New Zealand Times. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1875.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4327, 1 February 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1875.

The political significance of Mr. O’Rorke’s meeting at Onohunga is not groat. The meeting, it appears, was called by that gentleman for the purpose of making a personal explanation ; that done, he informed his audience that he did not, on that occasion, mean to address himself to a consideration of the causes which, he believed, would bring about a great crisis for this country. This he would do on some future occasion. Now, we hold that it was the duty of the member for Onehunga not to keep the country altogether in the dark. Without revealing Cabinet secrets, as ho most properly said ho would not do, if he was aware of facts not generally known or patent to the

country, menacing to its honor or credit, (for that, we take it, is what ho meant,} as a prominent politician he ought not to have kept silence. There was no time so proper for a discussion of the “impending “ crisis” as the one ho had himself chosen to address his constituents. But if there" be nothing whatever in this Onehunga scare, this foreboding of evil, then we say, Mr. O’Rokkk will considerably weaken his hold upon the New Zealand public. He is personally popular ; he is an amiable and accomplished gentleman; he is capable of making sacrifices for principle; but should his predications come to nought, he will cease to be thought a far-seeing and sagacious politician. Whether ho is so or not, of course is not for us to say at present; but it is our duty to add, that he went altogether too far or did not go far enough, .The observations to which we refer were made by Mr. o’B.orke when thanking the meeting for its vote of confidence and approval. He said ‘he “ regretted there had been no lengthened “discussion, but it was not too late, if “ any one wished to propound any views “on the impending crisis. He fully be- “ lieved that there wasacrisis impending. The meeting wisely resolved to wait for the Oracle ; but as it was dumb, the assemblage dispersed, none the wiser for the solemn assurance that “ a crisis was “ impending.” , Mr. O’Rokke, it will be seen from the printed report, ignores the House of Representatives, and looks to the Superintendents of provinces as entitled to exercise the legislative functions of the General Assembly. This point was dealt with by us in a previous article; it is necessary, however, to revert to it again in order to familiarise the public mind with the pretentions of the Superintendontal party, and to warn the Colony of the danger to which it is exposed should that party prevail. The member for Onehunga may explain that he did not mean anything of that kind : but if so, what did he mean 1 The only other possible explanation is that he uttered the rankest nonsense, for the purpose of creating a strong impression amongst his constituents of the injustice about to be done by the abolition of Provincial Government in the North Island.

When Mr. O’Rokke pointed to the “great works that have been effected in “ Onelmnga within the last few years,” he surely did not mean it to be understood that these works were undertaken by the Provincial Government of Auckland. We presume he refers to the Mangare bridge, across the Manukau channel at Onehunga, and to the railway. But these have been completed out of the Public Works Loan. The railway was in part formed by the Provincial Government, but it was without funds to complete it; and the Mangare bridge was altogether the work of the General Government. These facts are well known. It was needless, therefore, to appeal to the works in . progress and completed at Onehunga in proof of his.devotion to their interests. If the districts benefited by these works, were assessed to pay interest and sinking fund on the expenditure, we suspect Mr. O’Eorke would not be so ready to claim the credit for them. The personal question assumes a somewhat different shape from that which the telegram prepared us to expect. His accusation against a former colleague of personal duplicity is much stronger, and much more explicit, and as it stands has a decidedly ugly look. But ho goes further even, and states that he gave the Premier notice, “in writing,” of his intention to retire from the Ministry, should the abolition resolutions be passed. It is not for us to reconcile the conflicting statements of the gentlemen implicated in these transactions, but we cannot help thinking that it is unfortunate the occasion for making them should have arisen.

The news by the Mikado, at Auckland, from San Faanoiaco, which appears in our telegraphic column, is interesting. Not that there is much that is new or startling, but because we have a more detailed account of events previously reported by way of the East. And first, there is the melancholy fate of the Oospatrick brought prominently before the public, bearing out our worst forebodings regarding the cargo of the ship. Our contemporaries, North and South, dwelt upon the necessity for providing passenger ships with a larger number of boats; —no doubt a wise suggestion. The Daily Times went the length of suggesting that wooden ships should be disqualified for carrying emigrants;—a suggestion we neither think wise, nor possible of carrying out, except at a great money loss to the colony, in the existing state of the mercantile marine. But the facts bear out our surmise that the rapid destruction of the ship was occasioned by having combustibles on board as cargo. The fire appears to have attained complete mastery of the ship almost at once ; and whether the hull was of timber or iron mattered little. Nothing could arrest the progress of the flames. The masts fell, killing many persons, soon after the fire was discovered; panic seized the passengers ; a boat was rushed, mostly by women, who appear to have had the first chance of escape, but it was swamped, and they all perished. “An explosion subsequently occurred, “and the vessel sank.” We are thus able to piece together sufficient facts to enable us to form a precise idea of how this frightful catastrophe occurred. We can likewise understand ho wit was that the crew in the surviving boat were left without either food or water. There was no time to make any provision for sustaining life in the boat: the men barely escaped with life from the floating furnace which their ship had suddenly become. Now, as we said on a previous occasion, the strictest inquiry should be made into the cause of this disaster. That it originated from having combustibles in the cargo there can now be no reasonable doubt. Most likely, as in the recent gunpowder explosion on the Thames, the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion ; indeed any other hypothesis is irreooncileable with the facts of the case —the sudden discovery of the fire, its immediate mastery over the ship, and the explosion which rent the hull asunder, obliterating all traces of her. Some one is responsible for all this, however, and that some one must be got at somehow, or the colony will want to know the reason why. There must bo no slurring over the responsibility. New Zealand cannot afford to charter floating powder or kerosene magazines, for immigration purposes ; and the sooner the Government recognises this fact the better it will bo for them and for the colony also. We shall await, however, fuller details before commenting further on this lamentable affair.

The news from America is by no means assuring. President Grant still backs Kelloq in Louisiana, although he has no legal claim to the Governorship of the State. General Sheridan is New Orleans with 2000 Federal troops, to overawe the white population. It is clear that this state of things cannot last long. A social war is all but inevitable. Perhaps Grant calculates upon seizing the supreme authority during a period

of civil turmoil. We do not think the American people would submit to a military dictatorship, but the attempt may be made for all that.

As we anticipated would be the case, the United States, which left its claim against Spain on account of the Virginias affair in abeyance while it was nominally under a Republican Government, now presses for a settlement, and serious complications are likely to ensue. King Alphonso will soon have his hands full at - home and abroad, for he can no more hope to satisfy his own subjects than he can satisfy the aspirations of the Cubans after independence and compel their allegiance to himself. The German Government is still vigorously prosecuting its war against the Church dignitaries, imposing fine and imprisonment where the law of the Empire is violated.

There was another revolution in Peru, but the State troops suppressed it. The King of the Sandwich Islands is at Washington, attempting to negotiate a loan and ratify a treaty of commerce with the United States. For certain concessions, and a million dollars, he is ready to pledge all the pearls under the water in his dominions, and to make Honolulu harbor a perpetual naval station for the United States. We suspect this latter concession will be objected to by Great Britain, which has some claims upon the Hawaiian Government the latter may find somewhat difficult to discharge.