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Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 87, 29 October 1879, Page 2

Gha.n&es m the world of poliiacs ar^ ■following each other with sttirthng ra-' ipidity. 'Scene succeeds scene witb. suchi > rnarvelloajs s\?,i.£tuesis, that tlie. public, ■'",'■■ i stand breatb.le.ss ajid bewildered^ -No? a day — scarcely an t "hou,r : paßie& wt.hpufe ispme transforßaatirin, : ., .^eing' v elf<?eted, nintil at lengtli^it Iwjs. bpcome difipcal^ i to follow the mazes m whjcfi, bur -politic ciane, wander, a,nd the disgui,se^ wi^sb^

they assume. The most recent, and perhaps the most startling phenomenon of all, was yesterday flashed over New Zealand. That; .four" Auckland ■members, including Mr. SJwanson, could, without consulting their party or the Chief whom they pretended to respect, go over to the enemy was indeed a wonderful occurrence. . Looked at critically, the act- possesses every feature which could add to its baseness. After a defeat brought about by the defection of a few men bound : tolthem ;by every pledge binding upon men of .hbnori the party lately m power,, nqwr m ...opposition, had gradually gathered itself ■together until i I possessed i certainmajority of six. A Select, committee had been come to between^ all that *io coalition ■was to be thought of, but that, waiting patiently till a fair opportunity presented itself, one final blow was to. be struck, and the enemy driven; from the citadel which took by treachery, and held by cunning. Patiently the party waited .until the day drew near that must see hostile forces marshalled, and . witness tjie.;,. decisive charge. This was the moitipnt chosen for as base an- act of treachery as any political party ever endured. Upon the field of battle, ranks of the opposing forces were arrayed,, wit h the eyes of the-.whple. country ; fixed upon the scene, a battalion goes over to the enemy, carrying its arms, and prepared to use them against its former friends. The leader of v the deserters was one of the cQmmauder,s,in;the army he betrayed, while one &f the rank and file who followed him;} gaining the reward of his treachery,' ana finds-himself promoted to the command of a regiment, All four had been trusted by their former friends, yet without warning and without a cause, they; deserted the party they hacl sworn" to' serve, and turned their arms against, the men they had betrayed. Deserters ■ arid traitors m war are sliot-rpolitjcal traitors should be consigned; tjo 1 political death. For such conduct, there can be 'no excuse. An oflEencg so great cannot be palliated. They have betrayed a party which trusted implicitly*' and betrayed that party m cold bl«od and of jnilice aforethought. ■' It is idle to spe-, culate on the future. But it yill be Furprising if these 'four deserters,, dp/ not find that they have dropped the substance m the vain hopejof^gris^ping the shadow. They may safely be left to their constituents foivpurishment. >3?Ue reasons giren by the arch-traitor,, Mr Beajdee tVoop, are flimsy m the extreme,^ and -; his ; bitter, ; attacks. upon ; Sir Geobge Gfßßr ;a n 4 Mr. Maoaijjy&EW, drawn from the private conversations and 'familiar talk of .'friend? . ship, will be long remembered to his ; cost. The publio_ will pass over --Mr.' W. J. Hurst and Oaptain "Colbece as bu\ poor deserters; .>but we v entu re to think that the ruin which has overtaken Mr. Swanson, ;• will cause sincere and profound .regret. has been a tower pf strength to those who sought to do right. In every ; division during the long, and: stormy scsi sions of years now past no voice, was more constant, J no' vote more ' true ; dri the side of justice and liberty than that of WiLwr ..Swanson. His, name has become "familiar m our mouths as household words." Is it absolutely and irrevocably fixed that, the member for Newton must leave his : friends .and his noble reputation m the pursuit, of- a ;phantom ? W e," linger sadly .for an answer. In the /name of that public good which he. has eyer set before his Xeyes, m the best interests of Auckland ; which all men know he loves— for the pake of th^ ieountryj :which , ; he has served sq unselfishly^! we ask Mr. SwANsoN to retrace; .hiii steps: By this unparalleled piece* of t reachery the lIALt-WstTAEER Ministry; fancies - itself saved. The triumphant twitter ■pf Mi:- Hall, as' he dared the Opposivifcion to come to a vote at once, was a study m itself..-.^^.With^^ ; beaming face and chirping voiced the'Eremiep his cbat ■nattily but.tonedj his hair brushed and ; parted neatly,, with light and airy tread, called on the burly leader of the Opposition to bring ! up his forces tb : the attack at the moment. , We oommend to the people of New^Zealand the pre-, sent position o 6 th,eir :MinisteES., ,SiVstained on the on,e. Jian.4 by -the^tyrannical exercise of tlib 'po^er '-'of ''the &0vernor, and on the other by the votes of men who have ; betrayed their constituents and; their; friends; the H'ALii''Whitakeb -MinistKy 7 still hold the feins of Govecnh^ent. 1 How long is the present state of things to continue? New Zealand politics jwilL . become a bye-word, a.mpekery,. and a scoff. The real gi'Quiid^is the struggle between wealth and the pepple. There can be no doubt- that - tjie strange schenes w.hich „the last two sessions have witnessed areowing to the struggle } which Sir GrEOttip;,GrßßY has.cnmmen-. ced m the. interests qf the wliole community. The farihtains of/; the -gfe^t' deep are. broken up. ; Confusion anH chaos involye^at; present all existence and "procedure. But out of the confusion we shall ye6;see.Hglife;iand prder rise. New • Zealand" is m a' tran-' sition ptate. The-old ' fbrms^ara ishat^ tered. Class G^yerflrpe.nKhas '^eqeived a fatal wound. .'T:lift^reat inaas of t.U« people have beconqe .. possessed of ;new x ideas and new hopes. Thfe 1 seed is sown. Through the SLtorin, and the tempests of politiral life those- geed will grow. The, la,st efßof fe of the. old circles of political poweris being made. It will fail.-;. Neithqr- the. < influence of Government House, nor the wretched support of traitors, will avail to keep | \n the ascenday<li;'j!)ow r erp 1 f class government. It has; faded, it is fading, and it -will- fade.^ VMoanwhilei ! and while the struggle is procpeding, the people should utter, their ybices m | the different centres o.f popu.laiion iVew Zsalander, , > ,