The Telephone. WITH WHICH INCORPORATED TEE POVERTY BAY STANDARD. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, MONDAY, DECEMBER 8.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 304, 8 December 1884, Page 2

The Telephone. WITH WHICH INCORPORATED TEE POVERTY BAY STANDARD. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, MONDAY, DECEMBER 8.

Mr. Samuel Locke in McFarlane’s Hall on Friday evening last, ..narrated ’ to a large audience his first Sessional experience in Wellington as the representative of the East Coast District, i Mr. Locke received a respectful hearing, and, with the exception of a little unintentional rudeness, occasioned by persons in the body of the hall making ' a stampede for the door, apparently mistaking.the whistle of the steam launch for the sound of the Gisborne , firebell, everything passed off harmoniously, and no doubt to the satisfaction i of Mr. Locke and his friends. Postsessional utterances, as a rule, hardly warrant keen criticism, so we will not examine too closely Mr. Locke’s address. It was Certainly discursive, and was more lengthy and superficial than deep. On the Native Land question and several other subjects, such as taxation, which by the way was not touched upon, we should have been glad to hear Mr Locke deliver more pronounced views. This might have been fairly expected from the representative of the district after his lengthened sojourn in the Empire City among politicians of all shades of opinion. There were the continued references to our land titles and the subdivision of Native lands, subjects that are worn threadbare, without any new idea being imparted in connection with them. It is true these questions are of vital importance to this district, but from a Native Minister in embryo, a gentleman of whom it has been mysteriously hinted that he was offered and declined the portfolio of Native Affairs, we must say we were disappointed at hearing no more from Mr. Locke upon the question of Native affairs than could be picked up from the humblest settler on the Coast. The various subjects taken in hand were merely skimmed. Indeed Mr. Locke could have done little more bearing in mind the number of subjects he touched upon, and the time occupied. Mr. Locke was evidently desirous of putting himself in the best •light before the ratepayers, and while far from being open to the imputation of egotism he may fairly congratulate himself upon having succeeded. He seemed to be imbued with the.idea that “ on their own merits modest men are dumb.” He effectually dispelled any ' impression that he was negligent in his ' duties in reference to the passing of the . Gisborne Harbor Board Empowering i

,ct. To make- doubly sure of this io was fortified by a letter received rotn Sir George Grey, which in effect laid Mr. Locke had'been really very ;ood while in Wellington, in looking ifter the welfare of the district, and 'ully accounted for his (Mr. Locke’s) udicious silence on the occasion of the tecond reading of the Harbor Bill. Tn the Plurality of Votes Bill, Mr. Locke, we assume, was equally successful in righting himself, as his explanaLion was not questioned, although some imputation had during the session been made ■ag ams t him by .the Working Men’s Political Association. Throughout the whole of his address Mr. Locke appeared to be acting on the defensive. The only display of combativeness was in his attack on Wi Pere, and Sir John Coode’s report on the Harbor. In both cases the onslaught displayed more discretion, than valour. Wi Pere does not understand English, even as it is sometimes spoken by members of Parliament, while Sir John Coode happens to be in England. Reference to either party might as well have been omitted. In one breath Mr. Locke suggests that a valuable part of Kaiti owned by Natives should be presented by tl cm, as a gift to the Harbor Board, and in the next he goes out of h's way, to find fault with the man who > epresents the Natives in Parliament. In the House we regret to say the same, personal animus was display d. The district requires all the political support it' can get I and in the case of a division a Maori vote counts as much as that of the Colonial Treasurer. Mr. Locke’s insinuation against the accurracy of the data furnished by Sir John Coode, and upon which that gentleman based his report on the Harbor which was submitted to Parliament, is an undeserved slur upon Captain Chrisp and other professional gentlemen who for months, and almost in all weathers, were zealously engaged m obtaining the’necessary information as to the soundings and currents of the Bay. We hope we are not doing Mr. Locke an injustice, in asserting that any attempt to abandon Sir John Coode’s scheme giv.es rise to the suspicion that the real object aimed at in condemning Coode’s plan, is to adopt some crude, less expensive and useless scheme of improving the river entrance, instead of forming- a harbour of refuge. Mr. Locke was generous and justly so, in his praise of Sir George Grey, Sir George Whitmore, and others who had assisted strenuously in advocating the wants of this district and having the Harbor Bill passed. The same feeling was not so apparent when he referred to Sir Julius Vogel. Considering how ably Sir Julius spoke up for the dis-trict—-a part of . the colony he had nothing special to thank for—to say as Mr. Locke did, as if the idea were quite an afterthought, that “ Sir Julius Vogel was also entitled to the hearty thanks of the district,” is a cavalier mode of treating a gentleman who has a lasting claim upon the gratitude of the people of the East Coast. We believe that Mr. Locke honestly endeavoured to do his best for this constitutency, and far be it from us to detract one iota from the mead of praise to which he is fairly entitled, nevertheless, there is no evading the fact, that the Gisborne Harbor Board Empowering Bill could have become law without the assistance of Mr. Locke, but Mr. Locke could not have attained that object unless he had the assistance of the Government and Sir George Grey. Mr. Locke plumes himself upon his consistency. He is filled with the laudable ambition of making a reputation for himself in the world of politics. That end is seldom attained by men who oscillate betweei two political parties, nor by extolling the merits of opponents, at the same time waiting for an opportunity to oust them from office. It is everywhere admitted that thepresent Government has. done more for the district than any previous Government. Yet, to be consistent Mr. Locke voted against it, in order to restore to power the Atkinson party, which for years consistently wronged the East Coast. If thC Atkinson party had regained power, would Poverty Bay have fared as well even as it has? We trow not. A consistent politician is a rara avis. Mr. Wakefield goes a little further in his definition, and says such a man is either an inspired prophet or a born idiot. The extremes here are rather violent. Consistency is not atattained by refusing to progress with the times, nor, in having made a blunder at the outset, doggedly adhering to the error made. “ Laws,” we are told, “ are not made, but grow, and their growth is largely determined by the causes which account for the growth of the community as a whole.” To be consistent, therefore, the law makers .should grow too, and keep pace with the times,, and not lag behind in the onward march—should weigh the great political principles which ought to govern a country, rather than the instruments whereby those principles may be developed.