THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1861.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 338, 15 January 1861, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1861.

Of all the curious electioneering addresses which will be found in our paper to-day under the head of that likely to be wellcontested province—Auckland, none can equal the very egotistical address in the Marlborough Press, of Mr. Weld, who is a candidate for one of the two seats, for the Province ot Marlborough in the House of Representatives, for the obtaining of one of which Mr. Weld claims so much credit. Mr. Weld asks, " What has the ministry, of which I am a member, done for the country ?" And then he answers the question, much to his own satisfaction no doubt, by enumerating various boons which the Stafford ministry has conferred on New Zealand, especially in the Southern portion . of it, by obtaining for it the control of its \own land revenue; by establishing steam communication; by improved administration of justice; by creating an official audit; by the New Provinces Act; and other smaller matters. Now it strikes us that there is nothing so J very peculiar or difficult in all or any one of these acts, that they could or would not j have beea equally well performed, and pro- j bably much more honestly, by any other j ministry, than the one to which Mr. Weld attributes ail the good that has happened to New Zealand, or that is likely to happen. We see no very greatness of mind displayed in the establishment of steam for postal services, especially when it is considered that it has been done by plunging the country unnecessarily into debt, which with the Stafford ministry, is much more likely to be increased than diminished. And surely there cannot be much to boast of in the New Provinces Act, where the Superintendent is a mere puppet, and the people have no more control over him than they have over the Great Cham of Tartaty. , Mr. Weld then, Coriolanus like, enumerates the important services he has done the state especially that part of it included in the boundaries prescabed by the New Provinces Act under the not very euphonious name of Marlborough. "When last I had the honor of addressing you*

I referred chiefly to three subjects: I touched on the necessity for a revision of our representation— that is accomplished; /advocated the extension of real local self-government—that principle we have, with difficulty, however, maintained .......It is asked what I have done for this district. I will not now further refer to my political career, but I may be permitted to remind you that I was one of the first settlers and explorers of this part of the countvy ; that in 18541 was mainly instrumental in getting Wairau made a port of entry; that I obtained the first vote for postal purposes for Wairau, and its subsequent extension ; and, in ftne, that, after much opposition, I have obtained for the old Wairau district two members instead of one. Mr. Weld dwells particularly on his being one of the first settlers and Explorers. That may be so; but we believe that most of the first settlers and explorers have turned that somewhat accidental circumstance to a pretty good personal account. Mr. Weld d!d not say at the same time how it was that the Wairau, with all the wealth of runholders, should have been kept in almost Cimmerian darkness. It is only within three years we believe that anything like a school or place of worship existed in that large and wealth-producing district. We never heard that Mr. Wefd, although he drew no mean revenue from it, ever endeavored to establish a school for the rising generation of that scattered population. " Alone I did it! How Mr. Eyes could have the unpardonable audacity to affirmatively respond to his requisiticmists to allow himselt to become a candidate for a seat in the new House of Representatives, is beyond all human comprehension ! Bold, bad man! He should have at least quietly awaited Mr. Weld's return, and humbly petitioned for his permission, before he, in ignorant presumptuousness, consented to endeavour to serve his fellow-citizens, especially in opposition to the heaven-born minister of the angelic Stafford Government. The hiatus, denoted by the asterisks, in the original is devoted to an essay on native matters,I—a1 —a subject with which the public must now be thoroughly disgusted, even to the turning up of the nose. , What the public know, and what they will feel even to the third and fourth generation, is, that the Stafford Government plung d the country into a war, and then, frightened at the work ot their own hands, displayed the utmost imbecility in every subsequent act of their public life. Hear what the ministerial organ the Southern Cross says on the subject:— The delay in carrying out vigorous military operations i< being made good use of by the Maories. Those who, if blow upon blow ha<* been struck by us, would have remain 3d quiet in their own kaingas and loyally expressed their approval of the doings of the strong arm, have taken heart of grace, furbished up their firelocks, and have even found time to deliver a series of set speeches, teemi ig with Christian feeling, before joining the insurgents. More will follow. Already the natives in the Thames speak of the war, not as Win. King's—but as the Waikatos1. It has assumed dimensions never dreamt of when martial law was proclaimed in Tarauaki; and, unless something is speedily done, and done wyll, one by one every tribe south of Auckland will be sucked into the vortex of war. Even so far, in nearly every case, non-declaration of war, on the part of a tribe, against the Governor's authority, has been the result of individual personal influence and arguments. This cannot last for ever. No one knows this better than his Lordship the Bishop of New Zealand, and those who with him expised themselves so devotedly to all risks and succeeded in turning back a band of would-be marauders after the unfortunate event at Patumahoe. If the waters are allowed to accumulate, no barriers will be strong enough to prevent them bursting forth and spreading devastation around. "Divide et impera" was the motto which the present Government was supposed to be acting upon when they introduced the '* New Provinces Bill.' Let them act on it now and they may be able to command obedience. We should not have commented at all on electioneering matters in another province, had we not observed the same pretentious presumption of a certain small clique and their humble worshippers as *ye find in this province. As a specimen of which—we like to speak by the card—we reprint the following placard, which has been widely circulated in the province of Marlborough, and which out-Herods the above-quoted piece of egotism:— The Electors of the Wairau. Gentlemen—Advantage has been taken of my unavoidable absence to contest with me the honor of representing you in the General Assembly. I am now amongst you to offer every explanation you may require, as to my political conduct past and future. I trust that my old friends will rally round me to a man, and that those who do not yet personally know me, will consider, beforeby attempting toeject one of the ministry from his seat, they strengthen that party in the colony which would obstruct the Governor in his endeavor to inflict chastisement on armed rebels, and who are the bitterest opponents of the act which has raised this district from a dependency into a province, and has secured to you the local expenditure of your own revenue. I have, &c, FRED. A. WELD. Blenheim, Dec. 29,1860. ' ; The assumption that Mr. Eyes will factiously oppose the Stafford or any other minietryis apiece of gratuitous folly, if not something woise. The idea so industriously circulated, that any body of men, who should supersede the present responsible advisers of the Governor, would dare to patch up a hollow peace with the rebellious natives, is almost too großs and absurd, even for ihe most ignorant; but when we see a man who has hitherto been looked up to as the pink of honor, it only shows how soon even such a one loses self-respect, and becomes a met c partisan, and ready to do the dirty work, and find excuses for the gross errors, if not crimes, of his fellow-ministers. It seems there has been a little of the oldcountry political jugglery at work in the maiden province of Marlborough. It is well known that no constituency in the province of Nelson would have that local-self-government-loving politician—Dr. Monro, so that some quiet snug borough must be provided for so industrious a supporter of the Stafford Government; and Picton, the one oi' the two seats possessed by the province, has been selected by his friends as a sort of warming-pan to get him into the Speaker's chair in tlie new house. Now this bartering of seats and handing over the electors, whether they will or uo, is not looked upon i with a very pleasant feeling by the descerni ing portion of the voters, who do not relish

the idea of wearing cast off political clothes, however cleverly they may have been •clobbered.' . Another handbill has been issued in answer to Mr. Weld's fly sheet. It is signed "An Old Settler," and it certainly has settled Mr. Wekt's very impolitic and very foolish effusion. ' The case is very clearly put in the following quotation :— "I have no hesitation in asserting, what is also clear to all who will study the matter in the least, that disguise and mistify the question as much as can be done, by appeals to gentlemanliness, old friendship, the punishment of Maori rebels, the New Provinces Act, and similar electioneering cries (which cries are only insults to the good sense of the electors), the actual and real point contended for between the two sides in this part of the province in the present election is, Shall the electors generally, whose right it undoubtedly is, fill the additional seat with a membei residing among them, and of their own choice, or shall they not have that privilege because Mr. Weld chooses to make a present of Picton to Dr. Monro, the only seat to which he (Mr. Weld) has a. claim, if he has a claim to any, but which, nevertheless was and is really at his command. Or more plainly still, the question is, Shall Mailborough return Messrs. Weld and Eyes, or shall it be forced to return Messrs. Weld and Monro? Mr. Weld, by words and deeds, virtually declares that he is determined to have none but Dr. Monro for hjp colleague ; and in order to carry out that object, he gives up his own proper and certain seat to Dr; Monro, and volunteers to oppose Mr. Eyts in the of her, presuming upon the prestige of his name and old acquaintanceship! But acquaintanceship, or even friendship, ought not to be taxed too much, for if principle or duty be demanded as the price, no spirited or honorable men will hesitate to sacrifice acquaintanceship, or friendship either, if driven so to do. Truly does Old Settler say that it is ' not Mr. Eyes and his supporters that are contesting Mr. Weld's seat, but it is Mr. Weld who, relinquishing his seat to Dr. Monro, is contesting the seat to serve Dr. Monro;' and says that Mr. Weld should be quite content to have a seat for himself in Marlborough without manoeuvring to drag in Dr. Monro ! Neither should Mr. Weld make any complaint against his friends, because they prefer not to have the whole province represented by non-residents and absentees!' One hardly knows which tbipity or contemn the most for this paltry business —Mr. Weld or Dr. Monro. Old Settler is justly indignant that Mr. Weld should so splenetically assert that * advantage, &c.,' and says:— " This is remarkable language to be applied to some-five score of electors, amongst whqm are older and more experienced colonists than Mr. Weld; his equals in position, and seniors in years; and the remainder on a par at least in intelligence and independence of feeling with any other constituency." We cannot quit Old Settler without making another extract, especially as we have said nothing on native matters—which has setved the Staffoid Ministry so well in the present electioneering struggles :— "It will, moreover, be necessary to show (as I for one cannot myself discover it) what particular and great influence the result of the Wairau election can have in causing the troops and volunteers to fight the Maoriee better or worse; or why General Pratt will not as well understand how to gain a victory with Mr. Eyes for our representative as with Mr. Weld." We will endeavor to lay before our readers, in a succinct form, the grounds upon which Mr. Weld makes his very singular, very extrao'dinary, and very preposterous pretensions to the whole of old Wairau as his own. The Wairau was formerly regarded as a pocket-borough by Mr. Weld; and now, by the new Act, that it can send two members instead of one, Mr. Weld still claims them coth, intending one of them for Dr. Monro; whether this extraordinary proceeding is the conclusion ot an arrangement made in Auckland, deponent sayeth riot. He did not appear to think his constituents deserving even of the ordinary courtesy of a letter, much less a visit; but we trust that the Mailborough conftitiiency have spirit and independence enough not to brook the insult oi being regarded as MrWeld's private estate, and will prove it by choosing a member in whom they have confidence. Mr. Weld, as far as we have had an opportunity of judging, has been a mere nullity in the Wairau, so far as the public interests are concerned. In fact, the boot is on the other leg; for he could have forwarded those interests, but failed to do so. For instance, the union of the offices of the Commissioner of Grown Lands and Superintendent led to the sale of the finest lands in the province at the price of the worst of each class, and we. believe that none profited so much by this arrangement >as Messrs. Clifford and Weld, who, we understand, bought, on the average, at about a sixth part of the price of similar land at Canterbury; and even this diminished revenue has been foolishly squandered. In fact, the Province of Mailborough would not have been poorer if the whole of its land iiad been given away to 'first settlers and explorers.* All this chicanery in the disposal of the public lands will entail speedy and heavy taxation, which will press unjustly upon the industrious class of settlers. It does not appear that the present local fsrovemmeni of Marl borough (whose absurd acts are so distasteful to nearly the whole ot the settlers) at all represent the inhabitant of Marl borough, but only the smallest section: one half the Council being elected by a smaller population and number of electors than that by whom two only of the members are elected; indeed, one member is chosen by nearly as many electors as choose half of the Council, while the Flaxbourne shepherds have, it may be said, a member to themselves. Now this state ol things is very injurious and very disgusting to the settlers at large, and Mr. Weld could and should have prevented it, but he rather appears to enjoy and profit by it. Mr. Weld claims the credit of making Wairau a port of entry in 1854: this, to say the least of it, is a pitiful claim for a man who has pretended to represent the district for the last seven years. But the Wairau was not made a port of entry in 1854; Mr. Mackay endeavored to get it made a port of entry at that time, but he was, we believe, opposed with success by

Mr: Stafford. That the Wairau was ma<k a port of entry in 1857 must be attributed to the sincere and honest efforts of Mr Superintendent Robinson. As regards the explorations so pompously alluded to, we believe that Mr. Weld received a hundred pound or so for a trip to Tarndale while on a journey to his own run in Canterbury. . ' But the crowning evil of all is the endeavor to pitchfork Dr. Monro, whom every constituency in Nelson province seem to have rejected, into the House through the means ot Picton, for whose especial service this capital seems to have been formed. Of Mr, Eyes we know nothing personally but we have closely watched his conduct in the Provincial Council, where he has on all subjects exhibited sound sense ahd good ability, and displayed the most indomitable independence in battling against the proceedings of the Government throughout a session of an unusually stormy character. He is besides, we believe, a clear-headed and respected magistrate, a skilful flockmaster, and a thoroughly practical, able, and energetic colonist.

The Donna Anita-Wo copy the following from the New Zealand Examiner:— The Donna Anita carried a full aD <J valuable car<?o, Bn d about of whom !he following were chief 2*'? :,7Jf. n h Wynen 'Mias Bolli«. Mr. Edward Nicholl Mm Sharp, Mr. James Darling, Mr. and Mrs. Flastilon, Mr.and Mrs. Shephard and family (six), Mr ß Ann Shepherd, Mr. G. Coates, and Miss Nicholson. , .-.. ■ . Tins Robert Lowe.—The following is copied from a second edition of the Wellington Advertiser, fated 7th January:—The arrival yesterday of the s.s. Robert Lowe, from Auckland, via Napier, made the whole town alive. She is the finest merchant vessel 3XI?! W 'v t6? d thia being upwards of 2000 tons hurden. She brings a detachment of 310 rank and file of the 14th Regiment, to be stationed here. She has also on board 100 men of the 65th Regiment, with their wires and children; the latter will be left here, but the Robert Lowe will proceed with the men to Taranaki, where they will remain until the termutation of the war, when they will embark for England. The 2nd battalion of the 14th baying only been recently formed, consists chiefly of young men between the age of 18 and 21 but it is commanded by experienced officers! Mr. Hamley, so long known here as Ordnance Storekeeper, is a passenger by the Robert Lowe ss is also Major-General Gold and family. At aoon as she came to anchor Captain Turner— who nwill be recollected received a dangerous Wound when making his gallant attack on the Waikato rebels oa the 6th November, and who haa since been reading here—went on board and was loudly cheered by the officers and men of the Ssth, in token of respect and admiration of his gallantry. The detachment of 14th was landed tbis (Monday) morning, ai»d at pnce proceeded to Mount Cook Barracks.