RIPENING FOR RUIN. (From the Nonconformist.)

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 295, 28 March 1849, Page 3

RIPENING FOR RUIN. (From the Nonconformist.)

In the history of every great and civilized nation periods will occur when the system upon winch its public affairs have been carried on tor years, and, it may be, fur anes bad-, exhibits symptoms, not to be nii-.tuk.en, of decay, powerless, and approaching de« struction. 'I he old machinery works on more and more I intfficifiitlT, one pait after another breaking down, | until at Wt, but to few men unexpectedly, it comes to atand-still. Nothing morec.in be done with it. No available force can roakeit move backward or forward. No skill can remedy its defects. No application of scientific knowledge can make it answer its purpose.— Then comes a season of gennrul stupoi , to be followed perhaps, by indi«cribable confusion and panic. "What is to be done ?" is the question which every man puts to his neighbour, and i>ula in vain. Att ordinary, and

even extraordinary » expedients, to sot in motion once more the worn out marhineissn at civil rule, are fell to hcuseless. Such a dead lock cmnot, of couise,be per* mitted to last long. A common sense of danger assigns the station of command to energy of character. A provisional arrangement is lustily constructed for the purposes of the moment. The old machinery is abandoned — a new piinciple of political organization is adopted, and thrown into form— a revolution, violent", too often, peaceful sometimes, is passed through — and national movement once more begins. It is sheer folly, if, indred, it be not something worse, to conceal from ounelves tbp fact, that we are rapidly approaching; such a crisis. It scarcely depends now upon the will of the people of Great Britain whether the sys'em of rulmcf this empire by pa.ironaoc shall be permanently adhered to, or resolutely abandoned. The time has nnived when not even the unanimous assent of the people could render the system much longer practicable. The elements of decay inheient in it daily develope themselves: Necessity has imprinted upon i's surface its approaching doom.— Inemi'diuble corruption in the constituencies rendeis an administration of progressive reform utterly impracticable. No mmisry, how< ver intent upon rf frenchmen t 1 and economy, can carry them out by means of the I machinery at present under tho ; r rontrol. Ftom end to end, every movement of the L'gislatuip is s«a)ed, and must \nt swayed, by bribery in some shap\ A. select and manageable circle of electors return a working majority of aristocratic membeis/or an equivalent ! — the votes n' 1 these members are given to the minister 'of the day /or an equivalent — the policy of the Cabinet is, of course, rhapeil with a view to an equivalent. All arc mutually dependant. All are bound by theitnperative necessity of their position and connexions, to sanction, uphold, and extend, the system of patronage. No one of them can stop short without destruction. Constituencies, members, ministers — I he thread which, unites them cannot be levered by any one of the parties, without letting the whole fall to the ground. The inevitable tendencies of this system are now forcing themselves upon the public notice. Thfy may be summed up in a few words—a constantly mci casing burden of taxation— a more and more incapable class of men at the head of public affairs. These are not accidents. 1 bey a- c the development of natural law*. Patronage can only be sustained by patronage — jobbing by jobbing. As one lie ciutttes the nercs^hy for many, so oue act of political profligacy stands as r. reason for many more. The disease is of a kind which can only live by spreading itself. It may be stopped in any one direction, but it will be with the certainty of its breaking out in otheis. The circle of official must continually widen — and in sympathy with it, the circle of expectants. Hence, in the process of time, government comes to mean, the instrument of satisfying the demand of place hunters. As these demands become every year more numerous, more clamoroui, more exigent, the adminutration whose continuance is sus. ponded upon the satisfaction of then), will be driven into an increasingly narrow range of kpontnneous and independent action, and the functions of the statesman will be superseded for those of the loo!. At the head of such a system, sheer incapacity must ultimately be pluced. It requires for its smooth working the prosidence, not of a self-reliant statesman, but of a dexterous slave. It asks not genius, but taet — not honesty, but the reputation of tt — not a great man, but a littles man <ith a great inm°. — not patriotism, but an iminoveable devotion to "things as 'hey are." Whil.it th.s system is qu'etly left to sustain and extend itself, the elements ot us eventual destiuction are also growing. Taxation which no government dependent upon, and rulinaj hv, official palionage, can seriously diminish, or er,u!t<bly adjust, already pushed to its extreme limits— finances falling into a state of disorder which tempoiary shifts can only enhance, «nd which an entire change of plan only can retrieve — public credit becoming every day more sensitive, and commercial crcuit sympathising with it — the spirit of enterprise first enervated, and then, at frequent luteivals, struck with a paralysis -a «roat diminution of employment, and a large increase of disaffection— repressive laws to prevent the outbursts of discontent — the alienation of the intelligent, thoughtful, moral, part of the community — thickening administrative difficulties rf quring extraordinary enlurei of officialitm to remove — the ever-recurring necessity for larger executive powers to be put chased of the legislative majority by grosser political jobs — why, who can calculate what the effect of a bad lurvest will be upon the materials of confusion which are here heaped together? An outbreak of insurrectionary violence, we do not expect — but a penalty scarcely less deplorable, the people of Great Britain, we verily believe, are doomed to bear. Life may continue safe enough—but who will guarantee the sale'y ot property from — not the hand of tht pilferer, nor the touch of an incendiary — but the frightful deterioration and incalculable loss which the confu . 9ion consequent upon such a conjuncture of evils would inevitably inflict. Towards this rock we are now hopelessly drifting. The catastrophe maj come a few months or years sooner or later, but under the system of ruling by patronage, como it must. A bold, cc trolling, complete revision of our financial an&ngements or universal bunkiuplry and ruin, will be the alternative befoie long.— Such a revision, however, cannot be effected by statesmen, or a legislature, such as our present constituencies will impose upon us. Sir Robert Peel, boldly riding upon the buck of famine, gained one victory over the governing class— but he was instantly cashier*' cd. A Chancellor of the Exchequer resolved upon financial reform— upon the exposure of past and present jobbing, and upon Iho curtailment of all unnecessary expenses, would be hurled from office in an instant, and eveiy stratagem, every engine of abuse and calumny, would be resorted to without scruplr, to misrepresent his designs, and to blacken his name. The merest hint at such an intention, if credited, would disperse the votes usually at his command, ai so much sand is scattered by the bursting of a bomb shell. The; institution of pationage must, therefore, it teems, fulfil its destiny. Theie is but one mode of destioyiug it, before it destroys us. We can compel a reconstitution of the House of Commons upon a really popular basis— it is doubtful if we could collect a public opinion powerlul enough to farce any other great change. The present system of profligacy and extravagance has its roots in a helect, and, therefore, a corrupt constituency. They stand or fall together. When we can he manly enough to look our own fears in the face, place our suspicions at the bur of common sense, silence our silly prejudices, confide in the safety of justice, and admit our unenfranchised brethren to 911 tqual participation of constitutional rights— then, and, probably, not till then, we may expect to avert ru n from ourselves and our country, by changing the principle and object ot both the Legislature and the Government. Civil rule must proceed upon one or other ot these three basis — force— fraud— or justice. The first is now impracticable — the second is becoming ruinous — the third alone is at once easy, cheap, and efficient.

In Windsor Park th're are now between ?.Ol and 300 beautiful milt-white goats, all descended from a pair presented to the Queen, in ltJ43 ; by the Muli o( I'crsia.