THE Otago Daily Times.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 38, 28 December 1861, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times.

" Jnveniam viam aut J'aciam."

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1881

In the London Times of the 18th October, appears an article on Australian politics and forms of government, written in a style that only the Times can boast of. Clear, forcible, trenchant, and brilliant, one feels that a master-hand is dealing with the subject, one who is more given to breadth of outline than minuteness of detail. Instead of seeking to deduce practice from theory, he has made it his purpose to deduce theory from practice. Responsible government he looks upon as a failure, because some of the incidents that have arisen under it are amenable to severe condemnation. The evils of ultra democracy, ,its arbitrary pretensions, its corrupt combinations, its despotism, its venality, its selfishness, are till ascribed to responsible government, simply because under responsible go-

vernment radicalism has flourished. But, has : the idea never suggested itself that radicalism is not necessarily an integral feature of Constitutional government —indeed, that it is rather an unwholesome fungus that has gained surreptitious growth than the healthy plant indigenous to the soil. If the Times would adopt this view of the case it would be brought to see that there is nothing in responsible government, placed in the hands of the yxmngest communities, necessarily antagonistic to a healthy, liberal conservatism; and it would complain not of responsible government having been given to the colonies, but of the slovenly manner in which it has been bestowed. If a father sends his son abroad to a very desirable colony, but in doing so omits to provide him with the means calculated to promote the career for which he is destined, and if that career prove a failure, the fault does not rest with the sending the young man abroad, but rather with the manner in which he has been sent. So it is with England's young Australian fledglings; thevwere wisely allowed to leave the parent nest, but they were not provided with the proper means of entering on their after destiny. The Constitutions given to the Australian colonies,especially those given to Victoria and New South Wales, are not such as it was meant they should have, and herein lies the whole complaint against responsible forms of government. England, in its anxiety to get rid of its young colonial offspring, who, to say truth, were very troublesome, and not at all reluctant to free themselves from parental control, set them adrift with ill-considered and patchedup Constitutions. Between the Colonial Office and the several colonies, it is true, prolonged correspondence took place, and drafts of Constitution Bills were passed and returned till no doubt the subject became a very disagreeable one to the Colonial Secretary. But what could be expected from measures prepared in this way—at the one end a community presumed to be attempting to acquire more privileges than it ought to be allowed, at the other legislators legislating on a subject with which they were only partially acquainted, and divided between the fear of prizing the colonists too much, and the desire not to give them too little. Each Constitution Act was in itself a compromise, and, taking the whole of them together, they neither assimilated amongst themselves, nor were the several parts of each harmoniously constructed. Let any English statesman remember what he intended to stipulate for in the construction of Colonial Constitution Acts when the subject first came under his notice, and then let him consider what he was at last willing- to consent to, and he will see how far the reality has fallen short of the expectation. The nicely denned relative powers of the Home and Colonial Governments ; the carefully reserved rights of the one, the privileges freely bestowed on the other, which the Acts were to indicate with iron precision, were all forgotten in the desire to get rid of a disagreeable boring subject; and the result is a mass of jumbled legislation satisfactory neither to those who devised it, nor to those who are to be governed by it.

It is easy to see what is wrong when an occurrence has once taken place, and therefore we do not pretend to any special knowledge when we believe we are able to point out the faults of the system under which it was permitted the Colonies to take the initiative in constructing their own Constitution Acts. We wiil not stop to consider whether the Acts should have been drafted and provisionally passed at home and submitted to the Colonies for limited alterations, whether the Legislatures of the Colonies should have been allowed the privilege of suggesting what alterations they pleased, and whether these should have been considered as authoritative on behalf of the Colonial communities, or whether a Royal Commission to take evidence on the spot would not have been the best medium for obtaining the necessary local knowledge —we will not pause to consider these points, but this we may with confidence assert, that before the Constitution Acts were framed, the principles on which they were to be constructed should have been clearly and minutely laid down. The relations with the Home government should have been defined so that there could be no possibility of misapprehension ; and no ' less forcibTv should certain considerations have been stipulated for, the observance of which was calculated to preserve sympathy and.esteem between the Parent country and its Colonial children.

In the omission of these conditions we trace the growing estrangement which the Times only too truly describes. England has renounced its authority in so unconditional a manner, that whenever she sees fit to assert it, the interference will, no doubt, be characterised as tyrannical. She has neglected to lay down rules on which colonial institutions were to be based, and the young communities rioting in an excess of-liberty following on a youth too carefully " bottled up," have committed excesses for which the lax parent has only herself to condemn. It is useless to deny that sooner or later utter estrangement must come between England and the colonies, if these persist in modelling all their institutions after purely democratic forms. England, with its liberal enlightened conservatism, with its respect for vested interests, with its horror of injustice either to the few or to the many, can never be brought to sympathise with the tyranny of prohibitionary class legislation. Every echo from far off Australia will remind it of the mischievous attempts of its own selfish demagogues ; and the necessity must some day be

forced on it of expressing utter disapproval 'of the course pursued by its colonies, or submitting to the subversion of its own cherished institutions.. The bond of union : between nations as between individuals rests ; but upon a slender basis if a community of inte-, rests is not cemented by mutual sympathy. Set j: down the American war to what cause one likes, the flame, no matter to what it owes its origin, would never have continued to burn, were it not fed by the hatreds and jealousies engendered by the disunion of long years. Want of mutual sympathy and esteem drew \ the first line between the aristocratic Souther-' ners and the democratic Northerners, andj the line widened and widened till it became a! yawning gulf. It is well that England's Colonies should remember, before it is too late, what the consequences will be if they persist in modeling their institutions in defiance of the prejudices of the parent country. If they are content to abide them well and good, but we much mistake if the lawless impulses of a suddenly acquired largely augmented freedom haveasj^et degenerated into the uncontrollable desire of casting off all bonds of allegiance.

The San Francisco Minstrels still continue, thei performances with unabated success to crowded houses. The only celebration of Christmas sports on Boxing' Day was at Jones's Horse Bazaar, when, according to /advertisement, a large numlaer of prizes was offered for competition. The place was elaborately decorated for the occasion, and a band of music also! contributed to enliven the proceedings. The sports' consisted of dancing, running1, leaping", climbing the j greasy-pole, jumping in sacks, dipping- for oranges, j &c. Everything went off with the greatest eclat, I and. the large crowd which was assembled in and about the bazaar all day, preserved good order and good humour throughout. Accounts from Wethers tone's still continue very satisfactory. Some of the claims are yielding* splendid results, whilst a large number return steady and excellent wages. There is no reason to suppose that the ground is limited in extent, as fresh discoveries continue to be made. At Waitahuna and Tuapeka a numerous and apparently contented population has settled down. It is to be hoped that no time will be lost in offering- facilities to the miners for obtaining permanent homes on their own purchased or longleased ground. The news from Waipori, since the report which we lately published, leaves reason to suppose that it will become a large and rich gold field. Many miners, who left owing to the scarcity of provisions, are returning. A Railway and Telegraph.—Notwithstanding all the Victorian journals have done to " write down " Otago, it is evident that many of their readers are inclined to regard it with confidence, and to invest their capital in it. Amongst other offers made to the Provincial Government is one for constructing a Railway and Telegraph from Dunedin to Port Chalmers. The tenderer undertakes to find the necessary capital if the Provincial Government will give a minimum guarantee of six per cent, profit for 21 years. We believe that offers "of the kind are favourably entertained, and doubt not that arrangements will shortly be entered into to encourage the carrying out of several public undertakings by private enterprise. The annual elections for the Town Board to fill the vacancies left by the five members who annually re-! tire, takes place on Monday next. We hope that electors will be conscious of the importance of the occasion, and select men fitted for the duties of the | Boai'd and willing to perform them, which, it must bei confessed, the present members either cannot or will not. ■ By Cobb's coach, which arrived from the Diggings last night, we learn that there lias been very stormy weather up country, wind, rain, snow, and sleet, and that communication was interrupted between Waitahuna and Tuapeka, it being impossible to cross the Waitahuna river at Murray's, and consequently no passengers or parcels have come from Gabriel's Gully. We are informed that Mr. Rowley, of Rowley's Express, narrowly escaped being swept down the creek in the attempt to cross. The road was in a.feaxful state all the.way down, the newly made portion being by far the worst, indeed, axle deep. Many miners were leaving Waitahuna for Weatherston's and Waipori. The coach brought a full load of passengers from Waitahuna. The Waipori Gold Field. —During the last few days accounts have reached town, which leave every reason to suppose that the Waipori will turnout a first-rate gold field. Men who left at first, owing to the want of provisions, are returning; and it is said some of the claims promise well. In a day or two we shall be in a position to furnish accurate intelligence. Meanwhile those who'intend to visit the gold fields may take Waipori in their route, without going out of the way of the shortest road to Tuapeka and Waitahuna.

We are greatly pleased to learn that there is at length a reasonable probability of an being being1 erected at Gabriel's Gully: The want of an establishment of the kind has been long1 and seriously felt, mining accidents being of almost daily occurrence while the amount of sickness cannot fail to be considerable, as the pursuit of gold digging, which even under the most favorable cireuiiio unices, is very trying1 totho health, n c-;p:^i:v:y so, in f-ic ?oraewhnt rigorous climate of this pro vine?. We understand that an arrangement has been made, by which the Provincial Government undertakes to contribute a sum of £500 towards the erection of an hospital, provided, that a certain amount be raised by private subscription. This is a step in the right direction, and, we { sincerely trust, that the miners wiii show, not only their generosity, but their good sense, by subscribing liberally towards an object, the entire benefit of which will be reaped by their own body. On and after the 30th inst., all roistered letters! for Invercargill, the Southern districts, ur the; Gold-fields, will have to bo posted before 4 o'cloc:.,! p.m., on Saturdays, and st:irn;>H nixi nv.^ai'l letters and newspapers, before 9 (/.•lock, a..n., 0.. Muudays.

< Father, what do you mean by raising things in I a hot house ? ' ' Why, my dear boy, you are being-1 raised, in a house, too iiot to hold me sometimes.' ; The mother seized a broomstick, but the man made' tracks. j In a Boston paper, a young iaciy advertises time she is desirous to meet with a good-tempered and affectionate partner, that can otter her a comfort-; able home. A gentleman of colour not objected to, from forty-five to fifty years of age. A lively Hibernian exclaimed, at a party where Theodore Hook shone as the evt-tiij.u >uu-, • la-w. Master Theodore, you are the hook Una nobody can bait.'