The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1870.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 127, 1 June 1870, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1870.

A reference to our Council report will show that, owing to the opposition offered last night to voting the unauthorised expenditure of the now famous sum of £62 10s., the Provincial Secretary was compelled to withdraw his resolution to that effect, and we must say that we fully sympathised with him in the annoyance he expressed at the line of conduct adopted by the Council in this matter. When the subject was mooted -on the previous Friday evening, we, among many others, were clearly under the impression that there was an understanding, not perhaps expressed in so many words, but at all events distinctly implied, that upon the Superintendent paying into the Treasury the sum of £37 10s. the vote would be passed, but the Council, by their action t last night, showed that they did not put I the same interpretation on what had taken place. We do not accuse them of drawing back from a positive agreement, but we do say that if they did not intend to be satisfied with the payment of the money it was their bounden duty to be more explicit, they should have stated positively, and not have been satisfied with merely hinting at, what they expected from the Superintendent, who is now by their want of explicitness placed in a most disagreeable position. It now appears that they will not be satisfied unless the Superintendent, in addition to the loss of the money, the payment of which to Mr. Dent he had looked upon as a necessary act, and of which no notice would have been taken had it not been for the unwise and unfortunate threat which preceded it, seuds down an apology to the Council for having exceeded its vote of last session.

We regret exceedingly to see such a spirit displayed by the members, we had hoped that when the Superintendent, by what has been termed the message of conciliation, displayed a disposition to work in harmony with the Council, his offer would have been gladly accepted, but the contrary seems to be the case. Intoxicated, as it were, by the power they possess in having a majority with them, the foremost-mem-bers of the Opposition are showing a spirit for which we have not hitherto been disposed to give them credit, and which cannot be better described than by the homely but expressive phrase made use of by Mr. Macmahon the other night. — They have knocked the Superintendent down, and now they want to tread upon him. We had hoped to fiud that those who usually take the lead in offering opposition to the Government, were disposed to be somewhat reasonable in their demands; we were really disposed to .believe their often reiterated assertions that they were not influenced in their opposition by factious motives; we had beeu under the impression that they were really disposed to work smoothly with the Superintendent if he would only open the door to mutual concession, but from such pleasant dreams we were, by the rude shock of last night, awakened to a widely different reality.