The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1878. POLITICAL SUMMARY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5353, 24 May 1878, Page 4

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1878. POLITICAL SUMMARY.

The approach of the time when the General Assembly meets has caused the customary movement in general politics, and our record of the past four weeks is one of greater activity than was that of the period immediately preceding. lii view of the defenceless condition of the colony, we have been watching with keen anxiety the progress of the negotiations for the settlement of the great European difficulty, and the chances of war which it may involve. Our rulers have unfortunately, in the 1 party struggles of the last with a perversity which they now see cause to regret, deliberately refused to follow the initiative of the late Government and the example of the, Australian colonies to the extent of even inquiring as to the best mode of defending our porta and, protecting, out valuable trade from privateers or hostile cruisers. They showed their determination by'uncivilly refusing the proffered advice and services of Sir William Jervois and Colonel Sceatchley, with whom, by the intervention of the Imperial Government, an, arrangement had boon made for the inspection. of the ports of this colony, with a view to taking the necessary measures for their defence. Now, however, •when,'“for any practical purpose of safotj’, it wriuld, bo too late, there is an appearance'of activity ; but no tangible results aiO'yet Visible;; “ A man-of-war without ■** gflttsjth'is’ th'e.'x>roverbial expression of hebjlhs^iieSs; 1 / arid describes exactly : the ribslfiSri'iri'iyhiph the" honorable and gallaiil 1 ‘ 'geiifclemanj * el ‘Mi li istex* for Colonial Defence, now finds himself, :

It is the calamity of tlio present time! that such' questions as our' defence, I whether from' external aggression or against internal disturbance in our rela-s tion with the native people, cannot bo lifted out of the arena of party action,; and bo calmly and dispassionably dealt with on their merits in tiro interest of the ; whole community, and that the work to be done.shall be regarded as of less importance than the mere question of who shall have the credit of doing it. ; In both these questions the general! interest has been sacrificed to party; purposes. The advice of experts, as i to the defence of our ports has been; curtly refused, apparently because a pre-| ceding; Ministry_ had asked for that ad-1 vice ;, the Maori King lias been .worried; into an interview with the Prime Minis-! tor, apparently only to prove, that ; the j influence of Sir George Grey with | Tawhiao and his adherents is superior to j that of the late Sir Donald McLean. A ; meeting between the Premier, the Native) Minister, and the King took place at a Maori Kaim/a known as -Hikurangi on the 9th and' 10th instant, the report of which)will'.be found in another place in; our columns. A great deal, of mystery : has been designedly permitted to surround; tlie proceedings on this occasion, . thei really important business, if any, having, been transacted secretly between the Pre-. mier and the King in what was called! •‘‘The Parliament of us two!’.’ ~What-ap-i pears publicly is that Sir GBOKGB’iGREYi has made ah offer to Tawhiao ! of du; annuity of £SOO for himself, a subsidy for Ids people, a grant of a largo tract of land -—the remainder of the confiscated territory—and that the King demands that ; the power which.henow,affects to exercise; according to the old formula, “Waikato “is mine, no roads, no surveys, no , “ courts, 1 ' shall still be preserved to him. 1 This arrangement, as: may, be supposed; i does not find much favor amongst those who are ■ most immediately, interested, the Waikato people ; but it is to bo hoped) that when all the circumstances are known ; the business may : be found to be better than it looks. The danger of any recurrence of a serious disturbance, haying the , old character of a war, has long since passed away, thanks to the prudence and care of those who have had the control of native affairs during, the last ten years. The battle now is fought with .the tongue; a weapon profitably used by our Maori brethren in their late encounter with the wits of Ministers.

There has been much post-sessional speechificatidn during the month. The 1 ball was . opened by the Honorable! the Speaker Sir William Fitzhekbebt at the tipper Hutt. Being debarred by his official position from showing party 1 colors, the speech was, mainly, a funeral { oration over Provincialism, of which Sir! William was, in the latter days, one of! the pillars. The disappointment of those who expected a party speech was gently deprecated as being as unreasonable as the: supposition that even the favorite for the Derby could run in “hobbles.’' Some political bookmakers are disposed to put money on the Speaker in a possible race !for the Premiership in the coming session,; and are of opinion that their favorite can! come to the post stripped, in good form,! without hobbles, and fit, in sporting phrase, to run for his life. The Hon. Mr.: Fox, member for Wanganui, has given to his constituents aii account of his stewardship, and received 1 a warm and gracious vote' of thanks and confidence. Mr. Stevens at .Christchurch was equally fortunate and deserving Mr. Donald Reid, the member for the Taieri, and lately Minister of Lands, met his constituents at Mosgiel, and after defending a course of straightforward and loyal,political conduct, which was its own eulogium and needed no defence, announced his intention to retire from public’life ; a determination from which he was' not apparently moved by a most flattering resolution, unanimously adopted by the meeting, praying that he would still 1 continue to be their representative. The most important speech of the month was! that delivered at Marton by the member for Rangitikei, the Hon. Mr.'Ballancb, who is now Colonial Treasurer and Minister of Education. Mr. Ballancb en- ! ideavored to account satisfactorily for his desertion from the ranks of the supporters of Major Atkinson’s Ministry in the crisis of a party struggle last year ;■ but, having profited by that proceeding, he had the Usual difficulty in proving that there was nothing but a principle involved. Speaking with the authority of a member of the Government, lie disclosed the fact that between himself and his chosen, leader there was a complete antagonism of r opinion on the cardinal! points of the declared policy of. the Go-’ vernment. Sir Geouge Gkey has been! over the whole colony preaching manhood suffrage and that no man shall have more, than one vote,’ whilst Mr. Ballancb declares the policy of the Government to be 1 that all the existing qualifications for the franchise shall be retained excepting the I miner’s right, and that for that, manhood [ . suffrage, tenipered by two year’s’residence, i by registration, and by an educational test, shall be substituted. Instead of one vote, thus it will be possible for an elector who may have property 1 in each ’electoral district of the colony to have 1 seventy-one votes. The “ free breakfasttable ’’ the. which also the Prime Minister has been promising everywhere is to be postponed ; but there is to be a land tax of the most absurdly unfair kind, and a levy on Banks and Loan ; and Insurance companies. The Government policy is thus at present somewhat “mixed but it may be expected that it will clear itself in due time. : . - ,

Recent vacancies in the representation 1 of Franklin, in the North, of Cheviot, and of the Grey Valley, in' the South Island,' have been filled by the return of “ inde-t “pendent” members, who • promise a general support to Sir George Grey. Unless their adhesion is personal they may have some difficulty in regard to the now policy of the Government as de-f velopedby Mr. ’Ballanoe. Independence is, however, a safe platform. ; ! ; It is satisfactory to be assured that the colonial revenue from all sourced promises largely to exceed the estimate of the Colonial Treasurer, arid gives proof of the steady progress and prosperity of the colony, and 1 of th'o wisdom and courage and prescience of those who, in the face of many difficulties, showed the way to the successful development of the resources, of the colony by the policy of public works and immigration, inaugurated in 1870, and who : predicted: its results. : . 1 . ■

It is said that .the 20th of July next is the time at which tho General Assembly will meet, and that Ministers expect that tho session will be short. Prophecies on that point of shortness have occasionally been found to be falsified by experience. There is, however, a general desire to give the Government fair play; although in their own practice in past sessions some of its members have put themselves out of the pale of consideration.