GOLDFIELDS CELEBRITIES.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 363, 18 February 1876, Page 3

GOLDFIELDS CELEBRITIES.

MB. HORACE BASTINGS. Mr. Bastings was born at Islington, near London, in 1831, where his early years were spent. In 1849, when only eighteen years of age, he left London for Port Phillip. Shortly aftei his arrival he formed one of a party who at the first outbreak of the diggings in New South Wales forced its way overland to Bathurst, where he was moderately successful. The realisation of Colonial liberty and freedom from all restraints speedily dissipated the ideal of the young adventurer, and, old London instinct asserting itself, he twrned his attention to business on the Goldfields. During his Victorian career Mr. Bastings, although never in Parliament, always took a prominent part in political movements, more especially when the short-sighted Conservative lana policy of the day brought forward a small band of men, determined at any sacrifice to throw open the lands of Victoria for the Victorian people. In the struggle which followed he did excellent yeoman service to the brilliant and popular leaders, whose services have only been recently rightly appraised, and who included in their number the late Wilson Gray. With Gray he then formed a lasting intimacy, which was only severed by the death of his tried leader and well-proved friend. During any trace we have been able to discover of his public life in Victoria it has always incicated a staunch support of liberal measures. In 1858 he was elected a member of the Brunswick Town Council, and subsequently succeeded to the office of Mayor. In 1862, the occasion being his departure from Victoria for New Zealand, he was publicly entertained —Mr. Heales, the then Premier, presiding, and was presented by the ratepayers with a handsome testimonial of jewellery. The long lingering traces of gold fever, kept alive by memories of Ballarat, proved sufficient to draw the successful Victorian colonist to New Zealand on the first discovery of the golden resources of Otago. He first proceeded to the Lakes, and started in business at Frankton. The Metropolitan instinct soon tempted him back to Dunedin, where he purchased the then wellknown Robin Hood property. The vexed question of the hour—proportionally as virulent in ;its course as the Abolition question of to-day —the opening of the ports to the cattle traders, firs*t brought Mr. Bastings into public notice in Otago. He strongly advocated free ports, and, partially on that ticket, in February, 1864, was elected a member of the old Town Board of Dunedin. He soon became an Abolitionist, for we find him saying, only eleven months after his election, when contesting a seat to represent Dunedin in the Provincial Council, for which he was successful. "As to the present Town Board, hethough the sooner it was defunct the better. (Applause.) What this city wanted was a Municipal Corporation, with full powers to borrow £IOO,OOO, and allow posterity to pay for it." Abolition of the old and present has always been popular among the masses. When the Town Board collapsed he was appointed one of the Commissioners to set the pre-civic house in order. la the end of 1864, as we have seen, he was returned to the Provincial Council for Dunedin, in the place of Mr. Thomas Birch, resigned, beating Messrs. J. H. Barr, Alex. Macleod, and H. D. Maddock. The successful ticket was—liberal measures, based on those of Victoria, separation, and revision of the tariff. His efforts on behalf of separation went further than to make it a cry upon the hustings for, on behalf of the Separation League, and in connection with the then Mr. Julius Vogel and Mr. T. B. Gillies, he undertook the compilation of a pamphlet upon the side of the Separationlsts. In 1865 he resigned for Dunedin, removing to Lawrence. In Lawrence his notions of self-government at once took root, and soon resulted in the formation of a Municipality. Mr. Bastings was elected first Mayor, and held the post for six consecutive years. During the Lawrence reign he devoted nearly the whole of his time to the advancement of the district, continually advocating the opening up of the land. Upon his retirement, his services, which were extended over far broader ground than properly lay within the Municipal sphere, were handsomely recognised by the ratepayers and his fellow Councillors. At a public dinner given in his honor he was presented with a service of silver, and an illuminated testimonial. Once more Mr. Bastings was returned to the Provincial, Council as Member for Tuapeka, which district he still represents. His colleague was, and still is, Mr. J. C. Brown. Shortly before the last Provincial elections he forsook the Liberal party, and took office under M r. Tolmie as Secretary of Works and Goldfields ; and, upon the retirement of Mr. Tolmie. was appointed a Member of the Waste Lands Board as representing the Government, of which Mr. Turnbull succeeded to the leadership. Before the expiration of one year, and in spite—and perhaps a little in consequence—of a triumphal progress made by the Provincial Secretary and his too popular adjutant, a political Executive rupture occurred, in which the working member of the team was sacrificed by his colleagues, the result being a second coalition between Messrs. Turnbull and Reid. The excessive unpopularity of the new Government in the Council caused the temporary retirement from office of its members. During the interval Mr. Bastings was called upon to form a new Government, and in vain endeavored to come to terms with his old leader Mr. Beid. The breach between the two was, unfortunately for the Province, too serious for re-adjustment. Mr. Bastings consenting to form a Government threw the cards into Mr. R id's hands, who could not fail to know that, as the Council was constituted at flip time, no Government could stand whin did not contain himself as a member. Arter a fortnight's existence the Bastings Government fell before an adverse vote of confidence, tabled by Mr. Reid, who succeeded him as Provincial Secretary and Secretary for Lands, with Mr. Davie as Treasurer, in the room of Mr. Turnbull, Mr. Green being taken in as Secretary for Works, Mr. M'Kellar retaining the Goldfields, as before. At the elections just concluded Mr. Bastings defeated MiGeorge Ireland, M.P.C., and Mr. D H Mervyn, late M.H.R. for Mount Ida—practically without a struggle for the Waikaia district. tYf h £ Ve een F olix in our narrative ot Mr. Bastings Colonial career, for the reason that the narrative itself is the best indication we can give of the man. In every step we see a tacit protest by the practical day-by-day dealer with fact, against the dreamer in the land of theory consistency, or sentiment. Gifted with a lc«>a.kiio>le4g« cf men* find that Mr.

Bastings succeeded in practical administration by freely utilising good men for his own ends. This was the secret of his success at thn Otago Public Works Office. Having engineers he trusted them to do witn energy and prompt decision what was needed to be done at the right time, without weaving mazes of red tape and official etiquette for his own political safety, to the utter disregard—as is often the case—of efficiency and economy. Mr. Bastings is only an average speaker, although when opposed, and feeling him-. scl p to be in the right, he cau speak with considerable force. H« is far better in defence than in attack. On the whole his forte is—ftuick insight and active work, Where he shines to least advantage is in the subtleties of political diplomacy. It is thought by many of his friends, and we believe the opinion is shared in by himself, that if he had possessed the advantages of time and place offerred to young men of the present day for the acquisition of a higher intellectual culture, lie would have taken a more leading position than as yet he has done. We are not sure that this would have been the case. Culture often enables a weak man to succeed on borrowed plumes, while it as often robs a strong man of his strength. Mr. Bastings' secret of success has been the natural force he has thrown into whatever he has had to do. At the present time he is in the prime of life, and it will be a matter of great interest to note the position lie will take up in the Colonial Parliament. One thing may be said with certainty, that—Abolition or no Abolition —Otago Las nothing to fear from Horace Bastings.. It is in no sense depreciating Mr. Bradshaw when we add that, in our opinion, the subject of our sketch fairly divides the honor with him of having proved the best working Goldfields member in the Provincial Council. He has never neglected the Goldfields, while at the same time he is something much more than a mere mining member, and therefore of far more use to the mining interest. It has been said, with more humor than probability, that as Mr. Bastings has in the past played an excellent Falstaff to Mr. Macandrew's Pri.:ce Henry, he will yet have to play the same character to Mr. Macandrew's Henry V. Julius.