The Oamaru Mail. SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 14 August 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 4, 1880.

llkckstj.y the hou. member for Parnejl (Mr. Ttfoss) introduced a proposal ingoing into Committee of Supply of a very sweeping character. It was that a, convention should be appointed to consider what would virtually be a remodelling of the Constitution of the Colony. A debate ensued which lasted two days, and which' was of a most desultory charactei, the result being, as might have "been expected, that the motion was lost, without eliciting anv valuable expression of opinion on the subject. The theory he enunciated is that our present Constitution is a failure, and has broken down from its superincumbent weight. He pointed, with much force, to the exhausting but impotent outcome of the present session, the immense amount- of business yet on the notice paper, and the wholesale "slaughter of the innocents" which must as usual inevitably accrue. The member for Farnell is to be complimented upon having the courage of his '-pinions, and, although I somewhat out of season, perhaps, we are prepared to go much further. JTo one j paying the slightest atteii r i*>n to the j course of events in the present can come to any other conclusion than that the Constitution has broken down. How are we aoverned 1 Have we really representative fjovernment ? Are we not now —heaven save the mark —by a Ministry as palpably impotent as ever occupied the benches iii our rcpresenta:ive chamber, and yet is not such a niisfortuneinevitable 1 We are being governed by Koval Commissions, swayed by local jealousies and even personal pique. We are trovenied by caucuses productive of block votes and foregone conclusions, paralysing all ;ir.;.';iivcuc a:ici wise deliberation" Such action ss the result of a disinclination on one side of the House to effect a change, and, on the other, to undertake respongjbilitv and odium. Even in the the matter of retrenchment, Her Majesty's Ministers have foisted their responsibility on L'- the shoulders of a Committee of the House, &nd. whilst ®e anticipate that they will claim the credit for such savings as have been effected, • such credit properly belongs to the Opposition. Instead of •.vithdrawing their estimates and reeasiti'iC thoiu so as to make them consistent with ilu- altered circumstances or the Colony, they me unsratesmaniike principle of eift-cring allround reductions, which will fall with terrible force upon already underpaid pubiio servants— they have, at the same t;me, true to their Conservative instincts, retained hi'_di salaries that have been piled up year after year with the profligacy attendant upon"the acquirement of huge loans and useless officers. _ Whoever heard of retrenchment after this fashion at a period of such exigency ? Anything mora unjust and absurd could scarcely be conceived, vet this is but one sample of the incapacity of Iviiniotprs. A service so overgrown, and, so far as many of the hk'her officers are concerned, so overpaid, could be reduced by at least twenty-five percent..if it had been gone about on rational principles, and yet there would not be the distress which will follow the cheeseparing of the Ministry. A Committee of the whole House is not the proper bodv to doal irith details of administration, and Ministers must be content to bear all the odium of a minimum of retrenchment effected at a maximum of hardship and injustice. Legislation this session more than ever has been, as Stephen Blackpool says, " Aw a muddle, aw a jnuddle." But the proposals of the hon. member for Parnell would hard!}* remedy a state of things so utterly hopeless. He argued in favor of enlarging the powers of County Councils and transferring a proportion of the routine business or the session to those bodies. Bui would that cure the evil? Having less to do, would Parliament do it any "better ? We fear not, We must look "in another direction for a remedy for the evils that encumber and stultify re.presentative government. The idea of a Convention has been shelved for the present. In some respects rh<e ziir.e was not opportune for simply a Colonial Convention. But no better time could have been chosen for an inti-TColojiicjl one in Melbourne. Such a Convention could scarcely fail to produce the roost valuable results. The idea is far from Utopian. The time may, perhaps;' not have arrived when the confederation of the Australasian Colonies should be accomplished ; but an Australasian Dominion may be looked forward to as, at least, the most hopeful solution of the problems tnat aie exercising the minds of politicians in connection with responsible government in these Colonies. Each Colony has troubles peculiar to itself, but there aie greater matters of leuislation which aie common to thern ail. A Legislature to deal with all such matters, and composed of the wisest men avs.iiablo, would oe a desirable substitute for a numb.er of Legislatures into which so much iiv : becihty has crowded. It would put an end to the parish vestry element —an e>il which sg increasing year by year throughout the Colonies, and which is destructive of ail dignity, patriotism, and self-respect. Au Australian Dominion | would "take a high place ;>.mongst the nations of the world. Our united incomes would far exceed the income of some Continental nations. To legislate for such :>. Dominion would be the laudable ambition of our foremost men who 2-c now so frequently driven in disgust and despair into retirement from political life, and the collective wisdom, intelligence, and patriotism of such a Legislature would elevate our political institutions and be productive of incalculable blessings to the whole Australian group. Canada divided into provinces took no position, | and made but tardy progress—Canada as t Dominion is a country whose position is enviabje an 4 worthy of emulation. Has not Great Britain .declared in favor of an extension of tlie principle which lias done so much for Canada in contemplating the election into a Dominion of -ths? iSouth African Colonies? The time Beerus opportune for, at least, contemplation of a similar movement in this quarter of the globe. Such an inclination towards a common centre may, and, wo think, will, prove a prelude to similar but still more important action on tho part of

Australasia. We venture to suggest that au Australasian Convention shotrld have been held in Melbourne during the Exhibition period. We hear of a Social Science Congress and kindred movements. Why should there i;or. be an Aws< ralasian Confederation Gonmvxs ?