The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1869.

Southland Times, Issue 1166, 17 November 1869, Page 2

The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1869.

SoUTHLAJfD possesses great natura] adviiutigeß for settlement. Our landed estate is extensive, as compared with mo-t other provinces, and we will shortly possess a railway some 40 miles long, running into the interior, thus improving the means of communication, and opening up a splendid tract of country. From this source alone, it is reasonable to assume that a handsome rerenue will be derived. Extensive undulating plains, having all the needful requirements for agricultural settlement, and eminently adapted for the future home of numbers of our fellow-couutrymen, lie at our very doors. Thousands upon thousands of acres covered with flax, now an important colonial production, can be obtained at the upset price of 20s per acre ; mountaius and valleys, rich in mineral deposits, run through the length and breadth of the land ; our rivers and seacoast abound in excellent fish. la fact, all the elements of future greatness and prosperity are within our reach, if we only stretch out our hands to grasp them, and are true to ourselves. Yet, strange and inconsistent as it may appear, notwithstanding all these mani fesfc advantages, we have been the worst governed province in New Zealand, although everything has been in our favor. The General Government has always been ' indulgent towards us. The fatted calf has been repeatedly killed; the prodigal son has been again and again welcomed, and counselled to amend his career, but the melancholy — nay, we are obliged to use a stronger word — the disgraceful spectacle is presented of a community, through no direct fault of its own, becoming degraded and lowered in the estimation of neighbor*. This wdenirabte »fctt» Qf

things is in a great measure owing to the machinations aud log-rolling propensities of a few local politicians. It ia a curious coincidence, interesting, no doubt, to the student of history, that in localities where the greatest amount of personal liberty is obtainable, the greatest disregard of political obligations is manifest. Thua, we fiad that in New York, not only the municipal government, but the whole machinery of the State; is centred in the hands . of notoriously incompeteut persons. This state of affairs, it must be borne in mind, exists in the face of strenuous oppositiou on the part of people who have everything to lose by the perpetuation of ba 1 government. The explanation, however, is to be found in the existence of proi fessional wire-pullers, some of them men I of influence and good social standing, who ! outwardly discharge the duties oi good citizens, but who, in reality, thrive upon politics, who put forward dummies and ignorant persons to fill the most important positions in the community, in order the more easily to derive advantages from their stupidity or Bupineness. Bribery and corruption reign triumphant, and "rings" of various descriptions divide the plunder taken frona_the_JState. The built, a canal to be made, a bridge to be constructed, or a fat contract to change Lands, generally manages by some niystecioaa process to obtain the lion's share of the profits. For the sake of our common humanity, it is to be hoped that such a state of things is confined to New York only, and let us trust that ifc will be long before any British commuuity will descend to the unenviable position the •empire city of America now holds. We instance America as possessing an abundant variety of the genus alluded to in its worst form, but even in our little community we are not without our wire-pul-lers, and although the same bad consequences have not overtaken us, it is simply because our resources are much more limited, and the same facilities for plunder do not exist. Yet sufficient mischief has been accomplished by wirepulling, or " cliquism," to use an oftquoted expression of our contemporary, to arouse us to the necessity of using every legitimate means to counteract the bad results which invariably follow adherence to such a system. The election of Mr Wood as Superintendent is jprimd facie evidence of the system of tactics of wire-pulling in our small way. A harmless gentleman, trustworthy, no doubt, aud a respectable member of SOfiffite- hnt nfchpiVwiftPi tntaMsr ixn-flffr»rl — ia— thrust into a position that the wildest flights of his imagination never contemplated. Indeed, the whole proceeding participates more of the nature of a practical after-dinner joke than the sober earnestness of a deliberative assembly, and the public could afford to accept the first idea, were it not for the fatal consequences which may arise from the inconsiderate conduct of the principal actors in this piece of low corned j. Although the people have distinctly denied the necessity for re-union, there being a majority of upwards of 100 ia favor of preserving our autonomy, yet owing to the inefficient method of electing a Superintendent under the New Provinces Act, the idea goes forth to the world that Mr Wood represents the will of the people of Southland, when actual) jthe very reverse is the fact. But Mr Caldes is greatly to blame for this. He has been invariably successful in every political move he has made during the past five or six years. He combines a certain amount of astuteness with a large amount of sophistry. In him, in fact, is concentrated most of the qualities — omitting, of course, the dishonest elements — which constitute the successful political trimmer. There is a variety of thought, a diversity of opinion, a deftness and plausibility, with a gentle touch of Pecksniflianism to give a relish, about him, that is very taking with an unsuspecting public. He can tell us in his own peculiar way that nothing but a high sense of moral principle has induced him to change his political creed, to assert that black was white one day, and white black the next day ; but it must be apparent to the unprejudiced mind that such tactics, sooner or later, bring their own condemnation. He has had the virtual control of the province during the past five or six years, and let us ask, " What good has he accomplished ?" Absolutely nothiug. Now that we have drifted into difficulties, instead of putting his shoulder to the wheel to extricate us, he complacently advises political suicide. The necessity for a change ia the conduct of public affairs is becoming daily more apparent. We require men who would be an honor and credit to the community, to be returned as representatives to the Provincial Council, and not " hatters," as Mr Webster very appropriately I put it — one-idea men, made to dance to the music of the wire-pullers. In Mr Cuthbebtson the electors of Oftropbelltown will have an opportunity

lof returning a gentleman unconnected with any parly, who possesses a large stake in the province, and therefore the more likely to advance ita permanent iuterests ; whose ability is undoubted, and who has devised a straightforward and feasible plan for extricating us from our difficulties. We are sorry that Mr Ma.cdo?tald should allow himself, for the third time, to be placed in nomination, especially when he is likely to be again defeated. He is a gentleman who poaajaaoa many amiable qualities, that should, under ordinary circumstances, recommend him to the favorable consideration of auy constituency, but it becomes a matter of public duty for the electors to use every endeavor to keep him out of the Provincial Council, bel cause he comes forward as the nominee i of the principal wire-puller, and thus t represents a bad principle.