THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam." DUNEDIN, FRIDAY, JUNE , 1862.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 174, 6 June 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam." DUNEDIN, FRIDAY, JUNE , 1862.

If Sir George Grey be of at all a vindictive disposition, and if he be a man of sufficiently retentive memory to hold in recollection the feeble effusions of the puny opponents that cross his path, his return to New. Zealand must have afforded him some moments of exquisite enjoyment. He returned to find the Constitution Act, which passed in the last flickering moments of his former Governorship, in force ; he returned to find under that Constitution Act the premier, or shall we say: the first commoner of the Colony, in the Honorable William Fox. That retentive memory to which we have alluded, might have carried him back ten years, and he might remember in the subservient " first commoner" who asked but to be led, the jubilant little writer, from the Parthenon Club, of June 29, 1852, who, having seen the new

Constitution Act granted to New Zealand, in which he nattered .himself he had • a hand, noticed in the speech from the throne, thought he'had effected a great marvel, and was by no means the least man in England. ,He might remember in that same letter, some passages which gracefully flnng a presumed " last kick" at the governor who it wai supposed had ieft New Zealand ior ever.

I sincerely congratulate my fellow-colonists on having obtained s« large an instalment of .the powers of self-government. The result is dv» to their owii steady and persevering adherence to the great priu-^ ciples of freedom ; to their undeviating resistance to the attempt of Governor Grey to put them off" with half measures, and to corrupt their independence by the larish distribution of patronage. If ho succeeded •with some who were once the champions of your liberties, it is satisfactory to reflect that the great bulk of the colonists of all classes have stood firmly by one another, and never flinched, in what, I hope, will prove to nave been the very last struggle with organised and legalized despotiim in the British dominions."

Do any of our readers remember, in Dickens' " Old Curiosity Shop," how, in Q'uilp's absence, his wife and mother-in-law give a tea party, during which they amuse the guests by dilating on their independence, of Quilp's authority ? Just as they are in the midst of it, Quilp returns, and, after sending the guests to the right-about, proceeds to assume the tyrannical over the now humbled and acquiescent members of his family. Mr. Fox "came" the female Quilp; but when the representative of " legalized despotism " returned, the courageous little denouncer at once knocked under, and, like, the actors who are nev«r tired 'of last {appearances, went in for another " last struggle.', Fancy- the legalized despot's enjoyment as he received the submission of the man who prated to his fellow colonists of " their un- ", deviating resistance to the attempts of ','[Governor Grey to put them off with half "measures, and to corrupt their independence "by the lavish distribution of patronage." How .the distributor of patronage must have

chuckled to meet his ten-years-ago critic. Have our readers seen any exhibitions oi electro-biology ; have they noticed how the operator gloats over a subject who comes to,see him in scepticism but who succumbs to the influence ?

" And he who came to scoffremained to pray.'' When once he sinks into the magnetic sleep, how the biologist pays him off for his scepticism i He is made to fancy his chair is on fire ; that he is pursued by a lion; that snakes arthissing at him; scorpions-are giving him his death sting; the harmless glass of water he holds in his hand is made to taste to him like medicine—the whole fury of the Eumenidcs is let loose at him. Sir George Grey was the biologist to the sceptical Fox. The "last re-' " presentative of legalized despotism " returned to haunt the second representative of a glorious constitution.- Number two succumbed in a moment, and the fantastic tricks which, under the able hand of his tormentor, he was made to play, have often been the theme of comment in our columns. He was sent on impossible missions; made to eat humble pie with those who laughed him to scorn; placed in all kinds of situations of difficulty; and, finally, deserted in the hour oi his trial, had to summon by special steamer the magician to whose arts he owed his uncomfortable situation. As the writer of the Parthenon had to send for the last "i representative of legalised despotism," did he by chance recall another passage of his letter?

: "All these, andeveryotheroffice which the ingenuity even of Governor Grey could create, or his love of patronage suggest, all will, by the power of the purie, be subject to the control of the colonists. But, in foet, the great general power which they will possess, by means of the central and provincial Representative Councils, will render it impossible lor any Governor to disregard, to any grent extent, their wishes in respect of the Executive department. The Governor of New Zealand must, for the future, submit to govern on tho constitutional principle of employing in the public service only those persons in whom the colonists have confidence. If we rightly use the powers conferred on us by this measure we should no more he insulted by the maintenance in office of •' men who have placed the infamy of their character beyond dispute," nor by the appointment of men whose only fitne33 for office consists in their inability to earn a living by any independent calling."

The " ingenuity of Governor Grey" perchance exceeded the imagination of him who wrote^of it. Did it suggest itself to him asihe indulged in the luxury of self glorification on that same midsummer day in 1852, —did the idea of an obsequious instrument, content to work in the dark, not knowing what end he was pursuing, not allowed to guess the object of him by whom he was being used as a tool—did this creation paint itself to him as one of the productions of the " ingenuity " of Sir George Grey. What frightful fancies must have come over Mr. Fox as he remembered this passage. If the ingenuity of GoTernor Grey had risen even superior to "the control of the colonists,''in "employ- " ing in the public service only those persons " in wkom the colonists have confidence," did Mr. Fox—as he saw that cherished daydream break down,—did he perchance dread that the second portion of his prophecy was not infallible, and that spite of its assumed impossibility the colony had been again " in- " suited by the maintenance in office of ■■men " who have placed the infamy of their " character be} rond dispute," and by " the " appointment of men, whose only fitness for " office, consists in their inability to earn a " living by any independent calling ?" Those in whose native policy the colonists had no confidence; the men who crept into office on the understanding that they would not meddle with Native affairs, and undo the measures of their predecessors,—in whose Native Policy at least, the House had confidence; —had no sooner the opportunity offered them, than they proved the fallacy of their leader's assertion that the future Government of the colony must of necessity rest in the hands of those in whom the colonists -had confidence. They proved false to their trust, they made themselves the willing instruments of simulating a policy abhorrent to the country at large ; a truckling poltroon policy ; a policy which was willing to sacrifice the honor of the English arms; a policy which rested supine under outrage; which countenanced bloodshed ; which sanctioned all the nameless horrors of devastating uncivilized warfare. They played this part, the willing tools of one of whose real. design they were ignorant, of one who would leave to them all the disgrace, and himself reap any merit that, indirectly, like fair flowers that spring from garbage heaps, might arise.

Did Sir George Grey not know the turn events were taking ? did he not, in bitter mockery, leave his constitutional advisers to their utter self-helplessnes3 ? are questions more easily asked than answered. The impending difficulties with the Natives have not arisen in a moment. In late Melbourne papers we find, by telegrams from Sydney, that private advices from Auckland stated that native disturbances were imminent. The. quarrel between the two sections of the Nghapui tribe is the least threatening of the nevrs, although that cannot fnil to embroil the Europeans. Fighting in the immediate vicinity of an English settlement, and part of the land in dispute being territor}'. already disposed of to the Pakehas, how can these fail to interfere ? And if they do step in, may they not anticipate treatment such as one experiences who interferes in a quarrel between a man and his wife—both sides turning against him ? But as we have said,this is the least difficulty ; the \Vaikato3 are undoubtedly assuming an attitude that, sooner or later, must lead to war ; and, already we have it, that Rangitaki Anglice, William King, was recalled to Taran:iki by the news of war having broken out. Again some fifteen hundred natives were moving on towards Coromandel, to resist any attempts of the Europeans to take forcible possession. How long can it.be expected that the latter will submit to be shut out from the gold they were, invited to come to seek, by what to them appears the arbitrary restriction of a vague Maori title ? War hovers here as elsewhere, and it is impossible to suppose that Sir George Grey was ignorant of all the threatening signs. Evidently he was waiting at Wellington, for the news to be brought by the White Swan; and it must have amused

him somewhat to find that his self-sufficient but subservient advisers, in the first moment of difficulty, felt themselves entirely without resource, "and had to secure his return by special despatch.

It will be seen by an advertisement in onr is sue of to-day, that a meeting of the Otago General Road Board will be held in the Superintendent's Office, on Thursday, 19th instant. The sailing of the Omeo has been further postponed to Saturday.

Captain King of the Black Swan which arrived at Port Chalmers, from London, last evening, reports having, when at sea in lat. 48 ° 59'- South, and long. 127° 05' East, on tho -23rd May distinctly felt the shock of an earthquake which shook the ship violently, a peculiar sound being at the same time Heard as if the vessel were grating over the bottom. It would be interesting to know whether any similar phenomena have been observed by tho masters of any other vessels in tho Southern Seas about the same time.

We were ploased to notice yesterday that not only wa« Princes-street bsing scraped, but the mud carted away. Verily, we live in an ago of improvement.

We understand that the Bishop of Christchurch ■will preach on Sunday, in the morning, at the Episcopal Church, Dunedin, and in the afternoon at Green Island.

We notice that Mr. Thatcher, stimulated apparently by the success which attended the late entertainment of the Musical Association, is about to give a morning Concert. It is announced for Monday, June 9th, at half-past 2, in the Theatre Royal, Commercial Hotel. We understand that the room is to be specially arranged for the occasion, and that every effort will be pat forth to make the entertainment worthy of the patronage of the class for who3e amusement morning concerts are supposed to be given.

A general meeting of the shareholders of the Steam-ship Victory Company will be held at the Athenseum, on Thursday, the 19th instant, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of receiving the Report of the Provisional Directors, and electing a permanent Directory.

1 His Honor Miv Justice Gresson sat in Chambers yesterday.

It was half-past six o'clock yeiterday evening when the escorts from the gold-fields arrived in town. The delay was occasioned entirely by the extremely bad state of the roads, especially in those parts where tho work of formation has been begun, and the natural surface destroyed, -without substituting a Jiard and solid artificial one. At. M>Kay's, three miles the other side of the Taieri, the escort came to a dead stand, being fairly" stuck." Fresh horses had to be procured to drag the waggon out of the mire in which it was embedded, and with those the remainder of the journey wag happily accomplished. The whole journey occupied eleven hours and a-half.

By the Omeo we are in receipt of files of Canterbury papers; but no later dates than already to haud per White Swan.

■ Tho Separation resolutions of which Mr. Walkc had given notice were duly moved by that gentleman in the Provincial Council yesterday, but on the representation of some-of the members, that the present adjourned meeting of the Council was, by a tacit understanding, to be only for the purpose of dealing with the Building Ordinance, and that but few of the country members were present, Mr. Walker consented to withdraw them.

The performance of the " Corsican Brothers," at the Princess Theatre last evening, passed, off in a very successful manner. The performance was for the benefit of the machinist, Mr. Cooper.

We observe that the Town Board invites tenders for metalling in Walker-street, Stafford-street, Hope-street, and Pitt-street.