Our Auckland Letter.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3891, 18 June 1881, Page 3

Our Auckland Letter.

(fbom oub own cobbesponimbnt.)

-~.;' i'i'/'-' '.-''^ Auckland, Yesterday. According to Wellington telegrams one of the first measures introduced into the Legislative Council by the AttorneyGeneral,! Mr Whitaker, was a bill .entitled "The Native Lands Act." Land Bills appear, to hare a particular charm for the Government leader in the Lords, bat looking at the difficulty which the Premier has had in even getting a seconder for the address in reply, I fear gome of Mr Whitaker's inspired measures will meet with a happy despatch before very long. I predicted the great weak- . .; ness of the Government; and your leaders will see that my prophecy is likely to he fulfilled; and probably beyond expectations, j As I telegraphed yon not long since', it has tamed out that, the Governor and his Ministers are not on very good relations. ' The WellingtbiiPressjdf course is #ritine Sir* Arthur "Oof don down for his cpnduct and to make matters worse, we'hare socalled special correspondents in.., the Empire City who have the cheek to wire their opinions to the Auckland papers, giving of course a most partial account of the rumpus It is a great pity that the Herald and Star cannot see their way to have a reliable correspondentatT^ellington, without their readers having to! peruse telegrams transmitted by the Wellington pressmen. No doubt good ' grounds exist for the arrangement, as the | Government have to be supported, expense " Cut down, and all for what, and I say it advisedly, simply to accelerate the starting of opposition papers, here should (as is' I likely to be the caseVthe Detective Ministry get the right about to the cool shades of opposition. The Premier has had to eat humble r piebyer the speech and the wonder is that he did hot resign, but stick to office he will at all hazards. I saw a couple of days ago in the Herald its Hamilton correspondent wired about the large gathering of electors who went to the railway station, to see Messrs Whitaker and Whyte off by train en route to Wellington^ lW sender of local news there must be very hard up for items ■'' 'wheh" f'hy transmits public intelligence which there is not e*en a ;dfec.en,t 'excuse for. The little man must hare known in Hs'fcJßart pf hearts' he', was drawing the long bow very wide, especially as Mr Wbyte was roaming about the Auckland street^ fpr pearly a week before;the day he was supposed to have left for Wellington. in company with local supporters of Hi* .Excellency's Ministers. THK HEMBEB FOB WAIPA, HIS SPEECH, AND THE HEBALD's ENDOBBEMENT. vMitTIVAi Whitaker, the member for. "My Papa," addressed his constituenti ? at Hamilton before he left for Wellington, !«: and his utterances would have been passed over in silence by me were it not that one of the leader writers of the Herald, Mr Harrison,. ha? added the stamp of his *' we" to its soundness of views. I know you have plenty of copy for every issue, and I will bp very brief, but I must ask your indulgence to expose the wretched trash supposed to have been uttered by Mr Whitaker ; and telegraphed _ at Sunday rates, (save the mark) to your "\ ' morning, contemporary here. Mr Whitaker asserted, amongst a number of other huge mis-statements, that he supported the Government owing to Mr Hall being " a man of his word;" and enumerated in the good things he did were these: the resumption of immigration and keeping his public promises. The HeraldV editor funds the speech and says it is true. Why, good freavens, can even the most ardent supporter of the Hail party assert that the Premier kept his word, even when he made a solemn and written pledge in respect to the Auckland compact, and, as for assisted Immigration, why, the proper branch of the Public Service having to do with the matter, has not so far as can be gathered, introduced even an assisted female admit for over twelve months. Had you the space, I should have gone for the junior Whitaker over his Hamilton .speech* but I think I have ■aid, enough to convince your readers that it would be only waste of time, especially renewing the statements of a representa-.-4w« who seems either afraid or unwilling to go outside of Hamilton Borough, a little spot where he is a sort of little ruler, being the principal owner of the local journal. In conclusion, I would simply ask what is to be expected from one who went to the reporters' room, Parliament j Buildings, last session and solemnly assured the agents of the several newspapers that what Sir Geo. Grey had said about his land dealings was devoid of truth,, although he must have known at 'the" time' that his representations in inducing the reporters to wire his denial throughout various parts of the Colony was, to say the least, stronger than pure bunkum. As you will see by southern telegrams, another seat (Grey Valley) has been lost to the Government. No wonder that the Herald's Wellington correspondent intimates that a causus of Government supporters is to take place.