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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 309, 31 December 1874, Page 4

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lirticle appeared in the of the 18th instant not so much for the ng npon the. case reow th'^position occurinciai Government of arried on, in the esttmtside the Province, natters of fact will be 37 do not affect the tit perdere — the proverb is somewhat musty. Provincialism is notoriously on its trial. To use the phraseology which late experience has accustomed us to, issue has been joined on tbe question whether Provincial inBtutioDS shall cesse to exist or not; and tbis issue will inevitably be tried at tbe next session of the General Assembly. It might be thought that iv these circumstances it would be the aim of ©very Provincial officer to do his inmost In the interval, by economical, effiuiont, aud harmonious administration, to enlist public sympathy on the side of the threatened institutions. But what is their action? We bave the Superintendent of Auckland ouly prevented by an outburst of pablic feeling from performing the travestie of a State progress to England with "his Provincial Secretary in his train, and his brother of Wellington conspiring with, bis Executive to sacrifice tbe landed estate of the Province witb reckless disregard of decency and public opinion. But it has been reserved for the rulers of Sleepy Hollow to furnish the crowning instance of the folly of political infants . playing at parliamentary government, Our readers may not be aware tbat until within the last two years Nelson, although .blessed «*-'.> usual Superintendent and Pr*. .cial Council and . all tbeir cumbrous accompaniments, was content in executive matters with a permanent workir Provincial Secretary and Solicitor. But this simple machinery did not suit certain political "carpet-baggers" whom the new con-stitnenci-s bad returned to the Council. They wanted a wider field for their talents — only • , Constitutional government" could secure the liberty and prosperity of the province. They were successful. The majority were supine, the minority vigorous and noisy; after Beveral failures bounce carried tbe day. Aod the Province, witb the population and revenue of a parish vestry; acquired the proud privilege of a " responsible Ministry," with " ins " and "outs" votes of want of confidence, portfolios, an occasional crisis, and all the paraphernalia of parliamentary government. Bt it is one thing to make a constitution, and another to find men to ' r administer it. Men of ability and judgment naturally declined to take part in the constitutional farce, and, as was probably expected, the framers of the " Constitution " became the first Executive, with Mr Eugene Joseph O'Conor, the member for Westport, as Provincial Secretary, and, in fact, the Government. Of Mr O'Conor we do not care to say much. He is unfortunately a not uncommon specimen of colonial politicians. Gifted with an unlimited command of vituperative eloquence, he has frightened more fastidous rivals from his path, aud elbowed his way to the front of the provincial crowd. In the General Assembly, where the competitors are more powerful, and a front place is better worth fighting for, he has hitherto remained in the back ground. A more unwelcome associate to the once autocrat of Nelson it would be difficult to imagine. A Superintendent has by law a not unimportant share in the government of bis province, and the result of a conflict between him and his " Ministers" is not necessarily iv favor of the latter. In Otago, under similar circumstances, Mr Macaudrew, being a man of ability and energy, was the victor. Mr Curtis, hovever, accepted •the situation, and has since been content to be a political cypher, protesting against, but registering the decrees of his political masters. The speech wherein he informed the Assembly that "the action of his Executive in relation to the change of Wardens on the goldfields was entirely opposed to his opinions, cannot yet have been forgotten. But a still more ludicrous illustration has just been furnishei us. A Mr Knyvett sued Mr O'Conor for wrongful imprisonment. At the hearing, Mr HodgsoD, Clerk to the Superintendent aud Executive Council, gave evidence damaging to the defendant. Immediately thereafter Mr Hodgson received an intimation of certain very grave charges having been made against him. We can only afford space for a Statement of tbe more important: — 3. That Mr Hodgson's office haa been repeatedly unatteuded and unprotected during business hours. 4. That Mr Hodgson since the present Government came into office, has frequently opened private letters, delivered at tbe Government office, not addressed to him. 5. That Mr Hodgson lately gave evidence upon oath, in a court of law, in direct opposition to a statement previously made by him to the Pro» vincial Solicitor, iv presence of tbe Provincial Secretary and Mr Rout. 6. That it has become manifest that there is no security for the reproduction of pablic documents entrusted to his osre. 8. That Mr Hodgson has » bad memory !

This last is ridiculous enough by itself, but, taken with number 5, it is difficult to avoid the belief that Mr O'Conor wishes to insinuate ao application of the old proverb touching certain persons who, it is said, should have good memories. And what is tbe conclusion ? Ignomonious dismissal from the Government service? Far from it. Mr Hodgson is removed from his appointment, it is true; but he is offered the position of Clerk of the District and Resident Magistrate's Courts, Registrar of Birlhs and Deaths, and holder of a host of otber offices at Westport ! Now it is difficult, oa reading such an absurd conclusion, to avoid sharing the doubt expressed by the NeUon journals as to the bona fide 3of the accusations. Mr Hodgson has left his office "unprotected and unattended " ; yet he is removed from easy-goiog Nelson to the neighborhood of the dangerous characters frtquen ting n gold-field town I He has "opened private letters" ; yet he is made Clerk to tho District Court! He "'gave evidence upon oath in a Court of Law in opposition to a statement previously made by bim" j yet he is given an important office counected with the administration of justice ! There is "no eecurity for the reproduction of public documents entrusted to bis care" ; yet he is entrusted with the control of tbe vital statistics of an important district ! Is it possible to avoid the conclusion that either the charg&a are known to be unfounded, or that the appointment is not reputable to its author ? To these charges Mr Hodgson makes a spirited but respectful reply, denying them categorically and emphatically. We regret we have no space to reproduce it ; we may however reprint it in another issue. He concludes by requesting an investigation by two gentlemen to be n '.mcd by the Executive, and two by himself, Mr O'Conor's reply is so ludicrously inconsequential, ungrommatical, and incoherent, that we wish we could give room for it here, if only as an evidence of tbo class of rulerß which Nelson Provincialism delights to honor. In the name of the Executive, wbich appears throughout as only , an instrument in his hands, he refuses / the inquiry demanded, but offers an icquiry before one named officer. This Mr Hodgson accepts, making only the reasonable stipulation tbat the inquiry ehould be public and oa oath. On this probabjjp-inconvenient accession to the terms ho is informed "that, inasmuch as you object to the mode of iuquiry proposed by the Government, the Government now considers that it is no longer necessary to hold euch inquiry." The final result is the dismissal of Mr Hodgson, with three months' salary, on his insisting on an inquiry, end declining to accept the substituted office. But the gem of the whole correspondence, aad the fact which bas induced us to devote bo much space to a matter of comparatively remote interest, is to be found in the last published letter — one, namely, from the Superintendent to Mr Hodgeon. This official, dismissed from the service, and charged with the gravest faults by tha Provincial Executive, receives from the Superintendent, the nominal head of that Executive, the following emphatic testimonial :— [Here fellow's Mr Cartia's letter.] Can anything be more terribly de ; grading than the state of affairs disclosed by the transaction registered above ? A public servant of some standing, officially aud otherwise, is dismissed by the Provincial Secretary of Nelson on the strength of charges, the truth of which was never proved, and waa generally disbelieved ! The Head of the Province avows his unshaken faith in the victim's innocence, but signs the warrant for his dismissal, at the insolent dictation of his political subordinate. Truly hath it been said that politics, like poverty, make us acquainted with strange bedfellows ; but anything more strange than the condition of affairs disclosed by this episode it would indeed be difficult to discover, even under the benign influence of Provincialism in Sleepy Hollow. .