THE PATEA MAIL. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1875.

Patea Mail, Volume 1, Issue 17, 9 June 1875, Page 2

THE PATEA MAIL. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1875.

It is now all but certain that Mr Vogel will not be in his place when Parliament meets, and that his colleagues will do their best to get through the necessary work of the session without bringing forward any important measures. Affairs are in a rater peculiar position, as it is asserted by very competent authorities on the subject that the Colony is legally without a Government I Mr Vogel was away when the present Governor assumed office, and has therefore never been sworn in as Premier under the Marquis of Normanby. But it is not in small matters of routine or procedure that the country is mostly interested just now. The great question is, how much longer are we to have “right little Parliaments sitting in State,” and Provincial mismanagement undoing much of the good done by the Chief Legislature ? It was understood that the present administration would devote the recess to framing a measure to secure the abolition of Provincialism in this Island, but what with Mr Vogel being absent in England, and the o,ther members of the Government scattered all over the Colony itself, we doubt very much whether the coming session of Parliament will find Ministers prepared with a bill to effect the desired innovation. Even if they were, they would not venture to try and pilot it through the two Houses during Mr Vogel’s absence, as it is known the struggle will be long and acrimonious when it does begin. Provincialists are, like Tories, stubborn politicians, and do not bend or concede a point easily; they are the “ old identities ” of legislation, and view with disfavour any attempt at abrogating the present powers of their party. If the Government can get their ordinary work through without loss of office, Mr Vogel will be back in time for the general election, when the country will be asked plainly whether it is in favour of the abolition of Provincialism and the extension of local Government. Should the reply be, as we have every reason to suppose it will, to that effect, Mr Vogel jwill meet the new Parliament with a bill to suit the purpose, and with a good working majority to save it from being mutilated in committee by the small band of Provincialists—who will have managed to secure re-election. Of course all these surmises are based upon the supposition that Mr Vogel will return to the Colony before the end of the year. Should his health, however, not improve, and his continued absence be thereby necessitated, it is very hard to foresee

what the immediate result would be. We have been so long accustomed to look upon Mr Vogel as the sole upholder of his policy, that we cannot, yet awhile at all events, make up our minds to the possibility of his colleagues being able to carry on the work from its present point to a successful issue, if deprived of his presence and assistance in the House. When there is work to be done, Mr Vogel is always to the fore, and in general is well posted up on any subject with which he essays to deal. We had a noticeable example of this fact last session, during the debate on the State Forests Bill, in moving the second reading of which measure the indefatigable Premier gave' the House such a mass of information on arbour-culture as would serve, if thoroughly mastered and retained by his hearers, to make them, theoretically at least, proficient cultivators of forest trees. People who read many of the speeches made in Parliament, have no conception of the labour thoy entail on their deliverers, who have to hunt up a mass of information and then fashion it into shape. Some members find the labour of preparing their speeches so heavy that they speak but seldom, and often miss the opportunity of delivering a speech it has taken them days to prepare. Of course there are the talkative members, who do nothing but talk, and who never say anything worth remembering, for the simple reason that they have no solid information, and content themselves with a smattering of knowledge which enables them to say something on many subjects, but nothing of any value. Next to Mr Vogel, the best worker in the present Cabinet is Sir Donald McLean, who, although a plain unpretending man, is well posted up on all questions of the day. Many people suppose he is only great on native affairs; but this is a mistake, as may easily bo proved by a perusal of some of the back volumes of “ Hansard,” in the pages of which will often be found good common-sense speeches by®the Native Minister on subjects far removed from his own department. He has had plenty of parliamentary experience, and would, in the absence of Mr Vogel, prove the safest leader for his party, most of whom are quite unlit for the position. There are but few men in any parliament fit to take the reigns of government, and ours is no exception to the rule. At present most of our best statesmen are away, and the few remaining are not, as a rule, admirers of the present policy, and would only do harm if allowed to interfere with its smooth working. We can ill spare such men as Messrs Fox, Featherston, Vogel, and Waterhouse, and must only live in hopes of their early return to the Colony.