Evening Star.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2529, 13 February 1877, Page 2

Evening Star.

PUBLISHED DAILY AT 70UB O'CLOCK P.M.

Megurrexi.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1877.

The council of that same Convention held at Dunedin which had determined.to send Sir George Grey accompanied by Mr Macandrew to lay at the foot of the throne a petition requesting that • they might be relieved from some of those evils which an unjust and tyrannical Ministry of centralists opinions were forcing them to suffer, have had their plans knocked on the head by the continued ill-health of Sir George Grey : ill - health which we equally with them regret. They havo decided not to send Mr Macandrew by himself. Perhaps because -lie is no orator, and could not set forth their many grievances in a startling manner; perhaps because he has not the entree at all hours to Windsor Castle, as appeared from the Auckland Star under its late management was the privilege of Sir George Grey. At any rate* whatever causes may have produced it, the result as telegraphed to us is the same,.and Mr Macandrew is not. to have a gratuitous and pleasant trip at the expense of the disinterested patriots of Otago. But though the advocates of Otago's rights and the denouncers of her wrongs will not be able by their eloquence to convince Her Majesty or Her Majesty's Ministers what deeply wronged mdi- j viduals they are, yet they have determined to do what. they can to prevent so great disaster, and have decided (1) that the petitions which were to have been sent by the delegates to be,, by them delivered shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and (2) that the convention shall remain as an organisation to watch the interests of the colony (Query: Otago?) against the efforts of the Centralists; thus taking upon themselves a line of action at once offensive and defensive. Offensive in that they attack what the Ministry have done ; and defensive, because they avow their policy of remaining on guard/ against them. It seems that the treasurer of the Convention has found people very willing to subscribe towards sending delegates to England; the. question is, what is to be done with the collected money now they find that one delegate can't, and the other, the convention say, shan't go. It seems a. pity to give it back, and so the. lords of convention evidently think, for they have written to the contributors asking them whether they want their money back, or whether they will leave it for other objects in connection with the convention. It will probably be some time before all the answers to this gentle hint are received. It seems more than strange that when the minds of nearly all men are resolved on giving the new system of Government a fair and reasonable trial, when for this purpose there have been held elections of County Councils and officers appointed by them, when everything seems going on as well as can be expected considering that the scheme is yet in its infancy, and lias met with bitter opposition from a rancorous minority who seem determined to throw every obstacle in the way of its being a success, that the convention should again show an inclination of flying to arms, r and instead of waiting calmly for -■■ the collapse of Centralism, which if all they say.be true must speedily ensue, attempt to condemn it untried, simply because the self interests of some, and the blind prejudices of others wish that it may be a failure. The subject has been so often discussed that there is no need to say more on the matter, except, we hope, that the last effort having now completely failed the Provincialists will accept their present lot as being for a time inevitable.