'SIR GEORGE GREY'S LATEST NOTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 126, 28 May 1881, Page 1

'SIR GEORGE GREY'S LATEST NOTION.

_;. , , [Ohmtcharch '« Press."} . .'\.\ There iff one very good point about Sir Gteorge Grey;. We ia alw»ftyß ready to provide entertftinment. ;,• PoHtici&ne • aaai v ruil^Bre»otiaai»aiog.,' Some lookj - lipoff tiheirs bueinees With: sol ereiious anj • air tbati they; nofcofily a<ie quite inoapai -ble of themselves makiqg 9 : jpfkf, butj absolutely etifl'3 ia ,oth«ra any iqclina-i t ion. to extract anq«i6e)aiQot- from, (ihp.in. iTiie wilidest propensity, for ifuiß would fail to find food for laughter in the utterances of flpme of our most eminent; statesmen. Soojp, QO <he other hand,! :ate dondtKtUy r flomfnifeting. extrayag&n-j ] cies, aod formuiating ecoetifcr i<s ; ptiogoßi- i tionß ; but for the most parf tbepe iaani element of danger in their grotesque- j ',DB,bb r wbichrßo,melimeß; checks risibility.! A fe.w there are iudeed.whoare in thei habit of putting forth- funny opinions, orufliog ftwoylapguajfe, but they era, few. A^od even, aoionost ;them there | are differenbe?. : We have the laughing | t philoiioph6r,)iUk& Hv Berpal Osbofn^ { jWbo oftfld BhtfojidßsouHd cpnoajon aeose | under the cloak of oratorical wit:;,- and i we have fr,hre. untjpqsciop9 and/unioten- i tiooalhuosorisr, Hbe.SiF George Grey, ! -who»: qaeaning to be serious, says things that all sensible men must laugh at. Yet, »a we have said, this last class; has -jts good points, if ewu only the faculty of providing entertaiomeut, probably parfeclly unc.onsciouely; and perhaps unwillingly. To he pure, as in |heN present caßßi wjemay, be. doing Sir George an injustice.! It ,ia poßiible lhat r in reality, he himaelf does . np : t< see the absurdity of hisrnptip»?fl u ,aqd: expressions ; it'in&y be that, calm;! y. looking down from, .the height of feis superior intelligence, -he is only evincing.his cpntempt for the inferior beings who listen to him by putting forth riddles and puzzling, p&radoses. We may. give him the benefit of the; doubt either w s»y r BDd still venture in the humblest manner to laughrat the e,xtrapr4ipary speotaole which he affords us, On the present occasion Sir ; George Grey, whether caßtiDg about for some peouliar comic point, or led by his idiosyncracy into a oew groove of absurdity, bss ; ,been entertainlßg the people of Aackland and the rest of New Zealand with a plan for the perfecting of the.Br.itish Empire. Why, at this particular jiinpture, the Aupk? landera should be caHed. \»pou to contempl&te 4be ( reformation of the Empire we cannot. quite say. It ip- no* cjear whether any extraordinary contingency has risen ; whether any laches, more flagrant thad usual, of the Qqlonial Office have been committed j whether any urgent call from distant and spiring colonießhau come to the gr.^at.PfoConaul for. aid and release, Perhaps, ell these have happened , perhaps bir George has felt irresistibly, ur#ed by his love for the, whole human race to speak burniog^word? on so. vast a subject at this partidular. moment ; per-, haps, again, be fouD<l a^ necessity for drawing away the attention of his bearers, from these local and too absorbing interests which he must njU.urftHy. Icaie for only partially. Whatever- the .reason, dlie nuraeroue and apparently most- r^psptable and iqtelligent: audience assembled in ! ( thfe theatre at Auckland were permitted to listen to the: new evangel of .progress, put. forward in doubllw: no.oat eloqiuent aod ornate periods by the; groat regenerator. He ba<?j he said* a new plan for remedying: some of the polities,! e.vik We can fancy bow some unlnstructed and imaginative people in that theatre must have pricked up their ears at this, probably supposing tbat something exceedingly interesting was mowing ; how, pethftpMbe ladies, present sis we are told in large number^ listened eagerly; for the pending aooQuo:oeoi«ofc Whfttwcsit? A plan for ■ crusbiDg; the bloated vampire, the all-to-ber detested land owner ? A plan for taxing everybody, except themselves ? A plan for extracting from the "dumb impassive earth" luxurious uutricpent for the suffering! human race? N^t a a bit of it ; all these would b 6 trifhs. The great panacoa was — '* Federate the Ectipire I" And we can fancy how; at these solemn wordp, every eye would tiecome'dull, every face would beooma sombre, every spark of excitement die out amongst that intelligent and disappointed audience. It is not impossible that a large portion, including many

of the -tod iesj hkd fo' tofrn' en^tflrlogty U > each; other. aNkSjug tfcf© meaning' of tho cabfllisf,io pferase • whilst ' fboae wh( Wight hsivß hear* stntie'lhini?' of it- be fore; must have woodSred' w?hy thr : oracle -balled thtf plati ne'w^ dtfd whj indffedthey! were watted td listen ft* it at all.' . . :■:-•:■...■ .■■ . | And; whan the effplariatloir -e'aiDej frooii tboae elbqu«nt lipB; WheTb;: indeed,! the;:" new pflari" war uoffflded ' in'-alj the grandeur of its toagbiftofeDt- abi isufdity, what a' curious Se'ti's'fr'iida ' tA\hl /have thrilled ; through <tha< aud'ieo<c& in . the : theatre 1 A sensation': of disappointed hope, a sensation of unsatisfied curiosity, a sensation perctiancd 1 of anger.. Federation in heelf was 1 nothing new ; for many years politicians, Itope-; rial es well as Colonial, have exercised, their minds over this 1 knotty* izigaDtic,! and possibly urgent question. Speeches! articles, pamphlets, a whole literature! indeed, may be found .about it. , We I Ibiaye . oiirselveß. remarkei. that what*} ever may be Buppoised to be: the j necessities of tbe casej, the discussion | no B <?dereru!,ion has not yet got beyond i ibe ' e'lajge of utr aaj tteory,, , of &f tqr- 1 dinner oratory. Npthu^ practical baa j as yei, been- ey^lye^ from, anybody's! consci'ousne.B3 x^n this subject. ;Bat, .of i all the unrealities, of all the wila\and visionary schemes which unpractical brains have imagined,, the Auckland audience must have, feluhat Sir George G.rey'a *'new pjau fpr,remedying!pp)jtieal bviV'w-'is perhaps i the. worst, He graW^ /.suggested, that/ instead of sending '(aa. lias often .been ; propqeed) r'ef)Veaen'tauye,B|tb' the Imperial '/ [Parlia-r nbeota,: the different .po.lonia.rLegasUo tiiree shouJJ, /.ap.they thought fit, pass •', resolutions,."', pa the ., Xmperjaj .p.qUoy or oo even ts : affecting tse JjSmpire, aqd I that, these 'VeeoJutipna" ,Bhould,prpduoe important resulfs on the aci{on'of tbe | Jroperial PariUajeot. and' thefJro.vfn of iEo^aod. tfhs'resu.its, indieeii, are to ! be, such i jia .would bring abouVpaftog or way, . BadiopT ',pr CoDßeryativß measurea. at hoiae, , and ; eftjot the (ate of natioas. . Imagine, for example* -.a tele-> gram arriving : .io liondpn froa? India, to.theeff?ct that the Hill. tir.ihieß,, have risen and have ooi^^a.ared Uvge 'ouajm 1 ber^ p( British troops. Exc ; jtea»e:nt rages,^ the lajperial pAriiaqaent anr jxiously dißCHisVes the <- dtaatipq ; : tb© I honor; and welfare of Eijgian'd are ftt Istak". Suddealy the Speaker aninoun^ea t* mesaage' by cable from ■ Wellingtpii -y breathless ailend'e ensues :ia- the House of C6axmoaa ; .tbe strife lof '. pirty ia^ hushed; «be Speaker jgravdly. . reals—-' The .- C^eraT ■k% I!Benably of New S^alanJ iaaplores sthat ipeacefut .'riflaisurfes : sbduld '"> he 'ttfst ; jadop ci 1" Or say that Mr Br&dlaugb Jhas Buoceeied in ara^lng ai datigfcrous a«it»tian \ o^ahs oollec*, towns are iaackatJ, London is, in uproar, an-1 the jSoMiers ate oallfed baft" Again, in" the ;Hoiisd of Commons the Speaker stay* Jthe whirlwind of Jebate fry announcing ja •message- ' from- 'Sir' G-eor'ge ,Qrey, prime Minister of Jfew jGon«ral _4?SBDQbIy, in the ; intereßts of, Jthe Liberal' p-irty, approves* (or digr approves as tfie'case raay;b,e^ u of what is going onin'WeCouncilM .tiie Empire," How wonderfuUyij'iß-such stirring times, at ettoh greott emergencies, Would the polioy: and , weifare pf ; the British Empire ba nerved; by the' pa sain? of resolutions iq , the varidos Colonial Legislatures ! Of course, the irifJiog difficulty that differ eat legislatures might pass conQiQtin^or'cort'radictory resoltitiona is not tti be considerei ijn- tha leaafc. 1 When great pHnblples, affieotin st;the5 t ; the human race, are enriinpiated by- great oratorp, practical objections' fj>ide iqto insignificaQce; and imagination is confounded, reason hushed into afoleban awis, at 1 the epactaole of Mr Gladstone and the House of Commons oauainji at att urgent crisis of the Bullish Empire, daring to take -po step ii) forpiu;n, or domestic polioy ,,«ntil they know if they have the approval of the Lagislatufe of Fiji or tha Windward lala.ndf, Wamuat say that, although when we began tbia). article we' Were inclined toc-QQaiier Sir George Grey'as having uaefulfy provided food for mirth, we are now edmawhat inclined to look op him ii 3, a iivztift inspired seer,, a sort of second Te WHiti, wrapped up . id" raagniftoant speculuions, soaring in a vast cloudland of solemn visions, quite apart from anything connected with real life» and withdrawn from the possibility of being understood by men.. Still, we feel (bat as long as he aoiuaes

' : himMf, ., an,afVpi, . '," wM.j.^tbQa?^. w? 1 dreatidiafir or B fs, heU^ey^o/jje.^lwi •'dafcgWojHj in any ! practical ', w!jm' «,n^» therefore, 'we see no pbJeQtj(fn wha.teFe: •' Ws' 'c^tinfling-'m::^ '■tia 1 9 / 'tfo|#'' cnbßen,/ana^^e'vo{^ins' -fi^oj^'ei i ' J iis : fie 1 likesj , '*? tie v( ' p (eins ' 'for ( J ths.p ! erj» • fdCting' of the'^ritiah feWpireV '".''.''-' •'.', !'