The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DEC. 2, 1864.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 79, 2 December 1864, Page 2

The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DEC. 2, 1864.

• The first session of the new Provincial '■ Council has not commenced in a manner !'" to authorise any very bright hopes that it L will be able to accomplish much . for the ■ good of Southland. is satisfactory to 1 know that a majority, in a house from ; which only two members were absent, ex- ! pressed an opinion that a change in the , ISuperintendency is required ; but those who. hold a contrary opinion, andamongst them we must of course class Dr. Menztjss, so nearly approach their antagonists in number, and are so evidently inclined to divide the Council, from the outset, into two parties, that we have serious fears that its efficiency will be considerably marred. Previous to the meeting of the Council, it was rumored that should the House declare against the re-election of Dr. Me^zles, he would without hesitation give his vote and the weight of his influence towards placing Mr. Heale in the Superintendent's chair. Such a course appeared both reasonable and probable to those who knew best the high estimation in which the late Superintendent held that gentleman, and had it been adopted, the Council would have been able to commence its work without being, as it were, split up into two separate halves. It was with a deep feeling of regret that we observed the action of Dr. Menzies on this point. So soon as Mr. Heale had been proposed and seconded, Dr. Menzies raised an objection to him on the ground that it could not be clearly shown that lie would be willing to act if the Council elected him. Mr. Heale was also objected to by one of the staunch supporters of Dr. Menzies because of his absence in Auckland. Both these objections were satisfactorily disposed of; the first by reading portions of a letter recently received from Mr. Heale by a private individual, (in which letter, moreover, he expressed plainly his opinions on the powers and duties of the Superintendent) and the second, by showing that Auckland is exactly the place of all others where the Superintendent should be at the present time, in order to obtaining the best terms possible for the Province at the hands of the Greneral Grovernment; a communication from the Council to Mr. Heale of their wishes being all that was desirable. On a division the numbers were as follows : — in favor of Mr. Heale nine, against him eight. The question was then raised whether his election to the office of Superintendent was valid, seeing that the tenth, clause of the New Provinces' Act provides that . the Council " shall by an absolute majority elect some person " etc. It was urged that nine was not ivas not an absolute majority of the lohole House, and that therefore Mr. Heale was not elected. We do not profess to give a decided opinion on the meaning attributable to an " absolute majority " in that clause, but at the same time it seems that a reasonable interpretation of the words is that an absolute majority of those members present is what is alluded to. We believe that by the Council is meant the members of that Council, forming a quorum present at any session ; and further, that the introduction of the word " absolute" was to guard against a Superintendent being elected by a small section of the Council which might otherwise be the case were four or five names proposed to the Council for election. We do not, as we said before, offer a decided opinion on the point, and agree with Mr. Wilson that it is for the Supreme Court to decide. One thing is cei'fcain, that Dr. Menzies must have seen that more than half of the Council were opposed to him, and it would have been more graceful, and more in accordance with his often expressed anxiety for the good of the Province, had he said " you have rejected me, and I will now support the man whom I consider best qualified to advance the interests of Southland." Had he done so he would have commanded the respect and gratitude of the community, and there is very little doubt that the whole of his " following " would have likewise given iv their adhesion. As the thing stands at present we are in the unenviable position of a house divided against itself. We have two Superintendents, — Dr. Menzies, who has, we are given to understand, expressed his determination to stick to his post until another election has taken place, and Mr. Heale, who is unqestionably the best man for the requirements of the Province at the present juncture, but who may very likely be unwilling to assume the reins when he sees that Dr. Menzies and his clique are determined to make the position as uncomfortable as possible. We put it to the Council whether some active measures should not this very day be initiated in order to ascertain the true merits of this case. By the ninth clause of the " Election of Superintendents Act," it is provided that " The right of every person " claiming to hold the office of Superin- " dent, or to be a member of a Provincial \ " Council, shall be determined on infor- " mation in the nature of quo warranto, " and by no other method, excepting such " cases as are provided for by the Eleventh " Section of the Constitution Act." Those who are in favor of Mr. Heale should at once take the necessary steps to establish his position. , = ■'