The Invercargill Times. TUESDAY, MAY 5, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 51, 5 May 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. TUESDAY, MAY 5, 1863.

We should have but little to say in favor of liberal municipal institutions, if we were to judge by the manner in which the recent elections for the Town Board of Invercargill were conducted, and the kind of interest which was displayed on the occasion. The proceedings commenced on Saturday, and were brought to a conclusion yesterday afternoon. When the Returning Officer made his appearance on the former day, (which he did full twenty minutes behind the hour specified,) the twelve " free and independent electors" who were present lost no time in commencing the "fun." We use the latter word, because there appeared to be an impression on the minds of the gentlemen present that they had come there simply for the purpose of deriving as much amusement from the proceedings as possible. There certainly was a little diffidence shown at first, but that speedily wore away ; and when a patriotic citizen mustered courage enough to propose one of the late deserters as a fit and proper person for re-election, it became evident that every man present had left his business with the intention of enjoying himself. It was a sensible and highly praiseworthy proceeding for twelve electors to name twenty-one candidates for seats in the Town Board, when there were only four seats vacant. It was good taste on the part of an exmember of the Board to propose Messrs. Pearson, Chalmers, and Elles, and insisting on their names being placed on the list ; it was a display of good common sense, and not buffoonery, for an elector to propose no fewer than six candidates, and second tbe nomination of three others, and for another elector to propose six and second the nomination of four. Was the former ! gentleman influenced by a desire to

throw aa .much discredit as he could oti--the proceedings becaiuse he himself had failed; whilst in offiee, to; distin- ; go ish himself in any particular manner as a -councillor'? Seriously, the way in which this nomination was conducted reflects but little credit on tbo. c e who were present. It is pretty certain that some of the gentlemen who were proposed had not authorised the use of their names, and would not have acted had they been returned ; and their proposers being well aware of that fact, could have only acted as they did through a wish to turn the whole affair into ridicule. Now, we could understand all this if a lot of schoolboys had been the actors in the scene we have referred to, but it is rather incomprehensible how sane men, having an interest in the prosperitv of the town, , could countenance snch absurdities. It would be as well for those gentlemen to remember that the Town Board has no light duties before it, — tliat it rests with that body, in a great measure, whether the trade of Invercargill shall increase rapidly, or whether it shall be curtailed and hindered by the impassable state of the public thoroughfares. Hitherto, however good the intention, the result of the deliberations of the Board have been far from satisfactory, and it is to be hoped that the new members, who have come by their seats through this comically conducted election, will be more earnest, -and more successful in their exertions on behalf of the ratepayers, than were their pre - decessors. Let them be punctual in ' their attendance, and instead of, as has too often been the case, wasting time by a display of questionable eloquence, let them use such brains as thev respectively happen to possess, and endeavor to carry out the objects for which they were elected in the quickest way consistent with efficiency. They need not seek far for something which wants improvement ; there is not a street in the town worthy the name ; there is scarcely a single covered drain ; there are no lamps, in fact there is nothing that there ought to be, unless we except the Board itself, and. judging from the past, the utility of its existence* might almost be considered doubtful. Had the management of the town works been left in the hands of even the Provincial Government, it is quite impossible that they could have been in a more backward state than they are at present. . « The intelligence brought by the mail in reference to the insurrection in Poland will be read with the greatest interest, not only because every lover of liberty must sympathise with a movement which has for its object the restoration of the rights of a pre-emi-nently brave people, but also because of the effect this rebellion may have on the general peace of Europe. Driven to desperation, the Poles have risen en masse, electing rather to perish fighting for their freedom, than endure longer the grinding tyranny of Russian despotism. To re-establish the ancient kingdom of Poland by the efforts of the Poles alone is, we fear, an impossibility, when it is considered that Ituesia can, in the course of a month, literally overrun the disaffected Provinces with well-disciplined troops. The King of Prussia has, however, made common cause with the Czar, and this very circumstance, which at first sight might seem to preclude any chance of success for the rebels, may in the sequel prove of great assistance to them. A very strong feeling has, from the first, been manifested by the people of France and England in fivor of the Poles, and so firmly has this taken hold of the public mind, that it seems likely, if Prussia maintain the attitude she has chosen to assume, that these Powers will be drawn into the contest. Austria appears co hold aloof, but this is owing to the fact that some of her own Provinces are not in the most desirable state, and that a very slight opportunity might raise the standard of revolt within their borders. It must be gratifying to Englishmen in every part of the globe to know that amongst the most influential men in the old country this rebellion is viewed with favor. In the House of Lords Earl Russel spoke in a manner which could not be mistaken. Referring to the causes which led to the outbreak, he said : — " The middle classes, despairing, from tbe oast, of any improvement in the administration of the country, formed secret societies, some of whose members held extreme views. Instead of endeavoring to conciliate these classes by introducing a better government, the Emperor of Russia determined to adopt a different policy. The conscription was carried out in a manner calculated to excite an unhappy peop'e to despair * * * Men had been seized for their political opinions, aud whilst the peasants had been exempted the townspeople had been solely chosen for the army. He had told the Russian Minister it was a most unjust step for the Russian Government to take." Lord Ellenborough, after alluding to the conduct of the Russian police, and the unjustifiable manner in which the conscription had beenputin force, remarked, that in his opinion, " no other course was open to the Poles, when there was no security for a man in the midst of his family." Should France, Austria, and England interfere,it will be.in the first instance, to merely endeavor by diplomacy to prevent Prussia from aiding the Czar in his infamous course of oppression ; but the ice once broken, it is not improbable that those three powers may be forced into a war with Russia, and, with their assistance, Poland might again become one of the kingdoms of Europe. No country in the world has endured more than has fallen to the lot of Poland since the infamous partition of her terri-

Ytory in the latter end of the eighteenth cfcntury, ancl whilst hoping that oar own eoUntry may be spared the necessity of engaging in another war, let us confess that we would risk a great deal to see the Poles entirely successful.