The Waikato Independent. SATURDAY, JULY 26, 1879.

Temuka Leader, Issue 165, 26 July 1879, Page 2

The Waikato Independent. SATURDAY, JULY 26, 1879.

A stranger who ia .anything of a politician—if flor the purpose of passing an hour or two that hangs heavy upon hia hands—were to take up a copy of any of onr dailies and read .the Parliamentary debates now going on in Wellington, could not help being struck with, the great contrast between the speeches of the Government party and that of Hie Opposition. In the former there is, from Sir George Grey downwards—a transcendent train of thought which, when compared witli the speeches of the Opposition, would compel such stranger to exclaim what master minds do the parly in power possess, and what captious, superficial, sidy twaddle those who wish to upset the Government give forth to- the world. The speech delivered by. Sir G. Grey remains yet unanswered, and is likely to .remain unanswered for the re maindor of the session. Sir W. Fox, in replying, was never able to climb within knee height of the talented Premier. Mr Gisborne must have agreeably surprised everyone; if we were to place against him one of the Oppos’tion speakers it would bo like placing a common nrtizan to do the work of a fully qualified engineer. Mr Sheehan’s interrogatory is unanswerable. Compared witli Hie reply from the member for Geraldine, it must without exception be confessed b}- one and all the ability of the one shines out at every turn, while the unnatural opposition of the ,other .betrays a mind ill at ease, and at variance with the convictions of his own conscience. Mr Wakefield is advocating a course which we aro sure his inmost thoughts must tell him is not. the course that he should adopt. We regret that the member for has allowed the bitterness of disappointment lead him to so warp his better judgment as to place himself in such a false position. Everyone must admire the cankour of Mr Sheehan, and the skill of political science exercised by Mr Gisborne. Everyone must to a like or greater extent deplore the insincere semblance of honesty assumed by the member for Geraldine. Either the latter is experiencing a restlessness which every deceiver who shuts Ins eyes to what is right experiences, or the honorable member is undergoing a softening of the brain so common in these coionvos. To say the least, his speech must not only have been disappointing to his parly and to the on-lookers, who expected a display of skill and dcxte.iily in handling the weapoas intended to make deep thrusts at the very vitals of ihe Government, but all who read the speech of the honorable member must exclaim,

How has the great mountain brought forth a- inons''-! Hover before has Mr Wakefield made such a signal failure a.s he has doned.at, the opening of the present, session". Neither Mr Burff nor any of the OppositioinMemhers who have yet spoken:,: boon ally to refute the argu ■ melts" diMlie''Ministerial party. If wej, calmiy try to anilyse the speeches of the; Opposition it i/P impossible to avoid coming to the conclusion that patriotism has no place in 'their; hearts. Place and pflamr is their aim, evidently regrrdless of the consequences...,to ,Lhu„ ..country., at, .large. Over and over "again have we said that Sir George Grey had no other object in view in entering. Parliament .than to. dgal equal Justice to the. pqor and the rich, lie could ’not but see ’ that one class' of settlers were trying , to monopolise all legislation, making every enactment subservient to their own ends. During the existence " of Provincialism this was demonstrated to an.alarming extent, for any one; to • come for Ward lo defend the people’s rights asOgir George has done. Slander, calumny, intrigue, and combination of the hitherto privileged class,was the natural outcouje ' •of' a deep-rooted opposition which must get vent in some form or other, hence the combination of the mpst incongruous materials the lion and the lamb making terms of amity with each other to accomplish the overthrow of the hated one. More than once have we expressed ah opinion that Sir G. Grey’s Government would not be overthrown, and even at'the present moment, when some seem to think it hangs in- the balance, wo believe it will/withstand the ill-marshalled attack. One after another has given expression'to. the, most ' ex- ; tnvagant statements—or rather misstatements —about the Government’s conduct in public affairs, which to the superficial observer, who does not care to raise the curtain, may appear plausible ; but, like all subterfuges, ‘ the cloud that conceals them from view is in time dispelled,' arid the glaring fact that the whole is a delusion and a snare is made patent, to all. such is the case with the enemies of the Government at the present moment. Ever since the last session .eager eyes have been watching the outgoings and incomings of every member of the Cabin it with the hope of obtaining some flaw in its administration, and at times the public began to waver ill their allegience. Since the present session began, however, the position of the enemy . has been so thoroughly exposed and the insincerity of their professions of wishing well to their countiy so glaringly out of keeping with their actions, that every settler in these islands must by this time have come to the conclusion that these are not men to be entrusted with the. reins of Government. A.dissolution is spoken of. The very name is a terror to the Opposition,' and .why ! Simply because they in their inmost thoughts are obliged to acknowledge- to themselves that they have been acting under a mask, which by a dissolution would be torn from their face. In an appeal to the country Sir G. Grey has nothing to fear. When ho oomes before Ihe people and asks what he lias done to incur their displeasure the people must sound the echo, what 1 A full and complete policy has been cast upon the door of the house, the challenge is only responded to by a torrent of abuse, and insinuations. Not, in one instance have the Opposition been able to bring home to the present'Government any blame or instance of mismanagement the name. The speech of the Native Minister compares favorably with the boisterous ebolutions of the place-hunting fraternity,’ and must compel them to confess that they have been indulging in accusations which is now proved to be based upon nothing. A dissolution is now possible, only possible. If it takes place it will be a blessing. It will weed out the worthies*, incapable, and insecure. Even in Canterbury changes may be looked for. Some who now crow loudly in the New Zealand Parliament will crow in it no more, while some who have been accustomed to defy their constituents, and turn round and cover up the promises and pledges that they have so often made, and as often broken, will find that their humble electors are able to discriminate between right and wrong, between faitbfullness and insincerity, or instability, between a member who goes to the Assembly for the sole purpose of serving a class, and a member who is,determined to support liberal measures to benefit the mass. We expressed a hope that the present Parliament would not fritter away precious time in contumacious. controversy, but we did not' assure ourselves that - our wishes would be realised. We saw that the temper of the Opposition.would not allow it to give a fair and honest support to the Government. Bike the French with the defeat at Waterloo, they chorused- a hope of having an opportunity of tripping up the heels of those who were the means of driving Major Atkinson and his party from the. enjoyment of the loaves and fishes. Other sections of,the disappointed and discontented were/in hopes of having another throw of the dice. The injury done the country commercially by their chocking the passage of the Loan Bill, proves to a demonstration, that they care not what becomes of . the.. commercial classes, or the bread-winners, if they can only get into office.’ They care not for the financial ruin.of the country, if they onh* can bo revenged- upon Sir George Grey, who told them- too freely a bit of his mind. They care not whether settlement, .progresses, provided they can but dip their fingers into the Treasury chest. The electors must see this, and no doubt they will experience by-and-bye that a day of reckoning always cornea. A Native war to embarass the Government would delight their hearts ; bloodshed is nothing to them ; commercial wreck is nothing to them ; blasted credit is nothing to them, compared with revenge, sweet revenge is a most palatable dish to the' spiteful, they feed upon the misery of others and are quite calons to suffering brought about by their machinations. The movement sot on Toot-in Wellington to form a, .Liberal,.Confederation must commend itself to every elector. Even in onr little community we, .in the earlier days, had onr vigilant committee, the time lias now come for reorganising that committee as n nucleus for a wide-spread combination, having' for its object: the choosing . of a member to represent us in Parliament, whose liberal view and honesty of purpose is wellknown and proved. ■ A new Parliament will .doubtless open with many new members, we have hoard several gentlemen named fer the representation of (his district, some of which are eminently/

qualified for tiie officl^we counsel all who wish the Geraldind electorate well, to turn over in Ilieir mind how., they ought to deport .themselves in - ' 'the coming contest, fopQnnteKt • theirkwill and must • - .vo wish. ■■£;)' he represented as a jqonatituency>' ' doosk .notUlpin .-iti) (dependence -on tola rotten unworkable k'hlJrdtiice, wbicu demands;. sacrifice, of •'local interests and local self Government to the double dealings consequent upon the action of one who has - to,study vested interests..