The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1876.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 253, 16 October 1876, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1876.

As a brilliant despatch writer Sir George Grey, before he became afflicted with the monomania which has this session led hitn to commit such extravagances, stood almost without an equal. New Zealand now has a Governor who, if he has not the brilliance of Sir George, at least knows how to follow out an argument closely, and is able to express himself very clearly. We have before us the Marquis of Normanby's despatch to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which he enclosed Sir George Grey's famous bombardment letter to that Minister. After stating that the letter should have gone by the previous mail, but that Sir George had sent it so late as not to allow him time to comment upon it, his Excellency proceeds to combat Sir George's statements one by one. Our space will not allow of our publishing the despatch in full, but a few extracts will give an idea of the whole. In one portion of his letter Sir George, just after the general election, complained that an opportunity nad not been allowed to the inhabitants of New Zealand to express their opinion upon the proposed change in the constitution. Upon this statement, so manifestly groundless, his Excellency remarks: — I am perfectly aware that it is hard to convince Sir George Grey that auy decision can bo right which does not coincide with his, own preconceired opinion, but undoubtedly the question of abolition, or non-abolition, was the distinct issue raised at the last election, and there was no one who pressed the matter more strongly, or used his influence more strenuously, than Sir George Grey; he having consented to be put in nomination for the Thames district, after he had been returned for Auckland City West, with the view, by his own personal influence, of prevent.iug the return of a second abolition candidate by that constituency. la reply to the argument that the Provincial Councils should have been consulted in the matter of abolition, the Governor urges that the House of Representativ3B which decided upon abolition is elected on exactly the same franchise as the Proviucial Councils, the former being entrusted with the general interests of the colony, and the latter with the management of purely local affairs, and he fcheu goes on to say: — That the proposed change in the Constitu tion of the colony is a matter of genera) policy is a point which admits of no question, and to suppose that the legislation of the : General Assembly on a matter of this iin- , porfcance should be subservient to the will of one or moro of these local Councils appears to me to bo utterly untenable; but admitting , for the sake of argument that such a thing were possible, how could it be carried out in practice? There are in this colony nine provinces; supposing that five or possibly seven of these local Councils decided in favor of abolition, and the remainder opposed it, how is the question to be deoided? Are phe majority of the Councils to carry the day, or J5 the population of each province to

be taken into consideration; or is the proTincial system to be abolished in those provinces' which agree to the proposal, and retained in those which oppose it? > With all deference | to Sir George Grey's experience, it appearsto me that he has taken up a ground which is entirely indefensible. The General As- I sembly is elected by the people of this colony i under a very liberal franchise ; and without ' in any way wishing to prejudge the decision i at which it may arrire on the subject of abolition, I believe that it is as well able to express and carry out the general requirements and wishes of the community «s the Assembly of any other colony in the world; and at any rate, in my opinion, it is the best j and only constitutional mode by which the real feeling of the country can be obtained. "We now come to that extraordinary portion of Sir George's letter, in which he expresses fears for the safety of the city of Auckland, owing to certain reports he had heard to the effect that it was to be bombarded by her I Majesty's ships in the event of the | inhabitants not accepting the abolition policy. On this point the Marquis of Norinanby writes: — As regards the concluding portion of his letter, were it not that Sir George most emphatically asserts his belief in the report to which he alludes, I should certainly hare treated it as a bad joke, and even now I hardly know, how to treat such a preposterous idealn a serious manner. That Sir George Grey should seriously inform your Lordship } that he believes that there is the slightest foundation for the report which he says exists, that opposition to the Ministry might involve the bombardment of the city of Auckland by her Majesty's ships, or that' he should consider it incumbent upon him to ask your L">'- 1 -hip to send a telegraphic message to me "■to dispel all -apprehension of her Majesty's;, forces being used for such a purpose, is, I think, a sufficient proof of the spirit and tone in which he has entered into this controversy. Sir George Grey contents himself with indorsing the truth of the report, without stating the source from which he obtained it. I can only say that I never saw it, and if I had I should have looked upon it as a pure invention, circulated for party purposes, and should have treated it with the same contempt that I am convinced it will receive from every man, woman, and child in Auckland, except, lam bound to say, upon his own assertion, from Sir George Grey. Were I as much inclined to take alarm at absurd rumors and newspaper canards as he seems to be, I might indeed inform your Lordship that on more than one occasion, Sir George Grey himself has been reported to have indulged in dark and mysterious hints at the possibility of armed resistance to the law being resorted to by those who are opposed to the abolition of the provinces, and the same tone has been more frequently adopted by the Evenuig Star, a paper in Auckland which strongly supports his views; but placing, as I do, entire reliance on the loyalty and good sense of the inhabitants of this colony, I have hitherto treated them as empty threats. As, however, Sir George Grey has seen fit to make this formal complaint to your Lordship, I now distinctly charge him with being himself the first to gire currency to a report similar to the one he has brought under your Lordship's notice, and in support of thig accusation I enclose to your Lordship the copy of a letter which has been addressed by Mr Dargaville to my Private Secretary for my information. The remainder of this excellent despatch, which must carry conviction to the minds of all who read it, was well summarised in our telegrams of Friday. Mr Dargaville's letter, to which allusion is made above, as well as a memorandum by Ministers on Sir George Grey's letter will be found in the fourth page of to-day's issue.