The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 6, 1869.

Southland Times, Issue 1142, 6 October 1869, Page 2

The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 6, 1869.

At the present moment it is particularly unfortunate that the electors of the province have no direct voice in the choice of its Superintendent, for it must be clear to all ori this choice hangs the issue to our existing critical position. On the gentleman whom the new Council calls to the chief magistracy will depend, to a great extent, whether we are to. emerge from a state of stagnant prostration, and gain a firm footing on the road to future prosperity, or sink still lower/ until our very existence is ignored, and our name blotted from the map. Let but the right man be placed at the head of affairs at the present juncture, and the dark gloom which has so long beclouded our horizon — political and commercial — will soon disperse before the dawn of a brighter era, but, let a false selection be made, let incompetency take the helm, and "farewell hope." It therefore becomes the duty of every constituency, of every elector, to demand from every candidate a clear and decided pledge on this point.

The election of the Superintendent by the Council has long been felt as a defect in the "New Provinces Act," and repeated attempts have been made to get the law in this respect altered, so as to secure to the inhabitants of the new provinces the right of electing their own chief executive officer, in the same manner as in the original provincesWhy this right has not been granted, it is difficult to imagine, still more. so to discover any good purpose to be served by its being withheld. Both the electors and the Councils of several of the provinces thus invidiously placed, have spoken out plainly on this subject, pointing out at once its injustice, and its inevitable evil consequences. In our own province its pernicious operation has been severely felt, and our Council, some three or four sessions ago, passed a resolution in favor of a change, and of being placed on the same platform as the older provinces. Since its passing, however, nothing further has been heard of the resolution ; the obnoxious clause remains unaltered, and, as the same rules are in force, and the same influences are at work now as prevailed on a former occasion, the combined: action of the electors, brought to bear on the candidates as .we suggest, alone can save the province from the consequences of a

check-mate of parties, such as occurred on the occasion to which we allude, when Dr Menzies' and Mr Heale's candidature produced a dead-lock, and when, in order to get over the difficulty of the situation, both had, in sporting parlance, to yield first honors to an outsider. It would be little short of ruin were such to occur again, and therefore it is we urge upon the constituencies to give this matter timely consideration. The committees ehould take action on the question at once. It only wants one prompt step to be taken to bring out schemes which are now, no doubt, held in abeyance. Political parties have been, it may be said, rather broken up and disjointed of late, but the approach of the general elections has, no doubt, cemented the members of the i respective cliques together, and again produced that bond of union which gives coherency, and promotes co-operation That the intentions of the different political knots— the ruling parties, as they delight to be called— are kept hidden, is so much the worse. The uninitiated have thus to fight in the dark, and may innocently bring about such a state of affairs as will exactly suit the designs of place-hunters. Extraordinary circumspection is therefore as necessary as prompt action. Let a good man and true, a man possessing at once the mind to conceive, the ability to inaugurate, and the energy to execute schemes of economy and progress, be at once brought forward ; let him give an explicit and unhesitating statement of his policy, and then, if it is for the general good, let minor points be mutually conceded, and let the united influence . of the whole body of electors, through their representatives, place that man firmly in the Superintendental chair. We must, however, have no carpet knight, no drawing-room dragoon, but a man with a good head and a willing hand. One who will not think it undignified personally to 3ee his behests obeyed, or derogatory to his office to watch vigilantly the public weal in small matters as well as in great concerns.