGO!

On Wednesday, the ISfch insi, the electors will be called upon to exercise one of the most responsible and important trusts which have been conferred upon them—that of deciding who is to be the Superintendent of the Province. I believe it is the opinion of a large majority of the electors thatthe office should be held by me for another term. If so, it will be necessary that those who desire to give effect to this opinion should, on the polling day, record their votes by drawing the .pen through .the names of the other-candi-dates. I am aware that you are being dosed with statements to the effect that the present political crisis is the result of,an ■ undue grasping after power on my part. * As Superintendent of the Province—an officer created by the Constitution, and "elected by the people, liable at any time to be removed from office by a majority of the same—l- am charged with attempting to subvert the one and to encroach upon the other. This charge is, upon the ; face of it, so utterly absurd and improbable, so entirely contrary to the nature of things, that it would be almost an insult.to .your, common sense to attempt to rebut it. . xi.s Superintendent of Ofcag©, I have been, elected, among other thing', for the. express purpose of guarding the rights and liberties of the people; and I will venture to say that no man in the Province has taken a more active share than myself in asserting.and vindicating both. I confess that, after well-nigh a quarter of a century's devotion to promoting the interests of this Province, it does sound strange to be charged with seeking to ride rough-shod-over the liberties of the people, and to subvert the Constitution, which, • with others, I fought so hard to acquire. ' I am at a loss to conceive what possible object could be -gained by such a betrayal of •trust, and can only characterise the charge as a piece of the most unmitigated flapdoodle —'-'..the stuff that fools are fed with" —which I hope my fellow-settlers- will have sufficient perspicacity to see through. I would most earnestly entreat of you to investigate the whole matter for yourselves and to take nothing for granted either on my ipse dixit or on that of my opponents. The Constitution Act passed by the Imperial Parliament most clearly provides that the. powers of the Superintendent are co-equal with those of the Provincial Council—in fact, to a.certain extent, they may be said to be superior, inasmuch as' the initiation of money votes is vested in' the Superintendent exclusively. The Act also distinctly provides that the practical administration of the Government'shall be at the hands of the Superintendent, it provides, moreover, that the Superin-' tendent shall have power to convene and

j prorogue tlia .Provincial. Council—not 'when tlie Council shall see fit. but when j the. " Superintendent shall see St." The i Executive Council Ordinance passed by ! the Provincial Legislature provides " That ! the Superintendent shall act with the adj vice and consent,of an-Executive Council, | chosen from among the "members of the Provincial Council " who shall beaap r pointed by the Superintendent and hold .office at his pleasure." I quote the exact words of the Ordinance. Of course, ;it will be obvious that unless the Superintendent and the Provincial Council can mutual I j agree as to who are to be the members of Executive, it is in the power of the Council to refuse supplies, aad to •bring the affairs of the country to a standstill—or it may petition the Governor for the removal of the' - Superintendent -• in terms of the Constitution Act—in either ease the only solution of tke difficulty is an appeal to the people. Such then being the terms of the Executive Council Ordinance, it is cigar, that I had a perfect right- to remove Mr. - B,eid from office as.the head of the late Executive! In my opinion, the fact that-Mr. Eeid had accepted an important office in the General Government —an office which involved 'the whole of his time being devoted thereto, and which involved moreover his residing at Wellington—not only justified but demanded -the action taken by-me.' Ifc""was'-*clearly impossible- -that he could serve;.two masters: either he must have thwarted Mr. Stafford, his Colonial chieftain, or the Superintendent of Otago ; for they were opposed to each other on points of policy in which the interests of the Province were concerned. As to my refusal'to conyene the Provincial Council when requested so to do, the annexed copy of my reply to the application, sufficiently explains my action in the matter. ]fad the Council been called to-, gether six months earlier, the business of the. country would have been brought to a temporary stand-still' so much the sooner,,.and the numerous public, works which have been initiated during the past half-year, would have-beau postponed-un-tiL'the. season for prosecuting them-had passed. • - .

tion-and an appeal tothe'peo'ple, I cannot see by what process of-reasoning'this'-'-ean be set down as being either despotic or tyrannical. Most assuredly, it is".neitherpleasant nor profitable to subject oneself to an election contest with, all the abuse vituperation .which" ifc involves— and; J if consistently withjny duty to the-Province I could have seen any other way pub ,'of the. difficulty, .such;'.a,' course, would;, not have.. been urged .by. me. The" very fact of; my appealing to the people is a:-suin-cient.refutatipn of-the'charge of attempting to exercise abitrary .power ;_in facivifc. is to protect the people against an attempt at arbiti'ary dictation by the* majority of" I the Provincial Council, that I have been I induced to make that appeal. I "What are Lhe actual circumstances of the case ? The Couucil assembled on the 6th of May for the despatch of business. The Executive. G-overnment was prepared at once to submit for considera* tion the Estimates,for -the year,; also-yar* ions important questions bearing upon the interests, of .the Province in addition to those referred to in my opening address. The-19th May arrived without any fprpspect of business being proceeded with. In the meantime the intei'ests of the country were being neglected, and a largo daily expenditure was being incurred for no practical purpose. Under these circumstances I submit that there was no course open but to prorogue and apply for a dissolution. It is said that history frequently repeats itself. It is a remarkable coincidence thai; the present political situation is precisely similar to that which existed some sixteen or seventeen years ago, when the then Superintendent stood forth so manfully as the guardian of the public interests and the rights of the people, which at that time, as now, were being sacrificed at the shrine of faction in the Provincial' Council. . Although I had resolved never again to drag the Superintendency through the mire of a contested election, yet, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, I should have been glad had it been possible to have met you face to face prior to the polling day. It is physically impossible however, to go the round of the Province before the 18th instant, and to visit particular localities only, is apt to cause offence. Moreover, important official,engagements' make it exceedingly' nient to be absent from Duuectin. - As it is, my views and opinions are, I believe, sufficiently well known to. enable you to decide as to whether or not I-am the most suitable candidate for your suffrages, without any personal canvass on my part. , Fully relying upon the sound judg* ment of the Electors, I am quite content to leave the result in your hands. Yours faithfully, JAMES MACANDSEW,