The Oamaru Mail FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 30 July 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1880.

We have on previous occasions glanced j at the progress of events transpiring in the political world of V ictoria. There is much both of warning and instruction in such occasional digressions from the humdrum of local politics, for we; know not how soon the same questions may be agitated among ourselves. The past history of the several Colonies discloses singular coincidences in the problems which are evolved, And thus the complications of our neighbors todav may be our own to-morrow. It is marvellous truly that at the very ends of the earth, the heirs of all the ages that are past, we appear in so many matters but as

Infants crying in the night, Infants crying for the light, 1 With nothing but a cry ! j It is Victoria, tlie most adventurous of L the Colonies, which thus pioneers the . way, and the tide of democracy, originating there, travels onwards till it breaks for good or evil upon shores of her less progressive neighbors.. Her great difficulty for years has been a purely constitutional one; it is the Upper House, with its unlimited power —& pure despotism indeed when- , ever it chooses to exercise it—a powei often unfortunately exercised to an extent which proves a severe .strain upor the nation. Hence numerous deads locks and such indelible stains upon hei history as "Black "Wednesday." We are no apologists for extreme measures but the impartial critic must fairlj identify the effects with the causes, and ' who need dream of moderate .council; , when a system of reprisals is once introduced % In the theory of constitutional government, the Upper Chambei is introduced as a salutary check upor ' hasty legislation. In Victoria, Jiiow- ' ever, it has usurped supreme power and interposed an absolute veto to the 1 will of the people. JSTo British speaking community can ever be otherwise thai in a state of chronic agitation undei such, conditions. On many jngmprable occasions the will of the people has been treated as the idle winds, anc measures which at any moment woulc be supported by an overwhelming majority of the people if referred to ; plebicitum, have been ruthlessly mangled, or cast forth with almost in elecent haste. Victoria can never b<s , prosperous or happy under such a con dition of things, and we have the authority of the late Premier, Mr Service, than whom there can be ne better judge, for saying so. The t\v< Houses must be brought into harmoni or the constitution pronounced a failure And why did the late Premier sc signally fail in the attempt 1 He is ai able anel earnest man, and during hi term of office was most heroic iij. hi efforts. He, too, had powerful sup port: but it all went for nothing And why 1 A glance at his proposal: at once discloses the cause. At thi distance we can impartially and calmlj deal with his measure, and its grea defect was clearly in expanding th( basis of the Upper House. The joim dissolution and joint sitting were nc doubt substantial concessions, and when ever this question is settled, we venture to predict that the lines laid down by Mr. Service must so far be adherec to. But before making such concession: the Conservative party increased th< numerical strength of the Upper House to such an extent that in finj joini sitting a majority of their number witl a minority of the Lower House woulc control all legislation. Then, again, the elimination clause, while embodying probably a wise principle if the tw< Houses were brought into any satis factory relationship, in the scheme o Mr. Service, disguise it as he may meant the absolute transference of the power of the purse to the join Chamber, in which the popular brand of the Legislature would infallibly b< in a minority. That a scheme so radi cally defective should fail to pass th< Lower House is what might have beei expected, and that consequent on th< dissolution, the Liberal party shoulc come back to power might also havi been safely predicted. We indeec marvel at the audacity, of such ai attempt to strangle the people's Cham ber, and crush out every Liberal aspira tion of the country. It was either s most cunningly devised scheme t< beguile the people, or the Service Administration are unable to interpre the signs of the times. That Mr Service perfectly understood the diffi culty, his very able and comprehensive speech on the second reading of the Reform Bill sufficiently demonstrated In the remedy he proposed, he was however, altogether at fault, and having thus sown the wind, he must be content to reap the whirlwind. Ir any final settlement of the question we venture to say the lines laid down bj the late Ministiy afford the mosi reasonable prospect of solving the question. The sentiment, if nothing more, of the people is evidently against Mr. Berry's plebicite, and a nominee Upper House is surely a reactionary measure. A joint dissolution would in ibself be a very important reform. It would go a Jong way towards a settlement of the question, for many rricmreturned to the Upper House during wide interval?), an/1 when the political atmosphere in perfectly calm would have small chajux in a period oi excitement, and during an election er; masse. The) joint hitting hatt alwayf been regarded m another hopeful fjolu-

tion, and, "were the relative strength of parties left fairly balanced, is a' moSt unobjectionable meastae. The elimination clause might also work satisfactorily, although we confess we are by no means clear upon the point. The Lower House i;;is reported to the inclusion of vriti'., in i.lk- Appro-j priation Act- as- a mere device to coerce the other branch of the Legislature, and on more than one occasion it has proved of some sei*vice. But all such devices—and. we fear the elimination clause may be reckoned in such a category—ultimately lead to confusion worse confounded. Mr. Service began at the wrong end. He proposed not only to make the Upper House more numerous, but also more powerful. Is this the outcome of years of strife during which the absolute power of the one chamber and the powerlessness of the other became so conspicuous 1 Is that how this vexed question is to be settled?— Surely not. Not only so, but he proposed by his contrivances to render the Upper Chamber, which in our theory of government has no authority in financial matters, supreme in finance—a feature in his proposals which, had they become law, would have amounted to a revolution. This was travelling in the wrong direction with a vengeance! T »Ve marvel that such a measure could be seriously proposed, and, notwithstanding the jubilant elevation to office of Mr. Service and his friends, nothing became them so much as their leaving office, albeit they had to be driyen forth without dignity and without honor. We shall look forward with much interest to the further development of the legislative drama. It is devoutly to be wished that Mr. Berry may surround himself with the best men of tjae grefit Liberal party. The toleration of the latter suffered a severe strain on many occasions during his last term of office. Moderate counsels should jfrevail. The country is getting weary of it. They know well what they want. By an infallible instinct—if y/e may employ the phrase—once more public opinion receded from Mr. Berry as chastisement for his excesses. It called Mr. Service for a brief period to office, and, having wasted a precious period, relegated him once moi'e to his old quarters. It is as nearly an infallible test as can be applied to public men and public measures, and it alone is supreme. We sincerely hope that whatever new departure Mr. Berry may take, it will be such as will deserve popular support, and that the vexed question, without the settlement of which, as Mr. Service said, Victoria can neyer be prosperous or happy, will be finally settled by the present Parliament.