The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 453, 11 October 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1877.

Another instance of the flagrant manner in which the late Ministry has over-ridden the expressed wishes of Parliament has just come to light. Tiiis time the decision of the Legislature which has been set at defiance is not, as was the case in the Walca Maori question, merely a resolution, but an Act of the General Assembly. Tiie Act in question is one constituting the Lake Eliesmere and Forsyth Reclamation and Akaroa Railway Trust. Tuis Trust was brought into existence for the purpose of having a survey made of the lakes preparatory to them being reclaimed. The funds derived from the sale of the lands so reclaimed were to be devoted to the construction of a railway to Akaroa. In order to enable the Trust to meet the expenses of surveys of the lakes, to prepare plans cf drainage, and compile a report to be submitted to the Governor, it was endowed with a certain sum derivable from the sale of waste lands in the district. The funds so obtained were to be placed to the credit of the Trust in some bank, to be operated upon by the Trust in accordance with resolutions passed by that body. The money so derived was placed to the credit of the Trust in a bank in Christchurch, and allowed to accumulate until such time as the Trust should succeed in obtaining the services of an engineer to carry out the work. An engineer was subsequently obtained ; but what was the result? Why, the late Colonial Treasurer quietly stepped in and had the money transferred to the public account of the Colony. Here is a most flagrant breach of the law, and one almost unequalled in'audacity in the history of the Colony. What will the House of Representatives say to this? Will a majority of the representatives of the people pardon such an unheard-of proceeding as Major Atkinson has thus been guilty of? Surely not. The Act incorporating the Trust was one passed calmly and after due deliberation by the General Assembly, and the funds placed at the disposal of the Trustees were as much their money as are the funds of any other public body. Their appropriation by the late Colonial Treasurer to* other purposes than those for which they were set apart by the Legislature is an illegal act, and one deserving of the severest punishment. The money in question having once heen placed at the disposal of the Trust by the Legislature, the late Colonial Treasurer had no right

whatever to touch or interfere with one penny of it. If the Trust was not fulfilling the purposes for which'it was appointed, or was appropriating the money to other"than the legitimate objects for which it was set apart, the House was the proper channel through which to make known the evil, and endeavour to remedy it. The Houso having called the Trust into existence for a specific purpose, and placed funds at the disposal of the Trustees for the carrying out of that purpose, should alone have interfered iu any way. Thank Heaven, t' = e Ministry that p rmitted such acts to go unnoticed, either from carelessness or collusion, is a c ing of the past. Our only regret now ;s fiat it should have so long remained in power to have perpetrated so many evils, a number of which will leave their blighting impress upon the prospects of the country for years, whilst even the lapse of ages will not dissipate others. Those who assert that it will be difficult to form a Ministry apart from the elements that composed the late one, that will possess the confidence of Parliament and the people, know not what they saj r . There are several men in the House whose names I are unsullied, and whose political ability and experience are indisputable, who are capable of jumping even into Major Atkinson's boots while they are yet warm. Then there is our old friend the AttorneyGeneral—bless him! As a man, he is well enough ; but as a politician and a holder of a portfolio, he is a mistake ; in the language of the song, "He's a fraud." There is plenty of ability in him, but somehow it has not yet been developed for the benefit of the people whom he has essayed to serve. Perhaps he would have clone better had he been allowed to fossilise on the Government benches, but, somehow or other, the Parliament deemed it wise to shuffle him off. > There were men in the late Ministry who were too honest by half"; so much so that they were not ashamed to rise half a dozen times a day and protest that they were above suspicion—by Jove! —whilst, in order to give a heightened lustre to this uncommon characteristic, they cited such men as Sir George Grey and Mr. W. L. Kees, whom they accounted the opposite. It is a t*--rriole calamity that the intelligence and honesty of the late Ministry could not avail to keep them in power. Ihe Colony will surely go into full mourning. Even the elements seem to have been disturbed, and, as on other memorable oec-isions, the earth, itself has been convlused. May we survive the loss of such men as Messrs. Ormoxd and Wh taker, and may others, like Joan d'Arc. of old, come to the rescue of the country by supplying the places of such honourable men.