PHYSIOLOGY OF FACTION. OF PRINCIPLES.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 32, 15 October 1842, Page 128

PHYSIOLOGY OF FACTION. OF PRINCIPLES.

' All principles, except party principles, are factious. Tins' ta:self<tevident : but, if any one should be rash, enough to doubt it, we recommend him to fix upon some individual legislator who has taken up a public principle that is not a party principle. Watch him as he tries to push his principle. He fixes upon a particular day in order to embody it in a motion. The day draws near, and some party principle stands next to it. Note how the poor man is entreated to withdraw and leave the evening clear for the more important principle. If he is an earnest, zealous man he refuses. He goes down to the house, and he probably finds the Speaker tete-a-tete with the clerk of the house. He has the honour to have the. cocked hat qf the Speaker pointed at him, and to be numbered as " one," and nobody else appearing,* the Speaker courteously informs him that the house is adjourned over to the morrow. Perhaps, however, it may happen that another line of tactics is rdopted. In that case he finds the house quite full. He is called upon by the Speaker, and he begins his speech — a speech that has cost him weeks of immediate preparation and years of previous investigation. The scene that immediately ensues reminds him of the last French, carambole "Les omnibus de Paris pourquoi sont elles toujours enrhuines ?" " Parsque tous les jours elles parcourent Paris en tous sens (en toussant)." The coughing becomes exceedingly general; the shuffling of multitudinous feet succeeds, many appeals are made to him not to detain the house from the real business of the evening, cock-crowing and braying, are introduced as illustrations of the advantageous effects of Peel's tariff in taking the duties off asses and poultry, and at last, when, wearied with contending against the storm, he sits down, finding no seconder, every member congratulates his neighbour that they have got rid. of that troublesome crotchetty fellow, and his most factious motion. The party principle then comes upon the tapis, and is debated for six consecutive nights. Possibly the question is whether a minister shall or shall not be required to lay before the house a copy of a letter which has been printed in every daily and weekly newspaper three months ago. At last it is decided in the negative j — For the motion . . . 306 Against .... .307 Majority . . 1 Total dividing, including tellers . 617 Twelve pairs . . .24 Absent, Whigs . .12 Tories . .4—16 Speaker . . .1 Total . . .658 Accordingly the motion is lost by a majority of one, and if anybody were to hint that this was a factious division the person he addressed would edge away from him and hint to the next person he met that so and so had gone mad. With regard to these party motions there is one observation, which, from its universal applicancy, may be laid down as an axiom. We state it thus : — A party principle is always advanced to practical effect by its opponents — never by those who inscribe it on their banners. We could account for this if we pleased ; but that would take us a separate meditation, and would be rather out of our present physiological inquiry, which is only to explain phenomena, not to account for them. We are satisfied, therefore, now, with merely illustrating our proposition. Thus, the Whigs adopted it as a party principle that the established church of Ireland, not being the religion of the people, was an abuse. Accordingly the Whigs voted a million of money for the maintenance of the Irish church; and they, afterwards, passed a measure *by. which its revenues, which were before uncollectable, were put upon the same footing with rent. Previous to that time the Tories had always held it as a principle that the Irish church was essential to the existence of our Protestant monarchy, and, accordingly, they had left it to gather tithe-pigs at the point of the bayonet; decently mourning over those rectors who were periodically shot from behind hedges because they would be so obstinate as to walk home after dark. Thus, also, the Tories have always held it as a party principle that domestic agriculture was to be protected by duties which should be prohibitive except in years of famine, and that free trade was the greatest absurdity that had ever entered into the head of man. The Whigs held the exact contrary of this as their party principle. Accordingly, the Tories are now, with a majority of a hundred in their favour, reducing the duties upon corn and grain ; and they are also proposing a free-trade tariff based upon the most obnoxious of all free-trade principles — giving all the advantages of free trade io those European powers who are wedded to restrictive duties, and will take nothing from us in return, and giving nothing to America, who would gladly meet us upon equal terms. - , The Tories never could have done for the church, either English or Irish, what the Whigs have done. The Whigs never could have done for corn and free trade what the Tories now are doing. We might, if we pleased, adduce a hundred other instances, from the Catholic Emancipation Bill upwards and downwards, in proof of the position which we have adopted with respect to party principles. To do so, however, would only weary the reader, who, if he is sensible \ and recoUectire, will himself recall in a moment as many as we could recapitulate in an hour.

We shall not push our argument step by step, because we hope to have readers -who accompany us in a logical cross-country steeple chase; and who, whether we walk through a} syllogism, canter enthymematically, or gallop iw sorites, can still keep beside us. ■ The inevitable conclusion, however, is that principles, like conduct, are by no means factious in relation to their intrinsic excellence or demerit, or in relation to their probabilities of success or defeat. A principle, properly so understood, is an instrument, a political crowbar for unseating a minister. So used, it is a legitimate party principle. Used for any other purpose, it is a noxious, factious crotchet. This^ we take it; is the true distinction between party and faction, quoad principles.-^ Atlas. w

A New Variety of Rice. — The Rev. M. Gabet, a French missionary at Jehat, in Man* golia, has lately forwarded to France a variety of rice which may turn out very useful to the agriculturists of the South of Europe, as well as of the colonies. Whilst the rice hitherto cultivated requires a damp soil and irrigation, the present variety grows in dry localities and is cultivated like wheat. A distribution of the seed received amongst the .agriculturists of France has been ordered by the Academic dcs Sciences, and as this variety is mentioned in i Chinese works, M. Stanislaus Julien has ' printed from the Chinese " Cyclopaedia" some notices relating to its mode of culture.