THE OTAGO PROGRAMME.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 227, 22 January 1876, Page 12

THE OTAGO PROGRAMME.

£ £ If Otago expected to have the rule of “ New Zealand, its inhabitants should “ have elected men able to rule. As it “ is, the empty vaporing of the League ££ about Centralism, Provincialism, and ££ birthrights, has been made the means ££ of choosing a number of men who must 11 either be silent in the House of Repre- £< tives or bring disgrace upon the intelli- ££ gence of the electors.” The Dunedin livening Star thus expresses, without any delicacy whatever, the almost unanimous feeling of public men outside Otago. Whatever Otago could have been thinking of during the late elections we hardly imagine, but save

in voting power, which it could not deprive itself of, it has managed to make itself little in the councils of the colony. The best thing to do, however, now that the fever of political agitation has spent itself, is for Mr. Macandrew and Mr. Stout to calmly consider the situation, and advise their nondescript following to resign and give place to better men. In saying this, let us be clearly understood as in no sense desiring to substitute Ministerialists for members of the Opposition, but simply as having regard to the character and standing of the New Zealand Legislature. Mr. Stout knows, none better, that such a following must ultimately damage him as a politician. He will be unable to control his followers on all occasions, and when he least expects it he may find the hon. and the illiterate nobodies elected on his ticket in a mood to assert their independence, and to show that they are not “like dumb driven cattle,” they may vote against him on some critical occasion. You may control an intelligent and cultured being, but a 11 bull in a china “ shop ” who can manage. In like manner Mr. Macandrew should be satisfied with the electoral tribute to his political genius, and advise the dissolution of “the “ League” which he called into being, and with it the resignation of such members as cannot, in the most prejudiced judgment, hold even a decent position on the floor of the House of Representatives. If our advice, however, involves an amount of self-sacrifice in the interests of the public,—a sacrifice we admit infinitely greater than that made by Mr. Macandrew at Port Chalmers, judged by his own standard of self-abnegation—let them profit by the advice tendered by our esteemed contemporary, the Dunedin Evening Star , and enjoin silence upon the leaguers, “if they are not to bring “ disgrace upon the intelligence of the “ electors.”

But really, after all, are we not a little too hard upon the leaguers, or £ £ con- £ £ spirators, ” as the Star names them % In sober earnestness let us ask, are not the men “sat upon” by the Star, the nearest possible embodiment of the intelligence of the Otago electors 1 There is something in this which it might be well to inquire into ; and we commend it to Mr. Stout as a subject for an article in the next number of the New Zealand Magazine, in continuation of his paper on '“ Specialisation in Government.” We are satisfied, if he writes it with a freehand and unbiassed judgment, that he will admit that no other development was possible under provincial institutions, as administered in Otago, other than that composed of ignorance, self-assertion, and greed, which was tossed from the ballotboxes at the last general election. Even the Press of Otago has been demoralised by provincialism. If an illustration in proof of this statement were wanted, we have only to refer to our otherwise temperate and discreet contemporary, the Daily Times. When the political conflict opened that journal began to cast about for a party ; and, thoroughly understanding the community, it at once appealed to the breeches’ pocket. ££ The land fund is in danger this was the cry, and it has been repeated in every possible note since then. £ £ The “land fund is in danger; “northern “robbers;” £ ‘Northlsland highwaymen;” “ the premeditated plunder of our land “ fund,” and such like expressions have been used daily to blind the people of Otago to the real merits of the case. On the 14th instant, the Daily Times had a leading article on this subject, which contained so much that was absolutely and suggestively false that we cannot possibly attribute it to ignorance on the part of the writer. The intention, deliberate and unmistakeable, was to mislead the public on a question on which, when the truth is known and admitted as known and admitted it will yet be—neither the Otago Daily Times nor Otago leaguers will have a leg to stand upon. Let it be clearly understood once for all, that there is no attack, covert or open, upon the Middle Island land fund. Let it also be as clearly understood that the Middle Island was bought and paid for by Northern money, of which the proof is forthcoming, and that the land revenue became provincial revenue by a culpable evasion of the Constitution Act, for which Mr. Stafford is primarily responsible. Circumstances have arisen, and interests have been created, which render a disturbance of the present arrangement inexpedient. Beyond that, however, there is no special claim on the land fund, as such by any province or district. The Crown lands belong to the colony, and may be used in reduction of taxation ; and as soon as ever the tax-payers come to realise this fact, whether they live in Otago, or Nelson, or Auckland, they will not consent to tax themselves for the benefit of provincial rings. W e charge upon the provincialists the abuse, the grossest abuse of their position in the administration of the waste lands of the colony ; and we tell the Daily Times and those represented by it, that the doom of the system by which they have had so much gain is sealed. Otago, like other provinces, will have stock

taken when the Abolition Act comes- into operation, and looking at its declining revenue, ° wasted estate, and enormous debt, we do not think it will have any great surplus to boast of. Indeed, there will be no surplus at all unless the official classification of its waste lands, given to the world by the Provincial Government, is altogether unreliable. We can hardly suppose such to be the case, inasmuch as to issue an unreliable return would be prima facie evidence of deliberate intent to deceive the province in the interest of a land ring. Now, we don’t think this is in the least degree likely, wherefore we say that when Otago pays its debts the residue of its land revenue will not be worth scrambling for. Otago has eaten its cake. Its representatives, and a section of its Press, cry out for what it lias already consumed, but of course the colony cannot listen to such selfish babblement. Let its members, however, act on the friendly advice of the Dunedin Star, and remain silent in the House of Representatives if they do not wish to bring disgrace upon the intelligence and public spirit of the Assembly.