IDIOSYNCRASIES.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 393, 22 September 1876, Page 3

IDIOSYNCRASIES.

liut even/ desperate blockhead dares to Write; Why not 1- 'Art of Poetry.' 1 mat as well admit, in starting, that matters in Wellington aro not, perhaps, in a very satisfactory state. I teel a little humbled, I confess, and when a very fussy rosident of Naseby, aecosting me in the street, said—- " Well, Mr. Partliian, what may you think of your precious Government now ? " I felt inclined to hand him over to the police. A bad Ministry is ahjoctionable enough, and no Ministry at all is probably worse ; but it certainly is in the highest degree aggravating thai, wo can't tell whether we happen to have a Ministry or no. A man might be preparod to lose his head, or to have it broken, but I imagine that to be in any degree of doubt as to whether he retained possession of such a tiling would be eminently unsatisfactory. Tho borly politic, however, has many decided advantages over the body corporal, and one of them is that doubts such as have been indicated above can be set at rest by resolution. Tho House is perfectly competent to say that it. possesses a Ministry, and nn affirmation of tho kind would be their raison d'etre, as it were, and sufficient under tho circumstances to givo them legal and valid seats. Such is the object of Mr. Ballanco's amendment, but ■as tho carrying of it would facilitate the return i.o public buninoss, and enable members to fulfil the functions for which they were 'elected, it is, of course, highly objectionable to the leaders of the Opposition. Bueiness is not the forte of these gentlomen, who are more in their eloment when they boo the houso as it is now— A scono of babbloment and crass confusion, Where premiss no're foregathers with conclusion. " Mkh of groat place," says Bacon, " are thrice servants—servants of the Sovereign or "State, servants of fame, and servants of business." But Bacon sometimes sacrifices a good deal t.o brevity, the love of which was a distinguishing trait in his character ; so that, in order to condense a sentence he would sometimes neglect to follow tho thought to its conclusion. The above is an excellent example, although perhaps it would be hasty to assume that Bacon was ignorant of the fact that moat mon of great phioe aro four times servants —servants of the Sovereign, of fame, of business, and generally of their wives—if they have any. If I ware in a court of law and wished to prove this last allegation, I would call as a witness the Hon. Fredk. Whitakey, whose evidence would no doubt bo very interesting. Of courso Mr. Wliitaker had a perfect right to stipulate that he, with his family, should have precedence of all others at Government Houso, or to make auy other kind of bargain wh'ch ho thought fit ; but it was certainly natural to expect of him that lie «hould earn the price which he demanded, and as he was first in rank so also would he I Im foromost in usefulness. But tho lion, member seems to have been a sourco of weakness rather than an element of strength—very much to the astonishment of everybody, arid I believe, of himßelf too, for he hardly expected to be knocked hors de cotnbat upon a simple point of New Zealand statute law:— When apprised of this (law, you never yet saw Such an awfully marked elongation of jaw. •So true is it that pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. I she that, a writer congratulatoß himself upon tho return of Sip Gavan Duffy to the Assembly upon tho ground that that distinguished Irishman affords an excellent peg whereon to hang paragraphs. And in like manner I most cordially lament the retirement of Hir Julius Vogel from tho country, his very distinct individualistic tondency being good for at least one paragraph per week. Of course it is a very simple thing lor the editor of this journal to Bay to mo" you can fall back upon Kees," end to tell me at tho same time that he is tho " purest-minded" member of the House of Representatives, and a great deal more to the same effect. It is all correct ■enough, no doubt, but ho will not do for paragraphs—they won't hang nicely about him"' nomohow, no mattor with what consummate/ skill they are adjusted. Ho can only come' out in one character, from which he nover ewerves, and that is as a noisy and most indiscriminate obstruction to public business. Ho's the " Gaunson" of New Zealand —longwinded and arrogant, and good neither for business nor paragraphs. I think that when Sir George Grey was discussing those writs against tho several Ministers ho mado a strange mistake, and went in for thousands instead of millions. Millions would be so much more in keeping witl» his character, that I cannot help thinking the appearance in print of the smaller «um9 mußt be due to a typographical error. However, as he has been graciously pleased to bo satisfied with thousands, it is of course better for the individuals concerned. But while Sir George is busy with these wretched writs it would be an excellent opportunity to draw his attention to an admirable little document which I understand was going the rounds for signatures in Ihinedin the other day, and is published in tlio ' Daily Times' of 18th inst, the last paragraph of which runs as foliowh : —" We think it is high time that aIL members combined to put a stop to personalities, wranglings, and factious obstructions, and that they nddreswd themselves strictly to the business of the country."' Perhaps it would bo too much to expect Sir George Orey to address himself strictly to public business, and he might possibly look upon it in the light of a great hardship; but an understanding might be come to by which, while his followers were induced to return to useful work, be himself might be left alone to serve writs, fulminate bulls, and niaunfacture thunder in the intorcsts of down-trodden Now .Zealand and dpgraded mankind. The work would bo easy and congenial; it would please Sir George, and hurt no one. Pabthiah.