The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1868.

Southland Times, Issue 890, 29 January 1868, Page 2

The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1868.

The political excitement that has agitated Victoria for years appears to have become part and parcel of its existence. The din of parties,however,was by mutual consent suspended, in order to give scope and time for some other sensational recreation. The Tipper House and the Lower House war was thus stayed in order that all might fraternize upon the appearance in their midst of a Prince Eoyal. The Duke of Edes-btjbgh, however, had scarcely lost sight of Port Phillip Heads before the old fued was revived. The journals that for weeks had been excessively polite in a contest for superiority in flowing descriptions of the movements of the Queen's son, and the homage paid him by the people, like lions refreshed, returned to the strife. At the present time, Victoria is in the midst of a struggle, the result of which will more or less affect the political atmosphere of all the Australian Colonies. It commenced with a dispute between the j 1 1-»«— vrC lUC X*niriitvu.njut< -of -fcl»«.t colony, but it hasnowbecome a question of greater importance. It is simply this ; shall public opinion be disregarded, and a handful of obstructionists, with the aid of the Imperial authorities, overrule the colonists ? The general elections that are now going on are of great importance. : It is the final struggle between Imperial interference and colonial independence. The question on which the M'Culloch: Ministry appeals to the country is less to condemn the obstructive party of the Council than to pass a marked censure on the Imperial authorities for the part they took in interfering in what the M'Culloch party deem to have been purely a colonial political contest. The first dead-lock between the two branches of the Legislature was simply the G-overnment taking or combining a new tariff scheme with the Appropriation Bill. The Upper House disapproved of the new tariff, and therefore refused to vote the supplies. The contest which then ensued between the two houses, the failure of the leaders of the Opposition to form a Ministry, the appeal to the country, the success of the Ministerial party, and the conduct of the then Governor, Sir Chaeles Dablestg, in acknowledging the expressed opinion of the people, by siding with his ministers, and the Assembly in opposition to the Council, is well known. This was a contest that was simply a colonial one, and Imperial interference was uncalled for. The Downing-street magnates, however, could not resist the temptation of attempting to fexereise a power arrogant and unjust. They could not punish the ministers who had, with almost universal support of the people, adopted a policy not palatable to them ; but they could express their indignation by punishing the Governor who had bowed to public opinion, and assisted the Government to carry out a polioy that had been endorsed by the people. The sudden recall of Sir Chaeles Dabling, under censure, was viewed, and viewed justly by the public, as an insult to the colony. To resent the insult, the £20,000 vote to Lady Dabling was passed by the Assembly, and it is upon this vote that the present deadlock has arisen. The Government included it in the Appropriation Bill, and the Council rejected the Bill altogether. The same farce of passing and rejecting was played out, and now Victoria is in the throes of another general election ; — the question upon which the electors are called upon to decide is not so much the Council against the Assembly, as the colony against imperial meddling in the workings of colonial responsible Governments. The result of this appeal to the country should be one of interest to every colonist. The action taken by the Home Government has perpetuated a political war in Victoria for over two years, that would long before this have been amicably arranged, had it not been for its unseemly interference. It deposed one Governor for being too democratic — for governing in accordance with the spirit of the constitution he was required to develop. The successor, it wa3 expected, would have changed the order of things, and have induced the people to humbly accept the imperial dictum as the image before which they were, in dumb silence, bound to worship. Sir Hekby Manners Sittton, however, proved his capacity for thought and action. Having learnt the feelings of the people he was called upon to govern, studied the history of his precedessor with the minutenessofaself-confid^atstatesman, he adopted the identical policy pursued by Sir Chables Dabling, and even went beyond it. The heaviest censure and gravest charge brought against the exGovernor was that he did not use sufficient diligence to obtain a ministry from ,

the Opposition, notwithstanding he had given the leaders full scope to do so if . they could. The present Governor, when the M'Culloch Ministry placed their resignation before him, refused to accept them. "Go again to the country if you like, but I will not attempt to summon new advisers that will not possess the confidence of the people." Will the home Government recall Sir H. Mannebs Sttttok" in the same way as they did Sir Chabi.es Dabling ? We think not. The Duke of Buckingham:, it would seem, is beginning to learn the temper and mettle of the colonists, and shrinks from provoking hostility. The continuation of Sir Geobge Geet in office until after the Duke of Ebinbttbgh's visit to this Colony is evidence that they have learnt at home tbat the Colonists will not tolerate the knownothing interference that in the past has tended, especially in New Zealand, to govermental discord and popular dissatis- 1 faction. i