THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2073, 26 August 1875, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1875.

Mb Macandeew of Otago probably sees that his sway over a Provincial Council has well nigh, come to a close. He has tasted the pleasures which, power is supposed to give to those who are set in authority, and having once enjoyed it, is naturally sorry to lose it. He is not singular in thisi but has before him a conspicuous example in the late Governor, Sir James Fergusson, who, on leaving Auckland,'told the inhabitants like Shylock before him—the Mayor who had addressed him was a Jew—that "he was rigbt loth to go," but that having once sipped the sweets of a parliamentary careeir at home he felt himself constrained to betake himself to it again. And so Mr Macandrew still clings to his seat in high places, and as he deems it probable that he will soon be shorn of the authority which girds a Superintendent, he is anxious to provide a substitute and boldly demands that Otago, south of Waitaki, shall be formed into a separate colony! We have but little to do with Mr Macandrew's private ends and aims in this matter. He is, as we have said, naturally averse to retire into comparative insignificance, and perhaps indulges in some scheme in petto in which in his mind's eye he sees the colonists of Otago free from the corruption and bondage which mark the steps of a Central Government; ruled by laws of their own framing, administered by one of their own choosing; and then equally naturally asks himself who is so well qualified to rule, or who more likely to be chosen than he who first broke the bonds which bound them, and set before them the advantage^ to be gained by becoming an independent colony ? He

sees himself, Dido-like, giving laws justis partibus to a contented ;\nd happy people ; loved like Romulus in his life, reverenced like George Washington in his death. But suppose for one moment that this castle in the air, this chimerical fancy of Mr Macandrew were to ; come to pass," and Otago be allowed to separate itself from the Confederate Government and become a Federal State. What would be the result ? It is not likely that the evil would stop here, but probably some other province—it may be more than one —might wish to become independent also. The freedom once allowed to Otago could not be withheld from any other province, and then we should have_ New Zealand, like ancient Greece, broken up into a number of petty littlo principalities and states, jealous of each other's power, and militating against each other's interests. Besides this, putting aside the common good of the whole, and narrowing the question down, so as to involve only the private interests of each small colony thus formed, see in what way the permission to withdraw, once given, would be likely to bear fruit. It is obvious that the citizens of one province—we will call these small colonies provinces—would not be bound by the laws of another, neither could the law officers and police of one state exercise authority in another. Hence, any evil doer would only have to cross so»e imaginary frontier, dividing hia province from the next, to escape for a time from the hands of justice; and even if given up eventually, all those forms and sexpenses would hare to be satisfied which extradition treaties insist on. Added to this, the charge from which a man might seek to escape might not be a serious one, not serious enough to make his capture or punishment a matter of moral importance, so that in many ; cases the powers which be would rather allow the man to go scot free than incur the expense involved by bringing him to justice. Take the case of Otago. The boundary line which would divide it from Canterbury would at- the least be but a narrow one, often only an imaginary; one, j and a man living on the borders' of either might commit any act of disturbance or nuisance he pleased, then, having a slight start of his pursuers, jump over some two foot ditch which divided the provinces, and from the other side defy the officers of. justice. Again the population of New Zealand is a very migratory one—here to-day and gone to-morrow. The laws of Otago, except in criminal cases, might not apply to Canterbury, and vice versa, and any new arrival might with reason be allowed to offer the plea of ignorance in defence of his contravention of some statute of which he really had not the slightest knowledge. This plea of ignorance once allowed — and in many instances it would be unjust to ignore it — would be urged in cases where the law had knowingly been broken or evaded,; .many evildoers escape, and the duties of Kesident Magistrates and others, already sufficiently perplexing, be rendered doubly embarrassing. It is useless to multiply instances, such as recovery for debt, actions for trespass, and the like, in which it would be found that this splitting up .into states would be found to be impracticable, for we. do not think that Mr Macandrew's idea will ever be seriously entertained. Even in England, where subdivision of counties is rendered necessary by their size, the system is found to have its disadvantages, although, there, it is needless to say, no separate legislation is allowed, and no jealousy exists between the divisions. We may give one case in which inconvenience arises. Kent is divided into three divisions, East, Mid, and West. The bags of hops, the chief produce of the country, are obliged to be stamped with the letters of the division from which they come; those x'rom East Kent, whatever their quality, fetching a larger rate than those from Mid Kent, although perhaps of an inferior description. In many cases the boundary line runs through the hop gardens, those on the right, looking north, are then marked E, and fetch a larger price than those on the left marked M, though divided by some 18-inch pathway, or at the best a narrow hedge. We simply quote this to show the absurdity of the custom of making needless distinctions. Of course when greater differences are allowed between dwellers on either side of an ideal boundary the consequences become more serious; and whon in addition to this either side is permitted to legislate for itself, -the result cannot but be one of anarchy and confusion. And yet this is what Mr Macandrew wishes rather than give up the fictitious value which he attaches to Provincial;lnstitutions, or rather it is the substitute he proposes for them, as far as his own province, Otago, is concerned. So infatuated is he with being Superintendent of a province, that he cannot or will not see that whac is best for the whole body must in the end be best for each individual member. And as Mr Macandrew cannot or will not see this, but one course remains, andvthat is, he must be made to see it by leaving him no alternative.

We incline to the belief that the contribution in today's issue from a correspondent who has assumed the norn de plume of " a garrulous gossip " must be taken cum grano : it pertainly will not be mistaken for gospel, although there may be something in it, a grain of truth, with a deal of mystery. If the Government had been suddenly surprised by Sir George Grey it can scarcely be thought that Ministers would throw themselves at the feet of the leader ojf the Opposition and offer to make concessions regarding the Abolition Bill as a bait to Sir George to withdraw the only good card he has yet shown. Ministers know too well that

such a course of action would but expose them to a merciless castigation at the hands of the minority. If they haye anything to hide they will exhibit the 'Strength of their party and withold it; but it is most unlikely that anything can have occurred which would place Sir George Grey in a position to be able to dictate terms to the Government. In .stirring up the business connected with the disposal of confiscated lands in this Province Sir George Grey evidently hit upon a sore point, but as he failed to carry his motion, and*as immediately afterwards the Native Minister gave notice for a Committee to elicit the information required by ,Sir George, we are at a loss to imagine what can possibly have been disclosed that could so alter the relations existing between Ministers and the Opposition to have suggested the mysterious paragraph from " a garrulous gossip." Even if Ministers were guilty of offering terms on the Abolition question on consideration of Sir George Grey not " pushing " a debate on land transactions in the House of Representatives, we believe the latter to be too honest to become a. party to any such arrangement, for if he consented to compromise any such matter on the terms mentioned, he would at once forfeit his reputation for disinterested patriotism which is accorded to him by all, whether supporters or opponents. As to the Waikato Swamp business, several independent members of the House have testified that the Government made a very grqd bargain; They: gold a large tract of country at a nominal price to a number of! capitalists, with certain conditions attached. Those conditions — one of which was.that & road should be made through the land —are being fulfilled, and all who know anything of the business say that the Government did the best thing they could under the circumstances. The land was practically useless for settlement by small capitalists. Its occupation required the expenditure of a large sum of money for draining and road making, and this expenditure has caused to be circulated thousands of pounds which would otherwise not have been spent. The district has benefited to a large extent, and we do not hear of any complaint from parties most interested at the manner in which a large slice of the public estate has been alienated, or that its disposal was inimical to the interests of the public. Had it been land of good or even fair quality that had been sold for a mere song, there would have been good cause for protest; but until some new light is thrown upon this '"land transaction we shall be loth to believe that any charge of "corruption in high places" can be laid against the Government, or that Ministers hare been scared into offers of a comprise with the doughty Knight of Kawau.

Mb W. Ti <BtrcKEiNi>'s speech on the Abolition question 'was characteristic of the man: it was emphatic and to the point. If the hon. member had nothing new to advance —and it would be difficult for a much abler man than Mr Buckland to say muchthatwas new on the question after so many speeches had been made for and against—there was a genuineness about it which stands out in strong contrast with some of the utterances of more practised orators. When.it is remembered that Mr Buckland has declared for Abolition in defiance of the representations of a small section of his constituents, his honestly expressed convictions will be the more admired. He has not changed his opinions since last session, like some more notable politicians, and he deserves credit for his adherence to the principle adopted last session, and generally approved since—that abolition should be immediate and general. No doubt the hon member will be treated to abuse at the hands of Auckland stump orators and unprincipled writers, should the Abolition Bill become law; but he could put up with that, and he will have the satisfaction of knowing that he has not gone from his previously expressed views in servile obedience to the dictates of a party organised to perpetuate the evils of a system which the people generally condemn. Mr Buckland is evidently not one of those members who are represented as "sitting on a rail," waiting to see which way the cat jumps.