Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 15, 1873.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 169, 15 July 1873, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 15, 1873.

The Session of Parliament which commenced to-day promises to be one of the most important that New Zealand has yet known, the more sothat that which everyone who has watched the progress of political affuirs muot have foreseen some months ago is now openly declared to have come to paßs, namely, the demise of an organised Opposition. Mr Stafford , is reported, arid there can be little" doubt bfthe correctness of the rumor,, to have abdicated the posil,iou^,of leader oC f fhe, Opposition,-* , and no oo&.has. as ye£ u sb^wn any signs of ' possessing the desire, ,e*ven if : be*had the ability, "to reigr'iDjh^^.st^aa.;^ Mr" Fitz-' berbe'ri/ it is true, vste's at orie^'fime^eppken of as a probable successor to Mr Stafford' but the Province of Wellington has, after ' the legislation of fcfaeriProviacial Council ip its last session, "very cogent resson|:for cjourting favor with'tbe, presenk.^i^jstryj, ; apd Mr Fitzberbert .Superintendent: of; Wellington. It is then more than likely

|£|[afc Mr Yogel will have it all his own $Wftfj£,-' and judging by the ability, tact, and statesmanship he has hitherto displayed, we are not at all sure that the House of Representatives comprises any man so well fitted to undertake the Government of the country. One thing he has to guard against. The knowledge that the country hss unmistakeably declared in his favor, as shown by all the recent elections, and the absence of any organised Opposition, may have a tendency to lead him to extremes, and induce him to enter upon schemes that he would never have dared to propose were he not sure of a large majority, A smaller amount of success than that which he has achieved, has ere this turned stronger heads than Mr Vogel's, and, fully as we admit his talents, we should feel greater confidence in him were we assured that a compact and well-disciplined minority, under the leadership of a recognised' head was carefully watching his actions, and submitting his proposals to the strictest scrutiny. However, all we can do is to hope that the Premier's judgment and caution will be equal to his ability. An Educaiion Bill for the whole colony is, it is said, to be again introduced. lv passing this through the House, however great may be its merits, Ministers will encounter no little difficulty. The three principal divisions of the Middle Island, — Oiago, Canterbury, and Nelson, have each of them, to their credit be it said, devoted much of their attention, and a large portion of their revenues to the education of the young, and they have naturally become attached to the respective systems which have grown with their growth, and >have become esentially a part of their constitution. In the North Island the same amount of labor and expense has not been devoted to this subject, and the affection entertained by the inhabitants of Auckland, Hawke'a Bay, and Wellington for the educational measures they have adopted is consequently not so great as that which we in the South feel towards our systems, so that any really effective Bill introduced by the Government may possibly secure the snpport of all members representing ; districts lying to the north of Cook's Straits. It might pprhaps savor a little of selfishness did the Middle Island members object to sacrificing their local Acts to one affecting the whole colony, but it would ;be no more than natural if they raised objections to the Provincial systems, which have' hitherto worked ( so well, being swept away. All things considered, it would not in thefiea.st "surprise iis to find the Education Bill of 1873 meeting with a fate similar to that which attended its predecessor of 1871. Tp t native affairs which, under existing circumstances, will necessarily form a prominent feature in the proceedings of the Assembly, we will not make any reference, believing as we do that it is far better to leave such matters to those who have undertaken their conduct and are responsible to the public for the outcome of the policy they have thought fit to pursue. There is,, however, one other subject that will demand a large amount of the attention 'of both Ministers and representatives, namely, the public works policy. " Give us railways " is the cry that is to be heard all over the colony., From some places lhe demand will be made, merely for the sake of the local expenditure that the construction of such works would involve, in Others it will arise from- an houest desire to open up districts that, are rich in agriv cultural, timbered,, and auriferous lands. It will be for the Assembly to decide which of these claims shall be allowed, which, rejected. With reference to that preferred by Nelson, we can only say that we honestly believe that no portion of the colony offers such inducements for speedy development as that through which it is proposed to construct an iron road. It has, however, been decided to leave the decision upon the matter in the hands of Mr Calcutt, who recently travelled through the district, and there ia every, reason . to believe that his report will be favorable, especially, since he ' did- not deem it necessary to visit all the valleys of the tributaries of the Buller, but was satisfied with a hasty run through from Nelßon^ s to the Grey. This renders it quite evident that he saw enough to convince him of the general character of the country and to enable him to pronounce favorably upon its capabilities for maintaining a large population. (Our Nelson representatives have a serious task, before them. They. haye ( jto urge upon; 'the House the importance of the line which has been so strongly recommended? by the Inland Communication Committee .after many months of close enquiry into itß merits. Of the: earnest desire, of ' our members . to bring this great work to fruition we have no doubt, but much depends upon the mariner in which they deal with it, upon ..their tact, .upon their perseverance, and upon their unanimity. We can assure them that every step they take in 'this "direction will* be "jealo/usly watched by their constituent. It may bethought that in the absence of any powerful, Opposition . the session will prove >a one,- but if we are rightly informed, as we beUqve we are, the contrary is likely to be the case, as the Government have prepared, and have riow^ <^cpu*Tßo , o|" preparatuWiiQ less than, one hundred Bins upon various subjects. These, h> add.tion, to thd numerous private Bills that wijji Jriey.itabjy^ be (^n.troduced will provide a Jarge amount of work that canribtfbei" Bcansped,"'!but naiiat ibe Centered' 1 upon 'with the utmost amount of care and cpnsideralroii. , We, conclude. th<?se remarks as we^cti'mme'bjjed them, with the expression 'of ' ; our -•♦ conviction that v the present.s ession-is likely, -10. -prove one of the most important that; 'Now Zealand has known siuce the passing of the Constitution Act. ™ ■' ■•' '.'T^ ' -

]■ Coai. Discovery, Vj^r-i Mr , Lightfoot arrived in town frbmHtie BiiHer last tiight; bringing with him some capital specimens

of coal from the Owen. The seam which, where struck, is two feet six inches thick, is within a very few chains of the proposed line of railway, and only 65 mileß from Nelson by way of the Hope. • Steps should be taken without delay to test the quality of the coal and extent of the seam, as a more forcible argument in favor Of* our railway could pot bo brought before the Assembly, which will be asked to grant a loan for that purpose during the present session. Mr Lightfoot has, we understand, ordered a few sacksful to be taken out and sent into Nelson, where they will arrive in a few days. A Telegram in the Melbourne papers says that a station at Lake Albert, Northern Territory, was sold for £175,000.