The Politician.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 232, 19 February 1876, Page 19

The Politician.

THE MEMBER FOPv GERALDINE. (From the Lyttelton Times.) The Timaru Herald is certainly the trumpeter of Mr. Edward Wakefield, and enters into the performance with as much zest as if it were on its own account. That gentleman is evidently Number One in its estimation. We ventured a short time ago to raise a legal question on some public interest in connection with the election of Mr. "Wakefield for the district of Geraldine. The Timaru Herald flies forthwith into a passion, and scolds us with feminine fury both, curiously enough, for not noticing before, and for noticing then the election of the member for Geraldine. As is usual with angry persons, our contemporary made one or two serious mistakes as to the facts, which had to be subsequently corrected. We were also seriously brought to task for having stated that Mr. Wakefield may be considered to represent the Returning Officer, a fact relevant to our argument, which impugned the legality of the casting vote of that Officer, and a fact, moreover, mathematically correct, for Mr. Wakefield represented the Returning Officer, plus those others who voted for him, minus those who voted against him ; therefore, as the plus and minus quantities are equal to each other, he represents the remainder, namely, the Returning Officer. Again, because we happened to refer to the likelihood of Mr. Stafford having the member for Geraldine next session as a substitute for the late member for Cheviot, we are twitted with inconsistency on the ground that we had formerly questioned the validity of the election for Geraldine ; and yet in the same article the Timaru Herald, writing a day after ours, states that the question had " settled itself beyond all argument by the time prescribed by law, within which an election can be disputed, having expired." Our contemporary is evidently very much pleased with the idea of Mr. Wakefield being a whip, for, after quoting an extract from the North Canterbury Independent, to the effect that Mr Stafford was provided in that respect with Mr. Wakefield, it proceeds of its own motion to favor its readers with an essay on. whips in general, their statesmanlike qualities, their social distinction, and their high functions. The model held up for imitation in New Zealand is that of the House of Commons, in which "the whips hold a very important place in party politics. They are usually selected from among the younger members, and are required to possess social qualities enabling them to mix freely in the best society, and be on terms of intimacy with all the classes in the House." And then comes a gentle hint that something more substantial than the freedom of the best society will be needed, for we are told that "unless possessed of large private means they are commonly allowed a liberal sum by their party to defray whatever expenses they may incur in the course of their duties." Although " in New Zealand the position of whips is entirelydifferent," we are given by implication to anticipate what it will be when Mr. Edward Wakefield attains to that office, and society is inferentially warned to be on its guard, and to take the necessary precautions against his irresistible fascinations, and masculine jealousy is disarmed in advance. We are informed that "whips are required to be aufait in the drawingroom or boudoir, and to possess the art of making themselves useful or agreeable on all occasions. Many a time when a whip appears to be beseigiug a lady's heart by his devoted attentions, he is in reality only trying to gain her husband's, her brothers, or her father's vote ;" nor is this inherent fascination only to be feared when concentrated on one object, for society is further considerately told that "while charming a whole roomful of people by his conversation and accomplishments he is merely leading up to some prearranged plan for entangling an experienced youth in party meshes." O fortunutam natome Considi Eomanz/ may well excl vim Mr. Edward Wakefield. If we looked a tour Ingles, McGlashan, and Buckie, as " an fxit in the drawing-room or boudoir,"

or « besieging a lady's heart" or "charming a whole roomful of people,' we f lookedin vain and were disappointed ; that full fruition of bliss is reserved for next session, when the Parliamentary "cherub that sits up aloft" will be represented on one or other side of the House in the person of Mr. Edward Wakefield. We are not disposed to regard with much admiration the position of a Whip. His services are no doubt necessary in the party system, but they are not of a high order, and are often felt by sensitive minds as degrading. He is, as the name implies, the huntsman of a Parliamentary pack. We do not recollect any instance of a Whip becoming in England a Minister or a Statesman, although we are aware that in the, we believe, single case of the present Speaker of the House of Commons a Whip has become the first. Commoner. # Ihe position of Whip is certainly not attractive to a man of fine sensibility or of independent mind ; it is more suited to hangers-on to great men, and expectants of crumbs from their tables. The qualifications of Mr. Edward Wakefield to the position have been publicly alleged to be great, but we cannot altogether agree in that opinion. He has good abilities, but they are marred by vanity and assurance. Parliamentary Oldsters would be apt to regard his attentions to them with feelings akin to those raised in the breast of Sairey Gamp by the precocity of Bailey, junior ; and expressed in her forcible, though somewhat personal, phraseology :—" Why drat the bragian boldness of that boy. What an imperent young sparrow it is !"

THE POLITICAL SITUATION. (From the Dunstan Times.) Mr. T. L. Shepherd, late M.H.R. for the Dunstan, addressed a well attended public meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 2, at the Blue Spur. The chair was ably occupied by Mr. T. F. Morris, and the proceedings throughout were characterised by a hilarity which proves that even a political address properly spiced can be made highly entertaining. The speech was avowedly a valedictory effusion, and as Mr. Shepherd himself remarked, with becoming modesty, it had of necessity to partake largely of the pronoun I. The speaker traced his career as a goldfield's member with considerable minuteness, and dwelt upon it with evident relish. He spoke in subdued tones of what he had done for the mining interest, and explained to the satisfaction of all concerned why he had not succeeded in doing more. He mentioned the names of his personal —political opponents with apparent regret, and spoke of their pedigrees in language of mild The burst of eloquent enunciation with which he heralded that part of the subject may be gathered from the following :—One of the gentlemen indebted for his polite _ attentions was described as having matriculated in the goods department of a linen-draper, where he passed through all the initial stages of the trade from the light porter downwards. "That man," continued the exM.H.R. for the Dunstan, "is reputed to be one of our pet politicians —a man who to my knowledge has lived on the forbearance of his creditors, and oscillated between the Judicial Bench and the Bankruptcy Court for years past." The name of another was associated with the manufacture of saugages and saveloys, and to cap all, that of a third was introduced in connection with grave doubts as to his " lavyful visible means of support." Such a clear "explicit exposition of the political situation of affairs in New Zealand was, as might be expected, well received and loudly applauded. In fact, no one will be surprised to learn that it resulted in the following motion, carried with acclamation :—" This meeting has listened with pleasure to the able exposition by Mr. Shepherd of the political situation, and begs to tender their hearty thanks for the same. Further, they beg to state that they learn with regret Mr. Shepherd's determination to retire from political life, but hope he may yet be induced to come forward as a representative of a goldfield's constituency in the General Assembly of New Zealand.'

PRESIDENT GRANT'S NOTE ON CUBAN AFFAIRS. (From the Pall Mall Gazette, Nov. 2.) The note which was handed to the Spanish Government by the United States Minister in September has been judiciously kept back from the American public until the eve of the November elections. By this. means the President avoids the danger of having to modify or explain it away before its full effect has been produced. That it will ultimately be submitted to some such process is likely enough, but by that time the elections will have been held and the work of the note will have been done. In New York especially, where " hard money" has been appropriated by the Democrats, the Administration is very much in want of a cry. When home politics are barren in this respect the Government of the United States have often turned to the affairs of foreign countries to supply the want. In the present instance President Grant has perhaps a personal interest in giving this particular direction to the thoughts of the electors. A horizon clouded over with threatenings of war might naturally lead them to consider whether a tried soldier would not be more useful at the White House than an untried civilian. President Grant has pledged himself not to accept office a third time unless his duty to Ins country demands the sacrifice. The note -about Cuba may be the first step towards creating the demand. As a third-term weapon it is probably the best that the President could have chosen. There are no data for calculating the effect which this note will have on American feeling. It is hard to believe that either party in the United States can have any desire to see Cuba annexed to the Union just now. The South has not been so long or so successfully reorganised that any administration can have much strength to spare for undertaking a similar but

more difficult enterprise. In the South emancipation was an accomplished fact when the work of pacification began. The sword had cut through the many complications connected with compensation and vested interests. But if Cuba were to be annexed to the United States, emancipation would have to be carried out in cold blood, and the Government would at once find itself faced by a white population whom it had been forced to make beggars in the act of taking possession, and by a black population whom it would be impossible to protect except by a prolonged military occupation of the island. It is with a view to these considerations, perhaps, that the- President has repudiated the thought of annexation, and professes only to desire the " elevation of Cuba into an independent republic in harmony with other American republics. But the people of the United States will be much less shrewd than they are supposed to be if they are taken in by this transparent device. Cuba does not possess the elements out of which an independent republic can be constructed. Independence would simply stand for general liberty to cut throats. There is a o-ood deal of this sort of independence in the island already, but if the nominal control of Spain were withdrawn there would be very much more. The Spanish party, deprived of the aid of Spanish troops, would be reduced to the last extremity, and their desperation would probably lead them to at once emancipate the slaves in the hope of obtaining their help in continuing the civil war. There would thus be two parties bent on mutual massacre, with a great negro reserve, for whose co-operation in the work of massacre each party would be outbidding the other. It is plain that this state of things would not remove any of the annoyances to the United States which President Grant refers to. If the continuance of the insurrection grows daily more insupportable, would it be less supportable if the combatants were all native Cubans, and the issue to be decided were not, as now, whether Cuba shall be a Spanish colony or an independent State, but which of two rival parties shall exterminate the other. The only annoyance that the President actually mentions is that no direct means of redress are provided in Cuba for injuries to Americans, " the only method being a slow and circuitous course via Madrid." Under the present circumstances of Cuba, an injured American ought to be thankful that he has a Madrid to go to. He may not take much in the way of redress when he gets there, but if he gets anything at all, it will be more than he would get from the party which might chance for the moment to be in power at Havana. If anything is certain about Cuba, it is that before it had been independent more than a few years the United States would have to take possession of it either as an island, the owners of which had been killed off without leaving any heirs, or as an island which had become so great a scandal from internal disorder that American public opinion would call for its annexation as a necessary measure of police. We can hardly believe that President Grant's pretended moderation will impose upon any elector who is not already looking out for a pretext to cast in his lot with the Administration.

Washington, we are told, is restless because the Spanish Cabinet has not yet answered the note. The only answer that comports with the dignity of an independent power under the circumstances is that which, according to the same telegram, has already been sent —that five Spanish ironclads and ten frigates are being prepared for the Cuban station. There are matters which no Government can consent to discuss with another except after a defeat; and the abandonment of territory is the most conspicuous of these. When the ruler of a foreign country tells the Spanish Cabinet that he regards the independence of Cuba as the certain and necessary solution of the Cuban question, it is unlikely that even under the pressure of bankruptcy and civil strife she will affect to treat it as anything else than an insult. Whether Cuba is likely to remain a part of the Spanish dominions is another matter. If the connection could be severed in a fair and honorable way, it would probably be a great advantage to Spain. Cuba now does but drain her of troops and money, and there seems no likelihood that she will ever do anything else as long as she remains a Spanish possession. It is not the Power that loses the island just now that will be an object of pity so much as the Power that gains it. We question, however, whether the Government of the United States has, or is likely soon to frame, any intention of incurring commiseration on this ground. The exact terms of the note have not yet been published, and it may turn out that the version of it prepared for home consumption has been greatly softened* in its trtnslation into diplomatic language.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN TURKISH AFFAIRS. (From the The Times.) Russia has at last lifted part of the veil which has recently hidden her intentions with respect to Turkey. She puzzled everybody a month ago by speaking, in the Journal de St. Petersbourg, of the Grand Vizier's schemes as if she believed that the Ottoman Empire was at last to be regenerated ; but we now find that this laudation was only a short flight of fancy, for the Official Gazette of Russia brings us back with a wrench to the old ways _ of Muscovite diplomacy. The article, which we have published, is highly interesting and important. It states that the alliance with Austria and Germany has not made Russia forget her friendship for the Sclavonic subjects of the Porte, who have been driven to revolt by " excessive burdens of taxation and oppression." Nor is she satisfied with the mere pledges of Turkey to effect " substantial improvements," and to establish " equal rights for Christians. and Mahomedans." Similar promises have been proclaimed at the dictation of the guaranteeing Powers, but they have never been kept. Hence the; Cabinets must

take such steps a<3 will enable the Porte to make good its engagements, and in any case "an end must be put to the present sad condition of the Christian population in Turkey. Here a note is struck with the real ring of old Russian opinion. We need not stop to ask why it was not struck sooner—before Turkey had time to declare that she would pay only the half of her debts. Passing to the substantial part of the accusation and the prospect, we admit that Turkey has flagrantly broken her promise to set her house in order. No satire could be keener than the ninth article of the Treaty of Paris, which records that the Sultan had communicated to the Congress the text of a firman signifyino - his intention to make all his subjects equal in°the eye of the law. In most parts of the Empire that firman is a dead letter, and if most of the Christians are better treated than they were twenty years ago, it is because, being a more numerous and a richer body than they were then, they are better able to take care of themselves. But they are still denied equal rights with Mahomedans, and in such provinces as Herzegovina they continue to be the victims of intolerable misrule. The Official Gazette of St. Petersburg anticipates the reply that the Porte cannot treat the Christians as the equals of the Mahomedans, for the simple reason that it cannot brave the prejudices of the ruling class, and that it must look to its own safety. This plea is perfectly true. The local courts, representing the local prejudices of the dominant sect, would not set the same value on the oath of a Christian as on the oath of a Mahomedan, even if such a command were to come from the Central Government. Those tribunals will shelter Mahomedans who wrong the rayahs, however loudly Ministers at Constantinople may storm. All the reforming zeal lies at the centre of the empire, and it is by the invincible fanaticism of Mussulman officials. A Mahomedan Government in fact dares not offend that Mahomedan minority by means of whom it rules. Such is the danger that it recruits the army solely from among the Mahomedan minority, and thus subjects them to a crushing blood tax rather than allow the Christians to receive any warlike training. These apprehensions are perfectly just. That the Porte would be overthrown if all the Christians were represented in the local Councils in proportion to their numbers, if they •n ere the equals of the Mahomedans in courts of justice, if they were as freely admitted as Mahomedans to the highest offices of the State, and if they formed the bulk of the army, is as certain as that night will follow day. We must make up our minds to accept this fact, that so long as the Porte exists it must and will rule Turkey for the benefit of its own people. The Official Gazette suggests that the Sultan cannot fulfil his recent promises, unless the guaranteeing Cabinets shall strengthen his hands in some way. _ But this statement either means nothing or it means a great deal more than any Russian statesman will think it prudent to avow. It means nothing if reform is to end with the fulfilment of the Sultan's recent pledges, for, as we have often shown, they would scarcely touch the deep and ineradicable evils of Turkish society. We shall all be living in the most deceitful of fool's paradises if we think that a small reduction of taxation and strenuous attempts to grind honesty out of ingrained corruption will regenerate the Turkish Empire. But Russia means more than this when she says that the guaranteeing Cabinets must take steps to protect the Christians against further oppression, and to give the Porte the power of treating them justly. She thinks, we presume, that a conference of the chief European powers should revive the treaty of Paris, a ad examine the state of the Turkish Empire. A whisper of such a design was heard more than a month ago, and we noted it at the time. Now, England can afford to look at such a scheme more calmly than she fancied herself able to do some twenty years ago. The Crimean war was so far successful that it has lessened our fears of Russia, and the chief seat of military power has since that time shifted to Germany. The great military States of the Continent will have so much to do in watching each other, and they must run so ruinous a race of armaments, that, for the present at least, we need give ourselves little trouble about their rival ambitions. Nor are we so afraid as we once were that Constantinople will become a Muscovite port, or that the road to India maybe blocked now that the Suez Canal has given us a short cut to our dependency. All these facts tend to make us calm critics of the insinuation that the affairs of Turkey call for a conference of the great powers. We readily admit also that it would be absurd to make any objection to such a scheme merely because the ninth article of the treaty of "Paris forbids them, either separately or collectively, to call the Sultan to account for his method of ruling his own subjects. Since the treaty assumed that Turkey was to do what she has not done, we must interpret such a prohibition in a liberal spirit. But let ua clearly understand what a conference must do if it seriously intends to make the Porte stable. It must first look at the financial disorder of the Empire, and devise some plan for making the receipts balance the expenditure. But, if we may trust every competent authority, the only way to do so is to put all the chief financial posts into the hands of Europeans. We ...should be surprised to hear that Prince Gortchakoff, or General Ignatieff, the Russian ambassador at Constantinople, holds a different opinion. But control of finance means political power. It means that the affairs of the Porte shall be put into liquidation. It means that the small clique of pashas who now govern the empire for then- own ends and the ends of their religion shall be gradually deprived of authority. But can any Government fancy that they, who constitute the Porte, will peacefully allow themselves to be thus set aside ? They would be told, no doubt, that the control of the finances would be given back to them so soon as the empire should be saved from bankruptcy; but they would laugh at the idea that

the European Governments would ever, surrender such power over Constantinople as the command of the exchequer. Even, however, if the Sultan and the pashas would consent to commit a prospective act of suicide, the guaranteeing states would have reached only the beginning of their difficulties. Which of them would appoint the financial agents ? Which would give the requisite instructions from year to year ! Equally formidable would, be the task of providing adequate means to deal out justice in such a province as Herzegovina. The Christians will never be freed from tyranny until the Governor-General shall be honest, unfanatical, certain of possessing his place for years, and armed with nearly absolute authority. But where is such a ruler to be found in Turkey; or, if he were found, who could guarantee that the caprice of the Sultan, the intrigues of the Harem, or the jealousies of the official clique in Constantinople would allow him to remain at his place for a single year. THE BISHOP OF MANCHESTER ON" THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY. (From the Manchester Evening Nexos.) Although it is by no means probable thafc Monarchical institutions have received their fullest development in England, it is not difficult to- agree with Dr. Fraser's belief in the existence of strong democratic tendencies among the people at the present time. _ They possess greater power than ever, and it only remains that Mr. Trevelyan should carry his promised measure for the assimilation of the county franchise with that which obtains in boroughs to complete their political emancipation. The changes which have taken place are quite compatible with a just regard for the Constitution of the country, and for the most part have _ been accomplished in a peaceful way. Liberty and reform rather than licentiousness and revolution, have been aimed at. Systematic and gradual progress, as the result of calm counsel and deliberate forethought, has rendered volcanic action unnecessary; while moral suasion has produced effects which, in the case of othernations, have only been imperfectly brought about by physical force. The Bishop of Manchester, in his address lately to the members of the Ashton-under-Lyne Mechanics.' Institution, dilated upon this point with evident satisfaction. It is, indeed, a matter for congratulation that personal freedom and equality before the law are in a special degree the heritage of the present generation of Englishmen. Dr. Fraser looks hopefully upon the prospect, and while admitting thafc the people of this country are now the "real source and depositors of power," points to the fact that democratic influences are spreading over "the whole civilised globe." Civilisation, according to the views of the right rev. prelate, tends to '•" increase the power of the masses," and by aparity of reasoning we may conclude that his lordship is of opinion- that the authority o£ hereditary rulers diminishes in proportion as that of the population is made manifest. The divine right of kings to do wrong has longbeen repudiated in England, and the facilities Avhich exist at the present time for a free transmission of thought throughout the world, and the enforcement of example upon the inhabitants of lands, once placed beyond the reach of civilising agencies, will doubtless assist in a material degree to revolutionise those forms of government in connection with, which the public voice is never heard, and break down systems of despotism that yefc prevail to the prejudice of mankind. The Bishop, however, is not blind to the fact that if a. democratic age has its advantages, perils are also likely to arise. If, on the one hand, ide;u formerly in vogue, to the effect that the woi Id was made for the aristocracy and thafc '

plebeians were allowed to live by sufferance and "ought to be very thankful to the great people who permitted them to exist," no longer obtain, he thinks "there is still danger that democracy may exalt the more selfish and personal interests of individuals." Dr. Fraser is further impressed with the belief that an element of evil is to be found in the circumstance that "in modern society every one was for himself." If by this the Bishop wishes it to be understood that the spirifc of patriotism is dying out, we fear his lordship will not be supported in his views by the public at large. The love of fatherland may not be openly expressed by a people who at the moment are not called upon to meet the approach of a foreign foe, but the feeling is nevertheless latent and ineradicable. The volunteer movement alone should suffice to establish the fact, since it cannot be doubted that, notwithstanding the cold waterthrown upon our citizen soldiers by the WarOffice authorities and the unduly parsimonious conduct displayed by successive Governments, the members of the force, should danger threaten, would rise and " stand a wall of fire around our much-loved isle." Fortunately there has been no occasion to test their fidelity and patriotism. The mere existence of such an army must have a deterrent effect upon the ambitious designs of neighboringStates, and the volunteers, therefore, as a passive body, have been the means of securing to England the best of all triumphs—the bloodless 3 victories of peace. In another sense the remarks of Dr. Fraser have a significant meaning. Very few people indeed are inclined to regard the responsibilities of citizenship in a light which requires them wholly to ignore then- private interests in favor of those directly affecting the common weal, btni, much time and large sums of money are devoted by individuals to public purposes, and at a period when local government more than ever taxes the energies of public men, the advisability of encouraging the action of selfabnegation on the part of those who are qualified to take part in the management o£ municipal or parochial affairs cannot be overrated. The story of the Spartan mother may be applied in a variety of ways-. "My son, Sparta is thy heritage ; it is bparta that thou must adore " has a meaning ahke for

bishops, members of mechanics' institutions, and every other class and order in the community. No doubt, in the presence of any great calamity, the heart of the nation would beat responsive to the call of duty. In the meantime, and pending the advent of those shadowy enemies who have been so long talked about as having it in contemplation to invade our shores, it will be well to pay the closest attention to business with a view to the extension of commerce, and while doing all that is possible to increase the mental culture of the nation, endeavor also to maintain ■ the influence which England is entitled to exercise in the world.