The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, JULY £0, 1885.

Thames Star, Volume XVII, Issue 5159, 30 July 1885, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, JULY £0, 1885.

One of the. most/important wants of this bright young colony, irhich has such a promising eutlook and a smiling future, is patriotism in her sons. This is a fact much to be deplored. To this want" of affection, to this absence of & pro ptitria feeling, may be traced many of the misfortunes which have arisen in connectioa with the Government of New Zealand ; a pure and unselfish love of the country they bare been legislating for, could not bare been expected from the men who in the past have acted almost as the arbiters of her destinies, who have been not only administering her laws, but actually making them. The politicians of the colony while it was in its swaddling clothes were building up fthe constitution of a very promising power, and whether the efforts —considering the excellent materiel provided them by nature —were as productive as they were well intentioned, it may be difficult to say; but certain it is that the same class of politicians who so carefully watched the colony grow day by day, did not allow their public zeal to increase in proportion to its progress or their own personal prosperity; in short, it has be-» comeJipOipalpably apparent that colonial welfare seems to be a thing of the long forgotten past in the minds of the parliamentarians of the present day—selfishness has assumed sway. In the earlier days of the colony the pursuit of wealth was carried on in fields so easily available for the profitable expenditure of capital, that what are now termed vested interests were formed ; land was sacrificed —as far as the colony was concerned—and shortlived prosperity was made use of to es. tablish monied power, which has for years proved too strong an opponent to any movement that does not walk hand in hand with it. These so-called vested interests ;have ever tended to swamp the general benefit; yet when it is considered how they originated, it may well be asked, why do they still exist? One answer to this is that patriotism has not yet been known* or at any rate shewn in the country ; that it does not exist we should be indeed sorry to believe. The Colony's age has of course not long permitted the growth of affectionate sons, but with a great degree of pleasure, we see even in. the Parliament of to«day some sign of life in an infant bear* i g a strong resemblance to some of those children born in other lands under the name of patriots. The legislators of this land have as a whole consisted of very worthy men, and they doubtless have expended their best efforts, from a purely business point of view, in guiding along the " bark of state"; they have been endeavoring also to look after their own and various class interests, and it may be said, without at all disparaging their work, that they have succeeded tolerably well in rach case. The colony has been advanced certainly, but at a tremendous cost; that it is very much debt laden, there is no doubt, this is to be expected—to a certain extent—for capital mast be at hand to develop even the most liberally given natural resources, and where expenditure is judiciously made for the public benefit, no complaint need be made; but had patriotism been alloyed with the legislative work of the past we feel con. fident that in proportion to that mixture would be found the colony's good with personal benefit and advancement. We therefore rejoice to see that a "Young New Zealand" party is being formed in the House of and if its principles are laid down* on the line s which we would almost venture to predict they will be, it cannot —if by wisdom guided—fail to have a good effect on the legislature of the future, that is unless these unwholesomely created existent interests interfere with its working. Should the party be compactly brought together, and we sincerely hope it will, lot its members forget self-seeking, omit to prostitute high offices by attempts at personal aggrandisement, and each and all have but one great aim, and that the security for the country of every greatness to which it is entitled. Should they unsuccessfully try to rescue the land from the machinations of stronger worldly'powers, they may then console themselves ; with the old and familiar quotation used in mind, if not in words, by many good and noble men who have gone before them, after much more •offering than they are ever likely to have to endure;—" Patrice infelici fidelis.