Correspondence.

Colonist, Issue 8, 17 November 1857, Page 2

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Colonist. Sir, —The bustle and excitement attending the elections for the Superintendency and members for the Provincial Cotmcil of this province, having, with the bitter and malignant spirit shown on most of those occasions, subsided a little, and the great bill of expenses ran up with the publicans (by those who were so very anxious that a gentleman and not a mechanic should be placed at the head of affairs in this province) being, I suppose, comfortably settled to those gentlemen's satisfaction, I will, with your permission, Mr. Editor, endeavor to show by their acts which of our two Superintendents, elected under the Constitution Act, is most entitled to that oft abused, but honorable appellation—a. gentleman. We will take Mr. Stafford first. No one will dispute his claim to that title, so far as birth and learning go towards making a man one; but we object very much to the argument brought forward by those who profess to belong to that class, that they are the only ones to whom that appellation belongs, and consequently are the only ones competent to fill any office of "honor or profit in the Province. Mr. Stafford arrived in this settlement about twelve months after its formation. He did not belong to that very fortunate class, the Original Land Purchasers, (who were compensated by the New Zealand Company at the expense of the people of this province, and the debt of which at present hangs like a millstone about its neck, and is likely to do yet for- some time); but he very fortunately had friends among that body, and being, I believe, dis- . tantly related to one of them, he by that means obtained a standing among that small but select body—the Aristocracy of Nelson. Through the kindness of a friend and countryman (since deceased, and to Avhose memory I wish to pay a . grateful respect, for the many good qualities he possessed, so different in many respects from those of his class in the Province of Nelson,) he was enabled to become a run-holder, and by that means eventually a land-owner in this province. About this time Captain Fitzroy was made Governor of this colony, and on his arrival here snubbed our great men so much that they never forgave him : perhaps he would have been more lenient towards them had he known' the great straits they were put to respecting their personal appearance (etiquette is everything in. a case of that kind) to grace his landing;—one gentleman, in particular1, was near losing the honor of being,1 one of the deputation, on account of being obliged to wait for his boots being mended. After a time better days dawned—that Son of a Gun (or a King), which the name implies, was superseded.by Governor Grey, who took the more gentlemanly course of conciliation by making some of their number nominees of his Council, others he propitiated by allowing that coveted privilege, by annexing a J.P. to their obscure names. The nominees were delighted with the honor conferred on them ; but the masses were disappointed and dissatisfied, they pined for representative institutions, held many meetings on the subject, and at length petitioned the Home Government that a Constitution might be granted them. It was at this time that the eagle glance of Mr. Stafford saw the opportunity of acquiring wealth and honor, by pretending to sympathise .with the liberal party, (bis not being an original land purchaser would have kept him from becoming anything but a subordinate amongst them, had he joined their standard,) so he deserted his friends and flung himself into the arena of politics, as the champion of the liberal party; not with all that generous and chivalrous impulse belonging to his countrymen, and of which with all their faults they may be justly proud; but with the cool calculating spirit of personal aggrandisement, and of which that gentleman is now known to be largely possessed. Fools that the liberals were to think that the Ethiopian could be washed white, or that the leopard would change his spots. Grateful to him for the interest they thought he had taken in their weltai-e, and believing in their simplicity that no one calling himself a gentleman, would be guilty of the mean action of deceiving, they conferred "ori him the highest honor that was in their power to bestow, and which that gentleman so. eagerly coveted ; as was shown by the conversation that took place between him and Captain Newcombe, and advertised by the latter gentleman in the Nelson'Examiner It was not long after his election, that the people's eyes began to be opened, and to see their high expectations doomed to disappointment. He very soon came out in his true colors, proved himself a veritable Jupiter Ammon, or, at the least, a model of one of those living statues, a Roman senator, in the days of Attila, the conqueror of Rome. Aped majesty, by remaining seated, while he delivered his opening address, to his vestry parliament, refused to accept the paltry sum of three hundred pounds voted to him by the Council to enable him to keep up (or rather I should say to keep down) his vice-regal state. His friends and adherents were loud and bitter in their expressions of anger; and the only press in the colony, the proprietor of which was' a violent partizan of the Superintendent, besides being a member of the Provincial Council, the news of such a mean precedent, was soon trumpeted forth in the Ntfson Examiner. At whose expense was his Honor's dignity to be kept up ? They had set up their idol; so a liberal sum must be granted to make the worship of him respectable. Besides, it was considered unjust that the expenses of levees, public dinners to the gentlemen of the Province, iand official dress balls to their wives and daughters, should fall on his Honor. Such arguments prevailed, and in the second session of the Provincial Council, they voted him a salary of five hundred a-year. I do not wish to encroach on any man's concerns, but as the statement was made in the Provincial Council by his supporters, that his Honor would be obliged to keep a sort of open house, and hold a kind of levee occasionally, they did not think it would be acting just towards him in allowing any expenses incurred on such occasions to fall on him. Ido not believe, Mr. Editor, that I am stepping over the legitimate bounds of a public letter-writer, when I state that a more economic man in regard to money matters in a private capacity, or a more lavish one in- respect of the monies of the public, (with a few exceptions, here I am sorry to say) could not be found, and if 1 any expectations were ever formed on the part of our great men, of any public dinners being given them, or any visions of official dress balls ever floated in | the imaginations of their wives and daughters, they were wofully disappointed. Self was the ruling passion of the man, no sympathy for any one else. The, late Superintendent on his first taking office gave a promise that he would not seek or accept a "seat in the House of. Representatives; but as his colleagues in the other Provinces did not profess to! be so squeamish, they having accepted seats in the General Assembly, it was not likely Mr. Stafford would long regard that promise ; so seeing something to be gained, he publicly gave it up, and with it the superintendency, but immediately came forw ard again as a candidate for that office, and likewise for a seat in the General Assembly, the Nelson press impressing on the peoples' minds the serious consequences that would ensue if they lost such » /"fted and talented man: and no person coming forward to oppoase him, they again elected him as their Superintendent, to secure his services in the General Assembly, in which they gave him a seat, more particularly as there were many important altei-ations and measures in contemplation, which would tax the abilities of their best statesmen- And so the event proved. After a deal of foolish bickering among the leading men of the colony, and a suicidal jealousy of each other, they allowed Mr. Stafford to walk over the'course, by taking the lead in the House, allowing him to pursue any line of policy he choosed. Witness the alteration of the Tariff Bill, and the saddling of this Province with more than its just share of the New Zealand Company's debt, to conciliate the great men of Auckland, by whose assistance he was placed in the coveted position of Premier of the House of Representatives, and Colonial Secretary of New Zealand, sacrificing the poor dupes who had trusted him, and leaving them with an empty treasury, after expending about seventy thousand pounds during the time he was in office, without leaving anything substantial to be seen after such an expenditure, and not even deigning to thank them for the pliancy they had exhibited while

being made the tools by which he worked hisway to his present lofty position. That he will not hold it long is the belief and hope of every consistent man in the Province, and the neglect he is likely to meet with should he again settle among us, is sufficiently shown by the. significant fact, that with all the strong party feeling that has been shown during the late elections, no wish was uttered or expressed for his return by either party, his name indeed is scarcely mentioned, or if mentioned at,all, not in any way complimentary. He certainly has shown himself cunning in statecraft, but he has not behaved either justly or impartially, gentlemanly, or even civilly, towards those who confided their interests to him. In my next I will give you a slight sketch of our present Superintendent. - Until then, I must beg to remain, yours respectfully, AN OLD SETTLER. Nelson, 11th November, 1857.

■ ■ To the Editor of the Colonist. Sir, —I beg to trouble you with a few remarks on a letter in The Examiner, November 11, which has struck my attention, because the writer does not write like ' a colonist,' though he styles himself such. For instance, a colonist of any standing knows that Nelson is not so immaculate as this sentence implies—' Our little Nelson is too young and innocent, at present, to have contracted those vices which are the unfortunate appendages of more advanced colonies.' The fact is, we have contracted vices; but our population being small, our vices seem so too, and therefore ' A Colonist' inferentially presumes we are young and innocent. When, we have twice the present population, and scores instead of tens of criminals, we shall in exact ratio be still as innogent, though 'A Colonist' will not then be found their champion as he is now. I rather thiak, Mr. Editor, from the tone of that letter, that those remarks are bestowed as a side blow on the unhappy printer^ for the atrocious crime of having lived in. Australia. After this bilious attack, he wrathfully exclaims at the pro* fanity of inserting a well-writteivand dispassionate' article on the notorious Madeline Smith. As this merges into the Englishman's bone of contention, • education, and as 1 have never given my opinions publicly on that question, I, shall now speak of the parents' duty in that matter. With that article I concurred for its sensible allusions to the moral worthlessness of an artificial, conventional, and fashionable education—an education imparted in some genteel establishments, where fond believers are informed by massive brass plates, which say— ' young ladies instructed," but where the young lady is often rnisinstructed, or is a mere smatterer —where a strict regard tp.appearances and decorum is enforced, but where the.higher attributes of the mind are overlooked, not looked over, and where fancy work, music, bad French and Italian, stocks and back-boards are paramount. To suppose, on - leaving such an establishment, that a lady has finished her education, is one of the prevailing parental errors: for while no abiding impression has been made on the mind and heart, of what value are puch accomplishments? It is my opinion that the real education of a woman begins after she has left school, or from youth to maturity, when her feeling are ardent and susceptible, and her nature trustful, truthful, and kind, warm with affection, and eager for knowledge. It is then her friendships are formed, and ' a woman's will' or character is moulded. It is then she needs monition and admonition. The precepts and example of parents should then complete that education which the school had only commenced—and should warn them of those dangers which should be known in order to be hated and shunned, and should point out that better part which is best enacted when unseen and unknown, and which in all fluctuations of fortune, enables us to glide through life with security and selfsatisfaction. Were children ruled at home more by love than by fear there would be less danger of adopting the lessons of elder associates, or becoming the dupes of the designing. Take an interest ,in their interest—participate in their pleasures—• sympathize in their misfortunes—speak gently of their failings—assist their judgment in forming an opinion of others—endeavor to make the whole family group communicable and confiding, and oxteiv nal dangers will melt before a household that has no secrets, and where all are cared for, Every right, thinking man knows that true wisdom consists in the right perception of good and evil. Now, Madeline Smith, (or Magdalen Smith, for I am not defending her conduct) though she had an expensive education, did not have a sound one, so that when she saw vice in all its allurements, ' a la Parisian,' and her ideas of right and wrong being by no means, clear, she at once made her acquaintance and became an apt pupil, "Just skilled to know the right and choose the wrong." Depend upon it half knowledge of any kind is bad, for human nature must be supposed to be very drivelling if it is not to be informed of its delinquencies, and any one who would shut another from the world because of its' dangers, would deserve the censure of the rigid moralist Johnson, who told the Lady Abbess of a convent, ' Madam, you are here, not for the love of virtue, but the fear of vice.' This was the false system adopted towards a self-willed sensuous woman, with what success ' A Colonist' can perhaps shew. '".[.'..'.'. A FATHER. N.B.—' Evil communications corrupt good manners,' is not a ' divine oracle,' but a Pagan sentiment quoted by St. Paul.

To the Editor of the Colonist. Mb. Editor,—Sing Io Triumphe ! The Millenium has arrived, and Nelson is the modern Eden! If you doubt it, refer to two late numbers of your contemporary; in one you will find that "'little Nelson is young and innocent!" in the other it ' is asserted, and the editorial "we " confirms the truth, that people rush to pay the tax imposed by the Board of Works; and that the public 'repose' confidence in the idol 'they themselves' nave made. It is to be hoped that however much the 'innocent' folks of 'little Nelson' may repose in the forthcoming dog-days, they will not be caught • happing when taxes are concerned. It is fearful to contemplate the rush to this new found paradise of the southern hemisphere, when the glad tidings are spread by the many-tongued news of the old world. NOUS.

To the Editor, of t}ie Colonist. ■ ~ Sin,—Can you inform me why those two funny little rocks lying between the Queen's and Albion Wharf, and dangerously in the way of boats working up in-shore, have been allowed to keep their perpendicular so long, (for perpendicular they are) and formed only of a sort of concrete, very easily removed. I should imagine that it was the duty of the Harbor Master to have had them removed longsince, as many small craft Lave been on them, and much damage and delay have consequently occurred. I. understand-a sum of £20 would be sufficient to remove them, and, as the trade of this port is rapidly increasing, I conceive this would be money well spent. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, BREAKERS-A-HEAD. Nelson, Mth November, 1857.

To the Editor of the Colonist.' Sib,—-As the person alluded to in the letter of your paper signed ' Amor Justitiae,' I can assure you that the fare of two shillings is not too much, particularly as your humble servant has to stand waiting for fares sometimes for a whole day, (blow high or low) and with a tear in his eye like a travelling rat I should like to see Mr. Amor Justifies sculling about in a boat, for his living, for a few weeks, taking fares at one shilling, and I'll be bound his views of justice will take a decided turn. When the passenger fares are sufficiently remunerative at one shilling, I slftill be glad to advertise them at that rate. lam, Sir, your obedient servant, BEN. BLOWHARD, Late of Wapping Old Staira.

' To tie Editor of the Colonist. ■ Sir,—Though not in the habifkef attending to anonymous communications, I feel myself callea upon, in this instance, to take notice of " Inquirer a letter published in last Friday's issue, as it is- a matter affecting the public. I will say in reply, that if " Inquirer" had- taken the legitimate course, open to himself or any other applicant for shares in the Dan Mountain Minihff Company (Limited), of calling upon me,'he could have obtained the information he seeks, far more satisfactorily than by striving to gain it by appealing to the public through your newspaper. , ; lam, &c, MAXWELL BURY, 16tli November. Secretary, f