The Invercargill Times. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1864

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 49, 29 February 1864, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1864

At last we have the satisfaction of possessing a Ministry, (stive the mark) and such a Ministry ! The Ministry which is to work our cure. His Hoxok. driven to govern constitutionally, is evidently determined to make a farce of it, and has picked the Provincial Council with that view. What are its component parts ? — The Premier, who in his desire to grasp the appointment of Provincial Treasurer and the five hundx-ed per annum, has sacrificed his political honor and thrown over his late colleague, is to be the bright particular star of the Ministry. While a member of the late Executive, Mr. Chalmers left little for • him to do : his work was smoothed, and fortunately so. During the present session, while there was no Executive, no one to instruct him, or teach him his lesson, he broke out in his natural colors. The occasion was the debate on the Southland and Otago Land Acts. The second of which is " an Act to impose a tax upon Rural Lands," &c. Mr. Cowan's arguments on the occasion, were somewhat after the Chauuajtd school. "And why, Mr. Speaker is it not atax act? Because, Sir, it is the Otago Waste Lands Act, No. 2. And why, Bir, is it the Otago Waste Lauds Act JN T o. 2 ? Because, Sir, it is not a Tax Act." We will leave him to the mercy of the Provincial Council and the throes of a financial statement. • The second member of the Ministry (!) is a remarkable mau ; remarkable for his originality of thought and expression. The latter shows itself in an utter disregard of Lixdust Murray and Walker; the former in tx singular mixture of ideas, resulting from the study of "Combe's Constitution of Man," " Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations," and " Peter Parley's Tales for Little Children. " When examined before the select committee to inquire into the appointment of Mr. Chalmers, he acknowledged that, as a member of the first Executive, he had seldom been consulted on ordinary matters — only on matters of " comprehensive policy. " We should think his advice on such was valuable, and very likely to be followed, while we cannot wonder he was consulted as- seldom as possible. Mr. M'Kay, we understand, has at present an application for a run pending the decision of the Waste Land Board. With his colleague as one member, Hrs Honor as another, his disinterestedness and patriotism in joining the present " Ministry " is apparent. The third member, who we believe to be thoroughly honest in his acceptance of a seat in the Executive, is hardly qualified to deal with our present financial position, or furnish advice of much value. In all questions relating to that interesting disease "in •sheep termed scab, his assistance would be invaluable. : Were a series! of Scab Ordinances to be brought forward by the Ministry ', we would say he is the man to advise ; but as it is probable , the^ present- 'Session Hvill be occupied with other than Scab Ordinances, the honorable member will be rather at sea: We are sorry for Mr. M'Njlb's own sake that , he has placed Himself in such a positioii, for ~in his honesty, of purpose and desire to benefit the Province we have eyer^r confidence ; tftcragli we fear that, lin .his -present position, 1 he 1 ; wilP not* be able to accomplish it. I)andie(Dinih6nt> discoursing on oxen and ■: • sheep^rwitiu

.ftleasSnt picture to contemplate ;- but) jbandie Dinmont .on the Ministerial , benches, is a'paiivful one, l^i^- besat friends. , Setting aside incapacity, the present ? Executive, or " Reform Ministry," is ihe greatest burlesque on constitutional- \ &6vmsmen§~b}i6 Mtyevesti satiye on j- th6^^c^oWof|tiePypTii^ial.Gouiioil, ■ Tw&lve %y a debating to ai'i'ive at what? • His -*HoffOB ! tells*' 'ol : opinioat;^ that ; the firs^-paH-of this resolution con«optly, dennes"-»tne limit; beyoiid which the jurisdiction of the Ordinance does not extend j arid .. that- ■within these the r administration, should: be conducted witli thei: advice and ■'consent of an Exebtitive : Qq^ ; H?^ then gets an Executive; two irie.mbers of ; -wKicK are squatters, and who , will consequently, immediately after the Session, leave tbwn^periiajjs;/ to visit it once a. month. The Provincial ' 'Treasurer; Mb. Cow as:, having . obtained/his $500 a by throwing over liis colleague, is not , lilcely' 'to" oppose His Ho^ob very strenuously } and we shall have despotism wiih a vengeance under the guise, of a consti- ' tutional G-overnment. JECoc void, sip jiibeo, sit pro ratione voluntas, will ; be a sufficient argument for our new Provincial Treasurer. ; ,■■'■/" As was said recently of our Powder Magazine — "."We can safely say there is no powder magazine like it in. the world," — so we can safely assez't there is no Executive like our " Reform Ministry" in New Zealand. Truly it is the sorriest farce in Provincial politics yet played. , We fancy seeing the "Reform Ministry," ""on leaving the autocratic den, dancing out, after the manner of the great Itnmtifoozle singing — " We arc three nervous cures, — Three nei'vous cures are we, — And the boys they shout, As we go out, 'There go our nervous cures!'" «8»

Last Wednesday Mr. Chalmers "ceased" to be Provincial Treasurer byresigning that appointment — which, it appears, has been offered and accepted by Mr. Cutiibert Cowajt. The circumstances connected with this appointment require some explanation, as its creation appears to us to call for some animadversion. When we first started on our separate existence, men qualified to fill the more important offices under the Government were not quite so easily to be obtained as they may be now; indeed it was then insinuated that we should have to import them. There were two important offices which required the possession of ability and business habits to justify the appointment of anyone aspiring to fill them — the Provincial Treasurer, and Clerk to the Superintendent. The former, requiring not only the ordinary qualifications, but also, that the person filling the appointment should give a large security At that time Mr. Chalmers was' undetermined whether he would settle amongst us or in Otago. The appointment of Provincial Treasurer ' was therefore offered to another person, who was not in the Provincial Council, anc 1 did not dream of a seat in it ; Mr. Chalmers consenting to fill that of Clerk to Supeintendent temporarily. The other person could not find the necessary security, and Mr. Chalmers was solicited to accept the appointment of Provincial Treasurer, being distinctly given to understand that it was a permanent one. On the faith of the word of the highest Executive officer in the Province — a word which, irrespective of the office — every one then believed to be sacred, Mr. Chalmers consented. The whole chapter of his life has been altered, and the pivot on which it turned was the distinct understandiug»of the per- , ■manency of bis appointment. Time j wore on, and Mr, Chalmers entered' j into the speculations and expenses j in improving his property, incidental to a permanent settlement in the Province, all based on the permanency of his appointment. All went smoothly so long as he agreed with the autocratic will. When Hys Honor went to Auckland, Mr. Chalmers, suffering from ill health, was anxious to obtain leave of absence, but His Hoxob could not obtain a Deputy, and, promising on his return to grant Mr. Chalmers leave, be induced him to act as his Deputy. A gentleman not in the Council was appointed Acting Treasurer. In the meantime it was discovered that the autocratic bow had been bent too tightly— the string snapped. On His Honor's return, Mr. Chalmers found it necessary*'to inform him that if he would not govern a little more in accordance with the spiiit of the agreement her had entered into with the Provincial Council, he must resign bis seat in the Executive. His Hoiroit refused, what lie has since, been compiled to do by the action of the Provincial Council, which is evident from the correspondence between Mb. " Chalmers and himself, since published. In bis letter of 18th January last, Mb. Chalmers states his views of the duties imposed by the Provincial G-overnnient Ordinance. '< " Irt all ' matters in whicE ., an Executive is the link between the..Superintendent and the Provincial Council, that Executive I , should; be, and is generally' supposed,' supreme. It receives iihe impact both of the opinions of the Provincial' 'Cotincjl and of the general public; ltis members, ,in reality^' are /fcKe responsible parties, and if the.^iiperintendent should attempt to over-ride their, decision, their, duty is clearly: to resign ontthe spot. ; ' -tin- matters^ bow^ eyeivin; which the Executive is- merely • . a|- consultative body, whose advice v tk<| Superintendentis .mot bound "to -ak ? 'hi certain delegated;, antlr' ofche^ tpowers~it -' ought 1 not "necessarily **io\

follow. ihttktW Stecufciv^shouldl r*£ sign. -33acV member should see thai* it be properly recorded on the minutes 'that his advice was negleoted, and should-' be at perfect liberty to state such a fact when called upon, either by his constituents, the Council, or the public." This is exactly^ what the Provincial Council, in their reply to the Speech, and in their after resolutions, demanded from the Superintendent, and^ -which,* w_e ar-e "told; he franldy acknowledged. -If, then, Hrs Hoxon felt deep regret, rind all the rest of the M bunkum " at losing Mn. Ojllmi fins' services (which he had the honesty to acknowledge " veere , valuable to * the public,") if his views "of his peroga* tive and its limits does not • substantially differ from those entertained by the common sense of the House," which are identical with those expressed in Mb. Chalmehs' letter, why did not Htb Ho^ob, frankly answer Mr. CHALirEBS, tell him so, and end the colloquy by asking him to continue in office ; instead of this, however, he shirks the question. In his reply to Mr. Chai^iees, of date 22nd Jan., His Hoxor says :— " Into the question, of the relative powers of the Superintendent I will not enter, further than to observe that, in ' case your views on that point should be correct, it would follow that- the office of Treasurer must be a political one." Just so. It does not suit His Hoxob to enter into the main point at issue. He did not at that time think the Provincial Council would take so determined a stand, so he declines entertaining the subject. , He'pr'efers getting ridof'Mr. Chalieers, who has spoken his mind too freely, and getting the miserable sham of an Executive lie has to dictate to.*, -Mr. Chalmebs appealed to the Pi'ovineial Council, who, while seeing that he had been led to believe that the appointment was a permanent one, and that an injustice' was done to Mr. Chalmers were he dismissed, saw also that it ought to be political. Mr. Ciiai/mehs, to prevent impeding the public business, designs, and says no more about the matter. The Superintendent's pledged word is broken, but it could be said in extenuation of his honor that circumstances had compelled him to break his promise. Ho writes to the Council, subscribing as r early as he cau possibly bring himself to, Mr. Chalmers' and the Council's demand. The political appointment of PitovrxciATi Treasurer was then in his gift. If he really " deeply regretted " parting with Mb. Chalmers, if he wished to redeem /his! plighted faith, as far as circumstances permitted, he would have sent for Me. Chalmebs and requested him to form au Executive, he taking the Treasurership. Had he done so, we would have had an Executive possessing the confidence of the House, instead of our miserable "Beform. Ministry." Such a course, we would have imagined, was the only one which, would have -pressented itself to the mind of an honorable man — a true gentleman/ Asit iswe consider Mb. Chalmers has. : .' : 'been dishonestly treated. Indeed, after; being induced to stop in the Province at a time whe'ii we could get no one to fill the position so ably by a false promise, he, is now thrown on* one side,when that promise could have been . redeemed. The greatest blame* which can be attached to Mb. Ciialmebs' political career, is that he carried out too faithfully His Honor's policy, when in his Executive. His Hoxob may be above reproach as j a private individual; he is cer- 1 tainly no political Bayard. We arc told His Honor simply, frankly, and fairly states he appointed the Roads' Engineer without consulting his Executive. T3low up bagpipes, bang the fiddle, twang the lyre. In _other words, that as there were three, gentlemen cognizant of the facts, who recollected all about it perfectly, there, was nothing for it but to tell the truth, no room even for prevarication, so heJranhly admits it. To do justice, we never for a moment doubted but that His Honor would tell the truth ; there ;was no occasion "to sound the loud timbrel" on his having clone so. From the fulsome manner in which 'this act is belauded, one would imagine that His Ho> t ob was systematically accustomed to falsehood, and his having broken through, this rule on the present occasion, was a b abject of great gratulation. " We cannot say whether it is " mortifying to Mb. Chalmers, that the new TVeasiircr is a gentleman, who was one of his late colleagues in Council ; " we I fancy that it must be rather mortify- | ing to the new Treasurer to find himself in his present position, if he' has any gentlemanly feeling left in him. It is all very fine Mb. Cowan backing out of the position lie took on signing the " JSTote" by saying he had been deceived by Mb. Chalmebs j had there not- been £500 a-year attached to his apostacy, probably his feelings of disgust would not have been so keen. Besides, this idea of deception on Mr. Chalmers' part is the shallowest pretence. The appointment of Mb. Dun-das was not m au open envelope. His Honor states he cannot recollect whether the envelope was sealed or not. Ther.e "are others who , can state that it was closed. Even had it been in an envelope, Mb. Chal- % mers could not have read the enclos ure — gentlemen don't generally do that sort of thing. His Honor, in his message No. 12, states, "the Superintendent * does not "pretend to recollect all the "circumstances 'that took place at that interview, (i. c. when he was leaving for Auckland, and gave Mb. Chalmebs the note for Mr. Duxdas,) occurring as .it did -in the bustle of departure. No doubt ever crossed his mind that he had explained these intentions "to Mr. Chalmers yhen giving him the n notc, until after his^return from~Audsland,

' when^B. CffAiStEßd v^fated to) .thaff such was not the : csM ; but ever may have been jiud^or left at that' interview, jtK^-Superinten^ knows that Mb. Chai^ees was of the purport of the document." j Chalmers may have guessed it, f^ one at all acquainted with ihe^cK&pj, of the Superintendent qould doujfe] that he would have his own way $ hazards, "What Ms. Ciuxmkjw (J we are sure ,Mj*. Cowan did also, »| he signed the " Note } " the cry of fa tion is the dirt thrown -up by cuttle-fish to enable it to escape, ' congratulate Mb. Cowas on his \ sisteney. At Thursday woiftii sitting Mb. Kogebs' motion that amended Executive' Ordinance brought in by " the Superintendeal conjunction ■ with any Executive may form," was passed without j dissent, excepting Mb. Tarltok. ; Cowast voted for it, and yet his fl act as Premier is to propose as a *, stituteforan Ordinance, a memoi i dum laying down the^ mode procedure to be adopted between j Superintendent and the Execute which, so soon as the Session was oti and Mes"sr3. M'Nab* and M'Kvrl betaken themselves to their Sims,} to occupations more congenial to tli habits and turn of mind, would becoi a dead letter, or be 'altered as oftea His Ho>~ob pleased. 'It is true he a sented to an Ordinance when \ House threatened to stop proceedii by not voting supplies, but it \ evidently against the grain. It singular that the argument of { Council being so near dissoluij render it unnecessary^ to bring in Ordinance this Session' did not prese itself to Mb. Cowan's mmd — when ) voted for Mb. JJogers' resolutj before he toolt office. As O'Callagi says, when he fancies he is going .get a schoolmastership, ~ , " I had thurn my coat to come down here, a faiks I am not. the first that \ thurned my coat in order to tal office." t ,