The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1889. MR JOHN DILLON.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1944, 17 September 1889, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1889. MR JOHN DILLON.

"An .agitator," in '■ the"(general,-ac-ceptance of the term,, sums up all that is politically wicked in man, yet Cobden, John Bright, Wilb'erforce, and almost all those who have assisted to make the world happier and better, have been agitators in their day! The worst of the kind is "an Irish agitator;" he is the essence of wickedness, yet Mr Gladstone, in his Home Rule speech, said that there never was any concession granted to Ireland except what agitatdrs wrung from the British Parliament. And of all Irish agitators Mr John Dillon certainly stands foremost. He is not only respected by the Irish people : he is idolised—and well he deserves it, for many a week, and month, and year he has spent in gaol on a plank bed for their sake. Mr Dillon has for some months past been lecturing in the Australian colonies, and not long ago was interviewed by a representative of the Brisbane Oourier. Amongst other questions, the reporter asked him his opinion with regard to the advisability of the colonies electing their own Governor,' and Mr Dillon replied:—" I regard the Governor of a colony—that is, a colony with representative government —exactly as I regard the Queen: a mere nominal head of the Government—a figurehead. Whilst Australia retains her connectien with Great Britain —and I see no immediate possibility of that being disturbed—and whilst the present system of government exists, the Imperial Government must be represented. It is impossible for it to be otherwise, and it would be decidedly unreasonable for the colonies to expect to elect the representative of the Imperial Government. Besides being unreasonable to expect to elect such representatives it would be unwise to do so. The Governor is now a mere figurehead. He is necessary under the system of government, but in the actual government of a colony he has no power. Queensland proved that.'

Make hiin a person elected directly by the people or by their representatives, and what will the result be ? He will have a powerful position. He will have his party, and be able to take a stand that he would not dream of taking now. The only safety the people of the colonies have is to keep the Governor what he at present is—a political, social figurehead." Is there a word- in that but what shows great political sagacity and a statesmanlike grasp of the situation? He had-no time to prepare his reply; the question was asked and answered at once, and the answer is one which must be regarded of thoroughly practical. He had just grasped the situation as if he had lived in the colonies all his life and studied the question. Now if' there is anything bad in the Home Kule agitators of Ireland, Mr Dillon is amongst the worst of them,yet what does he advise the Australians to do ? He tells them it would be unreasonabla for them to expect to elect their own Governor while they are associated with England. If Mr Dillon were the firebrand that he is frequently represented, and if he contemplated the " dismemberment of the Empire,", as it is alleged he does, is this the advice he would have given ? Certainly not.: He would have tried to make Australians discontented, but instead of that he warns them against doing anything which would lead to separation from England. Now, seeing this; seeing that obviously he has not the slightest notion of dismemberin g the Empire, is it not reasonable to claim for him that he would exercise similar good sense and sagacity with regard to his own country if ha could obtain; self-government for her ? These colonies federated together could!' get on: very well, even if they were to separate froni England ; Ireland could not. If Ireland were independent to-morrow it would become absolutely necessary for her to unite with England in some form or another. She could not stand alone. She could not maintain a fleet and an army sufficiently powerful to defend herself, and naturally she would turn to her nearest neighbor and unite with her. No sensible Home Euler ever entertained the slightest notion of separation, and the reply made by Mr Dillon shows it. It shows that in connection with Heme Kule he has been thinking these problems out, and that the conclusion he has arrived at is that separation is undesirable, and that a certain amount of power must'j still remain in the hands of the Imperial Government. From this we may argue, too, that Home Eulers will be satisfied with any reasonable concession they may get. Mr Dillon certainly is one of the chiefs of the party, and his opinion may be taken as an index of the thoughts and aspirations of the Home Eulers. It is therefore obvious that they have no design on the dismemberment of the empire, and that they have no objection to allowing the Imperial G@vernment to retain all the power necessary to ensure unity on federal principles, That is more than can be said of some, Australian statesmen, notably amongst whom is Sir George Grey, who for years has been introducing Bills into Parliament to enable the people of New Zealand to elect their own governor. No one thinks of accusing Sir George of aiming at the dismemberment of the empire, but they will insist on attributing such motives to Mr Dillon. The curse of the world all; along has been that it never understood its best men