South Canterbury Times. THURSDAY, MAY 27, 1880.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2244, 27 May 1880, Page 2

South Canterbury Times. THURSDAY, MAY 27, 1880.

There can bo no doubt that in New Zealand Sir George Grey is the greatest of popular idols. Wherever he travels, wherever he speaks, he finds crowded audiences ready to applaud his utterances. IE he is not worshipped in the usual orthodox manner by the bowing of the knee and the bending of the head, it is because a largo amount of respect is still entertained for the commandment that forbids idolatry. Like all popular idols Sir George has many admirable traits, yet ho is by no means free from blemishes. His acquisitions are tho result of great natural gifts, much application, and large experience. His elocutionary powers are like Mr Maxfiin Simonson’s fiddle. They arc his stock-in-trade — his means of fascination. With their aid ho attracts large assemblages and ho is extremely careful to perform only popularairs. Although the latter may lack novelty they are always pleasing, and their production before fresh audiences relieves the monotony. Wo have no sympathy with those who accuse Sir George of a want of originality, or find fault with him because he emulates the example of the showman, who travels round, rather than the reflective statesman who disdains ostentations exhibitions or public worship. If tho exPremier is afflicted with a peripatetic weakness, it is a. matter of concern to nobody but himself. He believes ho is educating the people, and it is undeniable that he is agitating pnplic opinion, but whether in the right or wrong direction remains to bo seen. This “ stumping,” as it is called, hurts nobody, and wc have no doubt it pleases Sir George. At the pro,sent time it is performed under a slight disadvantage, for the Hincmoa is not available, and Parliament has neglected to furnish the members of the late lamented Ministry with unlimited allowances of cab hire. Wo have said that there arc traits in tho character of Sir George Grey which arc worth}' of admiration. He has good parts as a public speaker, and ho turns them to the most attractive account by placing before his bearers wcll-chosen sentiments only. He arranges a feast, which, however far from wholesome, is bound to be palatable. The honey, the cream, and the butter are dealt out unsparingly, and with a regard for the appetites and inclinations rather than the sound digestion of the participators. But in one thing he fails. He forgets to clear away the old wreck before he lays the tahlc-cloth, and he mingles his sweets in vessels whose cleanliness is doubtful. The recent addresses of the cx-Prcmicr may very well be grouped together. His speeches in Christchurch, Invercargill, and Dunedin, and the one which he delivered last evening, in Timaru, are essentially a copy of each other. It is the same old melody with a few local variations. We find no fault with Sir George on this account. It is a deep well that will not bo exhausted by repeated draughts, and a good tunc is none the worse of being frequently rehearsed. But his speeches for all that are disappointing. Our Auckland correspondent, a sincere admirer of the ex-Premier, tells us that his address failed to satisfy his Not them friends, and wo believe his speeches here, will, on reflection, excite a similar feeling. Sir George has taken considerable pains to indicate thcheinous sins of the present Minstry, and in this respect he emulates |thc tactics of the traditional lawyer who comes into Court with a bad case. But he has avoided all reference to the sins of maladministration and the notorious blunders of the Grey Ministry. He has given expression to advanced and liberal views, hut he has not a word to say on behalf of his compatriots the men who humbugged him into a betrayal of the Liberal cause —the men who induced him to abdicate his position at the head of tho Ministry in order that a few rail-riders and unprincipled schemers from Otago might he won over. We arc ready to admit that the present Ministry have glaring faults, but they have also their virtues, and in some important respects they may be advantageously contrasted with the Ministry of which Sir George Grey was the head. The Hall Ministry has not endeavored to bribe the Press by confining their patronage exclusively to Government organs. Unlike Mr Macandrew, the Present Minister of Public Works has not issued a circular to the heads of departments specifying the newspapers which are to be favored. No attempt has been made to degrade and corrupt the organs of public opinion. In this respect the virtues of the present Government are as bright as the vices of their predecessors are abhorrent. Admitting that the property tax is objectionable, and that its object is to get rid of the land tax, the fact of its imposition shows that the present Government arc true to their traditions and their party. Had the Grey Ministry made an equally good use of its opportunity while in office, the country would not now be groaning from the unjust and iniquitous load of taxation which Sir George Grey so vividly depicts. The fact is that the present Ministry have displayed a determination of purpose which the late

Government never possessed. Instead of dancing all over the colony in cabs and Government steamers, they have settled themselves down to the work of administration, and although wo strongly disapprove of their fiscal system as objectionable, impolitic, and disastrous, we must acknowledge that they have displayed a capacity for departmental management which cannot fail to have a permanently useful influence. As regards the property tax we believe the Ministry must by this time he painfully aware that they have committed a fatal blunder. The Premier at Leeston the other evening almost acknowledged as much when he stated that the revenue from this source would he much less than was originally anticipated. The tax, in tho opinion of Ministers, is no longer the productive article which they originally contemplated. When tho army of assessors receive from £IOO to £2OO each for their two months’ disagreeable and inquisitorial duties, and the salaries of Commissioner, deputy Commissioners, and other expenses come to ho paid, tho bones of this infamous fiscal skeleton will be picked tolerably clean, and Major Atkinson will have hut a poor return for the loss of his reputation as a financier. But if tho Ministry is convinced of their blunder, —and wc believe they must heartily loath the tax referred to, —then much of tho cx-Prcmier’s denunciation must go for nought.