THE Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, SEPT. 11, 1880. THE SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 70, 11 September 1880, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 11, 1880. THE SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.

'" Worlds, are thingr. md a. drqpjnf j»k .faifing like dcir upon a. tfcßnght. pridficsS tb*t which makes 5 . thousands, perhaps aiilliorls think." ' . :,.

HT¥ i« ndtildfteii -that we| avail iburpely.es of .extract matter; to fill our columns-' but we have jbeen. compelledTo make an ¥xeepti|on m order *t!b rlepi'p'duce.ffe f olibyfipg excellent and able article fronv?tne " Lytelltpn Tiines.''^^Thosei who read it will note a,- singular : .and, mokto striking similarity' between? the ! views exand thfrse enunciated m our Reading ..col umns a few issues back. IT he. "verdict upon^ the (policy and .competency of the Government has ! beeti* peiineid by 1 ; a ina^er-band, and to those who are operftoi conviction, "the* biaSe has teen treated m suohrf iigannfirjas.^ojilfl.p^en the eyes. of. the moat ardent admirer of the' Hon. JoHiTHAiir. and his confreres : — 3 ;,j A,rjv}B ( w .p^tihtipas^Boision' ia to ali"p'racfcicai and earnest ine!n. Tol'calf it barj-gnis top. complimentary,! because it is ' "frnit/f uljin'evil we'edi. W cannot recollect m ail' our Parliamentary annal* a session of equal ..leijgth. and. /of ,ftqual ! inatility.;-i It. wo.ulci linye been better for the Colony that the time andmoney expended on the meeting of Parliament St Wellington during the laat.three.irHonths sKould have been by some means annihilated, for then "we should at lea»t. have known. th« limits'. of pur .I???.-. But as it, out loss, is not that; jmerely ' of the past— -it pervades the present,' and shoots m infinite ramifications into the future. We not only lose what is good, but we get much more what is bad. Representative institn-tionss-rf ? par^ame ß^ry |oy»rn.

ment becomes a tragic farce ; public administration is " a cunning device to amuse " the people and to aggrandise a favored few ; what was meant for mankind is given vp — we cannot say to party — to a political clique eager only to enrich and exalt itsalf at thtt public cost. For the sake of that selfish oligarchy we must patiently endure to see the interests of the whole Colony sacrificed and all public affairs thrown into hopel«ss confusion. This jjs the penalty which we have to pay for the Hall Government. Distrusted by the country, dtspUed m Parliament, powerless to do good, drifting to and fro, insincere and without principle, clinging ignominiously to place wlmn all that makes place desirable m patriotic minds is gone, the Ministry is bound to the Colony, as m ancient timss of torture it was the custom to bind d«ad bodies to living men. We are compelled to speak thus of Mr Hall and hit colleagues because we ow« it to them that the last three months of legislation have not only been wasted, but have been misused to the positive injury of New Zealand. Ministers had every advantage on their side. At tha cloie|of the second •essjon m last year they were at the head of a considerable majority ; they were left m perfect repose during the recess ; they shifted from their own shoulders to those of Royal Commissions nearly all their administrative work. During the session just ended they have been treated by the Opposition with exceptional indulgence. So far from any show of factious obstructiveness, they were more than once saved from humiliating defeat by the aid of their opponents. . The private work of the session was inconsiderable, and the most liberal concessions were made for the furtherance of iGI-ovarnrr.ent business. And yet, with all these great opportunities, and with such an ample field before them for doing good, they have given us the most woefully misspent session — and that is much — recorded m the annals of our const itutiona existence. Everything which Jihey have touched they have spoilt. What have they done about finance P Th« scheme of the Colonial Treasurer was as showy and, practically, about as useful as what is seen m a kaleidoscope. It consisted of a pretence of economy, a postponement of liabilities, an increase of treasury bills, an addition to tuxes on an article of general consumption among the working classes, a decrease of taxation on plate and jewellery, and of an impracticable system of local finance. The Heuse of Representatives insisted on making the economy substantial, and trebled the proposed savings. The Treasurer -still adhered to his Beer tax and to his exception of plate and jewellery from the Property tax. ;The House diminished the Beer tax by one half, and refused that exception. The Treasurer almost annihilated the economy forced upon him, mas much as at the last moment lie brought •upplementary estimates of ninety-six thousand pounds chai'geable on the consolidated revenue, which a jaded and half emptied House has passed without proper consideration. The scheme of local finance was ruthlessly destroyad by its own father, and tlie last state of local self-government has been made wor3e by withdrawing the twenty per cent of the land fund, and by reducing the subsidies by about a half. All that is left to us of Major Atkinson's finance is more Treasury bills, more taxation, little economy and. less money for local bodies to spend on local works. The Native policy is a|wretched failure. The capture of prisoners is going on ; and the Government do not pretend to the slightest idea of the why or wherefore, or of the probable consequences of the course -pursued, — 9Jh»y - have, got a- -Bill- passed easily enough, enabling them m general terms to give effect to the proposals of the Commissioners. But even m that the Government seem to have no leading purpose except to spend money m Tar.inaki; and peaceful settlement is apparently as far as off as ever. Our friendly Natives have been alienated from us by the unjust and insulting attitude of the Government towards them. The Native Land Bills, exexcepting the one re-constituting the Land Court, are abandoned ; and the Native ■ Land Sales Bill, which would have put an end to the spoliation of Native land, was only proposed and then withdrawn as a provocation to land sharks. These monsters of the North will, during the recess, increase and multiply- under the direct and special protection of the State. The Electoral Bills including the one re-adjusting representation, are all postponed, except the Election Petitions Bill ; and that was saved from mutilation by the Legislative Council against the motion of the Government. The Hospitals and Cnaritable Institutions Bill, and a host of other social Bills, brought mby the Government, hovejbeen killed by their hands. Tbe floor of each House is strewed with fragments of the neglected and criminal children of the Treasury Bench, massacred by their own unnatural parents. One thing, however, has been clearly shown by the course of the session. That is tfie'ln'cotnpetency of the present Ministers to conduct the business of Parliament. We are.not surprised at that fact, when we look at th e composition of the Ministry. It has rio. common faith' to bind it together, and"to impel it straight-forwardly Jtowa -d» .one. common object. It is also a Ministry of Mediocrities. There is no leading mind m it. Eeach Minister seems to be the ,Under-Secretary of his own department, .and it unable or unwilling to aid his colleagues. Mr. Hall is the best of them, but He fails to rise to the position of Premier. He is impulsive and petulant. He it shortBigjited, and only sect with clearness when his eyes are - close to his object. He is too fond of_ details. He looks for politics m pigeon-holes, and for Statesmanship m schedule*. He lack* the temper, the tact, the moral courage ; m *hort, the genius of successful! leadership. Mr. .Rolleston is more like & pedagogue than a politician. He s too self-sufficient and opinionative to be a good Minister. His patronising air while Bpeaking, offends, more than it attracts or persuades. His political mind is resonant with": lofty aim? and fine moralities, but it emits sound and nothing else. He is oppressively didactic,, and there is a disagreeablWinng of , "I ani not as other men aro" m liii speeches. Mr. Dick certainly mistook his vocation when he became a Minister of tbejprown. He is more qualified to improve the occasion at a religious revival or a love feast. Major A tkinson, sqoner or la' er, secures the downfall of any Ministry of which he ti a member. He is aggressive and.rude.r His finance is fragile., and his abilities 'are not of a high order. He has two great ideas ; one, that Sew Zealand is Tarariaki ; and the other, that Major Atkinson must be a Minister. Mr. Oliver is only remarkable, as a failure m the offices which he .holds. His Public Works Statement, about which theiw viras-so much preliminary flourish, was a wretched collapse. It was another, of the many humiliations which characterised last session. Mr. Bryce is a dangerous ' element m the Cabinet; he is obstinate, vain,, and narrow-minded. We look upon him m his present position as a novice- -trying experiments with explosive chemicals^ He is alienating our allies, and he is irritating our enemies. No doubt he has good intention.!, but we fear thas lie has "not the experienco, the capacity* the fore. si£hV and the. prudence essential to the proper, fulfilment of his duties m tha very critical relations which now subsist between the two races m the North Illaud,, the

Ministry. But the works like th« mole, underground, and it is difficult to trace his tortuous course. We believe that his real objects ia political life are the effects Insular Separation and Free Trade m Native Lands ; and we f eav thai he is using his colleagues as hu unconscious agents m those two directions. The apparent impotence of Parliament, the paralysis of local self-government, the colon ializat ion of the whole Land Fund, all tend to separation. Tlie repeated failure of measures to restrict the direct private purchase of Native land tends to the removal of all restriction. Nothing, perhaps, more conclusively shows th* incapacity of the present Government than the fact that, while the other Ministers are rowing their boat ostensibly one way, the AttorneyGeneral is secretly steering it m another course into the midst of breakers.