The Souhtland Times. SATURDAY, OCT. 15, 1864.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 59, 15 October 1864, Page 2

The Souhtland Times. SATURDAY, OCT. 15, 1864.

The manner in which Mr. Chalmers acquitted himself at the theatre, on Wednesday night, must be. very gratifying to his supporters. It was expected by many that the: hearing accorded to him would not be of so satisfactory a character as that given to other candidates for the representation of Invercargill. Fortunately all such anticipations proved " without foundation, and those who were present had the pleasure'; of listening, interruption, to an explanation which, if not all that could be desired, enlightened the public on some points previously not very well understood, and served to .place the past' political conduct of the speaker in "a more, favorable light than it had before, occupied. It was desirable, and .reasonable, that Mr. Chalmers should at Borne length address himself to the consideration of the past and present difficulties of the Province. -Hia "iSctions-Have

nt various time-* been severely crltit:i>*e-*l, aud ho was right in seizing tlie opportunity to justify himself to tlie electors ; but we came away 'with the idea that he left his work incom-. plete, and that it would have been better had he shown more fully what were his intentions for the future, and whether he was prepared with, the outline of any scheme which might tend to remove the depression existing at the present time. It must be admitted that the Provincial. Council will have a very limited power-in dealing with the financial position, as nothing less than Acts of Assembly can place the Loan Question on an intelli-r gible basis ; but the Council will have, by resolution or otherwise, to indicate- its opinion, and a man of Mr. Chalmeks' well-known ability cannot V fail to have given a large share of attention to the matter. In this omission he seems, to have followed in the footsteps of the gentleman who addressed the electors a few nights before. There is not the same excuse in Mr. Chalmers' case, for we give him credit for having the talent to devise some scheme, but *we cannot with truth say the same of Mr. Tarlton", and therefore it was natural that he -should be silent. Mr. Chalmers adopted the regular programme which has been drawn out for these election meetings. He acknowledged that the' Education Ordinance required revising, and that the taxation clause pressed heavily on a portion of our settlers. He was not prepared to vote for its absolute repeal, as he considered that its principles were sound. He said that it had been anxiously expected and well received when first it became law. Here we differ from him. The fact is, people were rather careless than otherwise at the time of its passing. There was an acknowledged want of the means of education, and they accepted this measure without having sufficiently considered its provisions, and did not»awake from their lethargy until they found themselves heavily assessed. Then they remonstrated, and we much doubt whether any Ordinance of a similar tendency will meet with general approval, no matter how carefully the assessment may be made. The Eoads Ordinance Mr. Chalmers considers good in principle, but confesses it to be in advance of the time. "We believe that whatever are the faults ofthe present Act much of the blame which is thrown upon it should in justice be awarded to those who have had the laying out and making the roads. The Ordinance never contemplated the wasteful expenditure of money which has taken place in Southland. Mr. Chalmers said that road-making in a young settlement is nothing more than " experimenting," but it should not be so in the hands of thoroughly qualified professional men. However bad the Eoads Ordinance may be, it is not by the faultiness of its provisions that we must account for such blunders and failures as the North Eoad baulk-way, but by the incapacity and negligence of the servants of the G-overnment. We are not defending this Ordinance, which is bad enough, but merely showing that our wretched roads and want of roads are attributable in some measure to other causes. There is one portion of Mr. Chalmers' speech which will be read with much interest ; it is where he alludes to the statement made by Mr. Tarlton* about him a few nights previously. Our own impression at the time that statement was made was that Mr. Tarlton was not j confining himself strictly to the truth, I and that he abstained from speaking more i openly in order that he might produce" an erroneous impression on the minds of his audience to the injury of Mr. Chalmers, but we were scarcely prepared to hear that what he said contained only the very smallest portion of truth — a portion so small that it is scarcely appreciable. Coming from a candidate who, throughout his address, was harping on the theme of his own honesty and. disinterestedness, all this looks very pitiful indeed. We are compelled to believe Mr. Chalmers' version |of the story because it tallies with circumstances known by the outside public, and it was moreover corroborated by Mr Calder, who happened to be in the body of the meeting, a witness who would by no means be inclined to favor Mr. Chalmers in this affair. It was very bad taste of Mr. Takltok to attack an absent opponent in the manner he did ; hut, now we know that his accusation was false, his conduct appears most despicable, and we hope the electors will bear in mind his choice sentences about " truthful, thoughtful, and honest men." Oh the Land question Mr. Chalmers holds the same views as almost every intelligent person in the Province. He considers that raising the price has done j Southland real injury. We have had on many occasions to differ i from Mr. Chalmers on political matters, but rarely when broad principles were concerned ; and when we take into consideration the great need there is at the present time for men of some power, and ability in the Council — how ill the Pro-: vince can afford to lose the services of any : such- — we must say that vye earnestly hope that Mr. Chalmers will be returned. On the great question of- the powers of the Superintendent, he holds opinions | identical with those, we have so often>ex- ; pressed in this journal, and vre believe he will honestly adhere to them-^-perhapS with greater tenacity than those who are fond of parading their own honor, their, truth, and their trustworthiness.