The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1890. MR K. F. GRAY,

Temuka Leader, Issue 2039, 29 April 1890, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1890. MR K. F. GRAY,

Mr K. F. Gray has now resigned all his public positions, with the view of leaving the colony and removing to California, where his eldest; son has been for some twelve or eighteen months. It is only right and proper we should note the circumstance. From almost the earliest days of Temuka Mr Gray has been one of our most prominent citizens. Twenty-five years ago he settled down in Temuka, and it may safely be said that he has never been out oi harness as a public man all that time. He has been chairman of the Temuka Town Board since its inception, chairman of the Park Board, of the Cemetery Board, and for a long time of the School Committee ; in fact, he has been a member of almost every local body, and invariably chairman of them all. He has besides been a very useful mem* ber of the Timaru Harbor Board from the time it was constituted, and is one of our oldest Justices of the Peace, It would be too much to enumerate all the public offices he has filled; it is enough to say that he has filled almost all that There was to fill of them, and the fact that he has almost invariably been selected as chairman denotes the esteem in which he has been held by his fellow members, as well as by the public generally. We are glad to find that this esteem is about to take a very tangible form, and that the public are about to

express their appreciation of his public services, as well as of his many private virtues, in the shape of a substantial testimonial. We have seen many testimonials given, and many ppespnta tions made, but we feel safe in saying that few persons have rendered ser*vices more deserving of public recognition than Mr Gray, He has always discharged his duties uprightly, honestly, and fearlessly; he did not study consequences, but always did what he thought right, aud thus often injured himself. He has been a pleasant and agreeable ne’ghbor, a useful and honorable citizen, and it is with regret we find that he is leaving Temuka. But really it is not easy to make living in this colony at the rate shings are going on, and we are not mrprised at all at ae.eiag people leav-1 ng it. There must be something I ■adically wrong when in a uewj

country like this—blessed with all the natural advantages that man could desire—our towns and cities are going backwards, and their population decreasing yearly. This is not the time to enquire into the cause of it; we have done so frequently, but it is nevertheless disheartening, and it is not surprising that such a state of things is driving many to seek “ fresh fields and pastures new.” Gray is amongst those; he contemplates leaving at an early date, and we heartily wish him success and prosperity wherever he may go.

ENGLAND OR BRITAIN?

There is a strong sentiment in Scotland against the use of the words ‘ England ’ or * English’ when the United Kingdom is implied. Recently the Emperor of Germany changed the name of the Ist Regiment of Dragoons from ‘ the Queen of England’s Regiment’ to ‘ the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland’s Regiment,’ and on the 9th of January last a meeting was held in Dundee at which an address thanking the Emperor for having made the change was adopted. The address pointed out that at the union of Scotland with England it was covenanted that the country should be called * Great Britain,’ and at the union with Ireland I ‘Great Britain and Ireland-’ It was j therefore not only a great wrong, but a historical inaccuracy not to use the words Britain and British. From times immemorial the Scotch people have been crying out for this recognition of their existence, but we do not see them any nearer getting it. The fact is, whatever is good must be English, and anything bad Irish or Scotch. For instance, Captain Kane, who escaped in the Calliope from Samoa, is represented as English, and we remember not long ago reading a song about him, in which there was nothing but ‘ English hearts,’ and ‘ English oak,’ and ‘ English pluck,’ and English everything. It was all English, but Captain Kane was nevertheless an Irishman, and so was his father, and every father before him from time immemorial. His chief officer, Mr Burke, his chief engineer, and most of his crew were Irish, but the English Press has told the world they were English. Had they been dynamitards they would have been Irish, even had they been born in Kamschatka. There can be no doubt but that the two subject States of Ireland and Scotland have a great deal to complain of in this respect. For instance, in a book of zeference we have met with Balfe is set down as a great English musician, and Barry as an English painter, although both were Irish. In this way wrong is being done by England taking to herself credit for anything that is good, and magnifying anything that is bad in the other countries. Ireland has never troubled much about this, but Scotland has, though all her efforts have proved futile. The best thing both Ireland and Scotland can do is to insist on getting back their own individualities in the shape of Home Rule.

LAND PURCHASE,

Mr Parnell’s opposition to the land purchase proposals of the Government seems to have been received coldly, if not worse. On several previous occasions Mr Parnell has opposed measures proposed by the British Parliament, and has been abused for it, but by the light of subsequent events it has been found that he has always been right. Of one thing we are convinced : Mr Parnell would not have opposed the Land Purchase Bill if it had been what is wanted, and the fact that the Government contemplate adopting his proposa’s proves it. Mr Parnell ia not in favor of land nationalisation; his ideal is peasant proprietory, and that is what is aimed at by the Bill. But it is a Bill that aims at giving all the advantage to the landlords, and placing the peasant proprietor in an unenviable position. The value placed on the land is altogether more than it is worth, and the result would be that the landlord would be able to clear out with a pocketful of money, while the poor tenant would not be able to meet his liabilities. Ihis would lead to a worse state of things than ever, and Ireland would be disgraced, for it would be then said that she would pay nobody. The trouble between England and Ireland would only begin when the English taxpayer had to make good the deficiencies from the Irish land transaction. It is because Mr Parnell does not wish Ireland to make any bargain which she cannot fulfil that he is opposed to the Land Purchase Bill, and he is right, too. It is very remarkable that the landi i • • ... wu '*

lords are raising no objection to the proposal. They are very glad of it; they are going to get more than full value for their land, and that satisfies tfyeoi. Jt {s altogether a landlord measure, aud hence Parnell’s opposition.

SIR JULIUS YOGEL,

The editor of the Timaru Herald has got a bad attack of the Yogel rabies It is of no use to say that Sir Julius Yogel will not come to this colony to recent,er public life, for the Herald insists that he w?U, and means to meet the danger ipore 1 than half way. Mr Samuel, the member for New Plymouth, has published a letter stating that Sir Julius Yogel has no intention of returning to the colony to re-enter political life] but the Repaid will not believe it. It

has better information on the subject, for someone in England has written to someone in Hew Zealand that in his opinion Sir Julius Yogel would soon tire of London and return to the colony. That the Herald should be set raving by such a cock-and-bull story denotes that its mental equilibrium is very easily upset. Our advice to it is to keep cool, and not excite itself, as it is risky to do so in in its present state of health. There are such things as bursting a bloodvessel, or going mad, and so on, and if the Herald continues to rave daily about a man who is still in London, really we would not like to be responsible for the consequences. Let us have a change; we have had hundreds of articles on the Sir Julius Yogel bogey recently, and the thing is getting monotonous. Even scissors-and-paste articles would be preferable to too much of one thing. If Sir Julius Yogel comes we shall try to survive it, but there is no use in , meeting danger, not only half way, but going all the way to London for it

MR HISLOP.

Mb Hislop recently replied to Sir Robert Stout’s address in Oamaru on the Land Question, The Oamaru Mail which has hitherto fawned on him, severely criticises him now. After saying that the meeting was extremely dull, and that he failed to infuse any enthusiasm into it, the Mail continuesMr Hislop seems to have drifted into the 'way of thinking that the people of this community are the representatives of Mr Hislop—that Mr Hislop is not the representative of the people. The gap between the masses and Mr Hislop ■has of late years grown wider and wider, Till at last there is but little appreciation left for him that is not due to old associations and to his personal qualities. On the other hand the capitalists accept him with open arms and quite boisterous enthusiasm without asking any questions.” Just so “ the capitalists receive him with open arms ” because he is associated with the Atkinson party. Ought not this be sufficient for any reasonable being to enable him to realise that the Atkinsonians represent the capitalists. What party was it cried down the Stout-Yogel Government? Was it not the capitalists ? Was there one single capitalist in favor of the StoutYogel Government at the last election? Not one. If the Stout-Yogel Government had been the friends of the capitalists would they all turn against them ? On the other hand there are the capitalists everywhere perfectly satisfied with the Atkinsons. Is not this enough to enable any one to see through it ?