POLITICAL POSITION OF PARTIES.

Southland Times, Issue 1093, 20 January 1869, Page 3

POLITICAL POSITION OF PARTIES.

(Condensed from the N. Z. Advertiser.') It is now a stock argument with the Opposition papers to maintain that the people of the Colony and the Press are distinctly" opposed to the present Ministry, and that they hold ofJß.ce in despite of public opinion. If this were true, at least so far as regards the latter portion, we should quite agree with our contemporaries that a change of Government was desirable, as — especially in a difficulty such as we are now inpolyed in — general confidence in the policy pursued is a necessory clement to success. We are not prepared, however, to admit the premises further than the self-evident fact of the rabid unscrupulous abuse and wildness of assertion which constitute the politics of such journals as 'he ' Lyttelton Times,' ' Nelson Colonist,' and the "' New Zealand Sun' — known well to represent simply the ideas of some itinerant aspirant to Parliamentary honors — whom fortune in two instances has kindly prevented exposing their ignorance more clearly — while in the third we are allowed to see what mischief an adventurer may do, who, having sold his brains to a party to carry out their selfish views, is forced on aud on in a course his own sense must condemn — the nominal editor and Provincial Minister ; but in reality the mere mouthpiece of a few squatting agents and mortgagees, who bid fair to monopolise the lands of Otago. Thit the people do not sympathise with these or such as these is proved by the events of the last few days. Elections have taken place in various parts of the Colony, when tbe opportunity was afforded for tbe expression of opinion in a most unmistakeable way. What has been the result ? In Westland, where the contest was . fierce, and politics ran high, Mr W. H. Harrison has been 1 returned for the County Council at the top of the poll for G-reymouth, Mr Barff for Okarita, and Mr Bonar for Hokitika — all supporters of the present G-overnment, all repeatedly asserted iv the Opposition prints to have forfeited the confidence of their constituents by tbe course they took last session ! In Auckland Mr John Kerr was unanimously re-elected for bis own district, while gentlemen unfavorable to the opinions advocated by tbe Provincial party have been in every case chosen to the seats in the Provincial Council vacated by Messrs J. O'Neill, A. Clark, &c. Timaru, upon the resignation of Mr Cox, elects without a contest Mr Stafford — not one of tbe self-confident " constitutionalists" daring to show their face. Facts are stubborn things, and unless we see something more definite to back the assertion, we shall not believe in the unpopularity of the Government and its policy.