The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesday and Saturdays.) SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 1879.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 420, 26 April 1879, Page 2

The Patea Mail. (Published Wednesday and Saturdays.) SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 1879.

The New Zealander of the 21st inst. lias a lending article which we hope reflects the views of only a very small minority of onr colonists. It begins by .slating that Colonial Governors are no longer content to reign without ruling, bat are becoming the exponents of “ great questions of State and Imperial objects.” Now, we are not a.ware that any Governor has obtruded himself unduly in matters political. There have been some instances in which they have, as in duty bound, withstood some overweening minister, and this, to the baffled minister and his adherents, would seem undue meddling with politics. Our contemporary goes on to assert that “ one of the great ends to be brought about is the federation of certain groups of colonics, and that this is to be achieved by the timely advocacy of the Governors.” The rest of the article is devoted to showing how sad it would bo if this “great end” were attained. For our own part, we are heartily gl nl to be told on good authority that this “ great end ” is set before onr Governors, and that it is an “ Imperial object.”. To our mind it is a proof that Great Britain has the ivsd interest of her children at heart, and would, if possible, ensure their future greatness and freedom. “ Federation ”is no bugbear to us. Wo are not aware that it has been other than a splendid success iu Canada. We are sure that had Spain brought about, such “ a great end ” in South America, that continent would not now be the scone of continental revolution and petty war. We are also inclined to think that although North America has had one great war, in spite of Union, she would probably have had twenty years without it. Union has saved her from squandering her strength on standing armies and inland fortifications ; union secures free trade for her, at h*ast within her own borders ; union secures weight iu the councils of nations which no individual State could command ; union secures common coinage and common postage; union secures the unrestricted development ol railways, abolishes passports, prevents p"fcty tyrannies, and keeps one State from being a refuge for the criminla- of another. One needs not to be an admirer of the institutions of America to give the great principle of union its duo, and admit that these good things ami many more are its legitimate results. Will the New Zealander inform us why union cannot do as much for “certain groups of colonies?” It seems to us that the chief good to be secured for the colonies in the future is peace and brotherhood. It may be thought that the clanger of violent strife is very remote, but it is not so. Take the example of Victoria and Now South Wales; the Victorian railway has for years past extended to liie border ot N.S.W., so that a part of the latter colonv r is connected with Melbourne by rail, but is not connected with Sydney, which is much more distant. Naturally, therefore, a large Now South Wales community prefer to be supplied with from jVlc'lbomiie- 13ut their Grovemmont say, “ We pay the cost of governing yon, and Victoria gets the duty on your goods.” Hence arises endless strife about “ border duties,” and the feeling has not unfrequently run so high, that had these two colonies been independent states, they would probably have had more than a war of words before now. Confederation would remove this and other causes of strife as no other scheme would. Duties on all goods that now cause strife, could be property of 1 the Central Government, so that it would not matter where tliey were collected. Onrcont.ernponiry admits that the federal system would put an end to tariff controvercies, but experience, it says, has been against federation. “In Canada, as iu Switzerland, the smaller States of the Confederation have invariably gone to the wall. We suppose he means that theirinflnenco has been only’ in proportion to their importance. A union could certainly take place on such a basis that no state could bo overriden in any matter pertaining solely or mainly to itself, though of course the majority would rule in matters of policy affecting the whole federation. We are convinced that the. federation of the colonics could take place without a greater shock to our institutions than that which took place when the Provinces were abolished. We hope, therefore, that Sir Hercules Robinson, who, according to the New Zealander, is particularly deep in the sin of seeking the “ great end,” will advocate “ Imperial objects ” to some purpose, and live not only to see the colonics united among'themselves, but to witness a union of unions, with the United Kingdom at the head.