Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4479, 28 July 1875, Page 2

Our exchanges, North and South, are filled with the voluminous correspondence presented to Parliament on the immigration and financial operations of the Government. Dr. Featherston is condemned with an unanimity which is remarkable, to say the least of it. There is scarcely a journal in the colony to say a good word for him, and his removal from office is a foregone conclusion. “ Threatened men live long,” however ; and the Agent-General is as likely to weather this storm as not. In the justice of some of the remarks regarding him we agree ; but we think a good deal is the outcome of prejudice. We do not think that Dr. Featherston would knowingly injure any part of the colony, as has been alleged against him by several newspapers, and as little do we think he wilfully neglected any part of his duties. Our opinion is that Dr. Featherston has had too much to do ;—that his duties have been too multifarious for any single man, however gifted, to discharge efficiently ; and that the natural result has followed, namely, dissatisfaction and complaints on one side, and an attitude of insubordination and defiance on the other. Now, all this is very much to be regretted, and should be put an end to; but we ask, how is it to be done 1 Dr. Featherston may be removed tomorrow, but what guarantee is there that his successor will do better 1 It is very easy to say that any business man of capacity could discharge all the duties of the Agent-General, but we are not disposed, from past experience of this and other departments, to take too much upon trust. We believe that until the London office is reorganised it will be impossible for any man to give satisfaction to the colony as Agent-General. We do not offer this as any plea on Dr. Featherston’s behalf; but we conceive it requisite as an expostulation against the unfair criticism to which he has been subjected. Let the AgentGeneral stand or fall upon his merits or demerits ; but do not find him guilty, of supposititious offences, as some of our contemporaries have done, on purely imaginary evidence. The correspondence with his department, which we complete to-day, is of such a character as to reflect no credit upon the colony; and in the interest of the public, the state of things which it reveals should be put an end to forthwith. We hope the Assembly will take an early occasion to express an opinion upon the subject. With regard to the negotiation of the Four Million loan, the Press of the colony agree that under the circumstances Sir Julius Vogel negotiated it on most favorable terms. ~At the same time, the lesson which this transaction is calculated to teach has not been lost sight of, namely, that the colony has stretched its credit to the utmost for some years to come. If New Zealand goes into the market for more money it cannot expect to get it on anything like the same terms as the last four millions were borrowed. Nor can the published correspondence relating thereto in any way tend to strengthen public confidence in the credit of the colony. A more unfortunate, and as we take it, a more unnecessary correspondence it would be impossible to imagine. It will doubtless come up for discussion in the Assembly, and therefore we abstain from expressing a decided opinion on the merits of the dispute. The fullest explanation will doubtless be given by Ministers, who are as guiltless of control in the matter as any member of the Legislature. We may, however, be permitted to add, that it is a pity, when all parties to this correspondence agree in saying the loan was negotiated on highly favorable terms, that they should not have laid aside any sense of personal annoyance which may have been created during the delicate negotiations. At all events, they might have had it out in private, without making the colony a party to their dispute.