The Southland Times, MONDAY, NOV, 14, 1864.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 72, 14 November 1864, Page 3

The Southland Times, MONDAY, NOV, 14 , 1864.

" Mr. Tarltcw on the Railways and " Railway Contracts," is the heading given to a letter which appeared in our contemporary's columns on the 12th instant. The Provincial Treasurer takes us severely to task for certain remarks concerning him which have from time to time found a place in our columns. t A sentence which occurred in pur leading article on tho 7th is most bitterly com* plained of, and is said to consist of " % " aarios of abusive epithets selected from " the ' Slang Dictionary,' or, from the 11 equally dignined language of ' Common " Life.''" we reprint it, and propose to show that in substance it in correct, Our readers can also judge for iheixadypa Whether it is taken. £eona tli© nlang dic^ tionary, In our ignorance we thought it wati plain and passably ■ good English } still| aa tho objection comes fvom a gentleman who hftbitttftJty -WJelfes with two dictionaries at his elbow, we. .'nifty have been mistaken. " Xhere is but one blade 11 sheep ftmpngst the number (refer* "ring to the candidates for Invei'CfWM gill), and that lathe present 'honest; H thoughtfuV tntstwomy ! Proyineial *' 'Jl?reaawer§ Mr. Tauwpow, the gentlomftn « y))Q (plp4eyed fljy, OimWiw bel»|n4

" Superintendent, devised the Southland ." 'shin-plaster,' and thereby made- the the laughing-stock > of New "Zealand ; whose '.advanced political " creed sees nothing but ruin and disH honor in, borrowing money for the ..pub-. ..."■ lie service,, no matter how reproductive *'" the works ion which it is proposed ito. .-". employ it ; who has not scrupled to cling " fast to the office of Treasurer, and pocket " the emoluments' arising therefrom, when " it is notorious that he is in np way.quali- " fieid to discharge the duties efficiently." The charge of slandering Mr. Chalmers we have already brought prominently before the public, but as Mr. Tarlton has blustered out a denial, we will again briefly state the facts. At Mr. Taeiton's meeting at the Theatre Eoyal, he stated that he was asked. to .join an Executive of which Mr. Chalmebs. was to be one. That he (Mr. Tarlton) went to a preliminary meeting, and there heard - such things with reference to Mr. Chalmebs in connection with Mr. Davies' railway contract, that he found it impossible to co-operate with him. He, Mr. Tarlton, said it was imperative that the Executive should enter office with clean hands, and he would never act with a gentleman (meaning Mr. CHALMERS) " who gave out a contract with his right hand and accepted a share of the responsibility with his left. " The plain English of that is that, at the time of this preliminary interview, Mr. Chalmers was directly interested in Mr. Davtes' contract. It must be remembered that no explanation was given by Mr. Tarlton at the theatre as to this connection which he said existed between Mr. Davtes and Mr. Chaxiiees, and many left on that night under the impression that the latter was sub rosa one of the contracting parties. It was a fair inference to draw from the words of the speaker. When Mr. Chalmers subsequently met the electors at the Theatre Eoyal, he denied altogether the statement of Mr. Tarlton. He said he was in no way connected with Mr. Daytes ; that he was tmder no definate agreement with him; and that the machinery (sawing plant) which might have placed him in a position to assist Mr. Davies was not even in the Colony at the time when the tender conscience of the present Provincial Treasurer would not permit him to sit in an Executive with Mr. Chalmers. He also said he was asked by Mr. Tarlton, at the same preliminary interview, whether in the event of the machinery arriving from England in time, he would be willing to assist Mr. Davies. The answer was — Yes, but in that case I should [at once resign. The only particle of [ foundation for the charge brought against Mr. Chalmers lies in the contingency ! raised by Mr. Tarlton, and even the force J of that small portion is destroyed by the latter part of Mr. Chalmebs' answer — in that case I should at once resign. If this question had to be decided on the ! credit to be attached to the respective statements of these two gentlemen only, we should, from what we know of their antecedents and general character, without hesitation believe Mr. Chalmers; but fortunately the conversation took place in the presence of witnesses. On the night of the second meeting in the Theatre Eoyal, Mr. Caldeb stood up and fully corroborated what Mr. Chalmebs stated, and from other sources, open to those who like to enquire further, the same version of the story has reached us. Wo do not, therefore, choose to credit Mr. Taklton. He says we are unjust and ungenerous in our remarks, but how best does a newspaper fulfil its duty to the public in eases of this kind ? Is it by saying that if what A asserts be true [ then it follows that the statement of B is erroneous, and vice versa, aud they are both honorable men ,- or is it by sifting the evidence in a dispassionate manner, and arriving at a conclusion based on facts and fair inferences ? The latter is the course we have always adopted, and in doing so have condeiimed Mr. Tablton. But it may be contended that there , was a misapprehension. Unfortun- ! ately, that cannot be admitted. The cunning vagueness with which Mr. [ Tarlton encircled his charge against Mr. Chalmebs shows clearly a motive. It was necessary to leave a damaging impression on the minds of his audience, i and that was best effected by making use lof generalities. In his letter to the News Mr. Tarlton says — " I understand the writer to mean that I have given utterance to a false report from malicioiis motives, to injure his (Mr. Chalmebs') reputation, and to lessen him in the esteem of others." This is, perhaps, a not unfair explanation, of our intention. We meant that in order to mar the success of an opponent, and to increase his own chance of election, Mr. Tarlton stated, and hinted, concerning Mr, Chalmers what was not true. He said Mr. Chalmers I had accepted a share of the responsibility of the railway contract, and he had done nothing of the sort. It was a dirty manoeuvre of Mr. Tarlton, worthy a third-rate eleotion agent, to curry favor with the people of Invercargill, and show how immaculate was his character when compared with the character of Mr. Chalmers. It was essentially on unjust | and ungenerous proceeding, to injure a, man who, with all l>is faults, ia incomparably superior to Mr. Tabltozt,

"Wo dp not choose to enter again at jmy longth into the " shin«plaster " question, the second item mentioned in the sen* twice which has caused the vials of Mr. Taiwan's wrath to be poured on ouj? devoted head. The fact that he, in conjunction with the Superintendent, iuieitftad to issue JUegftl paper ;mo»©y is too well known j and in hi* letter to a X)unedin journal, which we regret we cannot tit tho fflouient find, the print* iug of- the notes, i& v acknowledge. ; We have on several occasions seen specimens of thorn, and dan Bay they were calculated to mislead the Unwary into the belief that they were genuine hank notes. Ou* readers can find, in the general newspaper press of tho Colony at the time, that W8 did not) exaggerate wl*en wa 9# tjiat, by 4#l^ k t|$ TO9 irf them M ri#gWPi TI

the Superintendent and Mr. Tablton '! male the Province the laughing-stock <oftW Zealand." , ._ "We now come to that part of' the obnoxious sentence which treats of "Mr? TabliXON's dislike- to-Jborrowing ._ money, foT public purposes. We Lave m>t misiriterprefce'fl his ideas as expressed : -at the; public meeting at the Theatre !Royal. He most distinctly stated that he was opposed intoto to the principle of lo'ank for the public service. /There > v^as/no mistaking" his meaning. ; He was referring v to no particular one, but sweepingly condemnedall G-overnment loans. A' reference toj the columns; of the News and likewise to; our own will show that we are in the right.' ■ t '•.-:.. : <• . .;..... .•• : : •;•■■,- : :•::.. •■/..■.}! The last clause which ; Mr. TabltoK; -refers ;to is ' the one -in which we. say . that he hasi ' clung to the office of Treasurer, and that he has ' pocketed the emoluments when it is ; that he is .in.. no way qualified ; - to, fulfil the duties efficiently. There :can be no question about the /first part of this. He went in as a member of what | was supposed to be a. constitutional Executive, and he has continued; in; office jeyer since. Why, let us ask, j did. not; Mr. i Tabxton go out with his colleagues .& He gave .'us a very lame explanation the other night. He would have gone out,' he said, but that the Superintendent asked him solemnly whether he would deprive him of his advice in the hour of difficulty. He need not have asked. Mr. Tablton would never desert his post as long as he was paid for remaining in it. . Had he gone out with his colleagues, the Superintendent, finding himself altogether alone, might at the eleventh hour have consented to the wishes of the Provincial Council, and bound himself to govern constitutionally ; but with Mr. Tablton ready to do his bidding, he faced the House, and to the very last resisted all efforts for reform. No public man under a responsible form of government has a right to act as Mr. Tarlton has acted ; no man with a spark of political honor about him could have done so. It Was not a question whether the Province would go to ruin without Mr. Tablton's assistance ; it was a question whether the G-overnment should be carried on constitutionally or not, and Mr. Tarlton was found on the antipopular side. Had he done his duty to the people and to his colleagues, he would have said, when asked by the Superintendent what his intentions were — 1 will not support you unless you comply with the wishes of the Provincial Council. The Province would have sustained no inj ury by his honest conduct, and a great principle would have been affirmed. There must have been a reason for Mr. Tarlton's conduct, and we and many more are so short-sighted as to think that he remained in office for the sake of the salary. It is a fair inference, for Mr. Tarlton has failed to show any other good reason. That is what we honestly think, and do not care to disguise our views. With regard to Mr. Tarlton' s fitness, it is not of course in our power to unveil the secrets of the Grovernment offices, nor are we now speaking of simple routine, but those who know Mr. Tarlton best do not give him credit for the talent which the Treasurer of the Province should possess, and no act of his since he has been in office, has tended to shake that opinion. But wh ether he is fit or not, we object to Mr. Tarlton making the Treasurershi p a permanent appointment, and installing himself in it. If it is to be a permanent situation, it is but fair that others should have the opportunity of trying for it by showing their testimonials and credentials. The remainder of Mr. Tarlton's letter does not so directly refer to ourselves, excepting, perhaps, that portion of it which treats of the construction of the embankments. We have before pointed oufc that what Mr. Tarlton says of this part of the work may be true, but why was it not mentioned in the Engineer's report recently published ? If, as Mr. Tarlton would lead us to suppose, he is consulted by the Superintendent, why was not the omission pointed out and rectified ? It would be better that these strictures should come through the proper channel than that the Provincial Treasurer of Southland should enter into a discussion with the press, which has certainly never | extolled the way in which the contracts i have been hitherto carried out. . ! Mr. Tarlton has taken his trumpet, j and, as he says, blown " a doleful and | jarring blast," and we do cordially hope that for the future he will be warned by the errors of the past.