THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1871. " Measures, not Men.1"

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 192, 12 October 1871, Page 4

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1871. " Measures, not Men. 1 "

The indignation evoked by the recent snle of 45,000 acres of land in the Mount Bender district, has aroused the " Bruce Herald " from its usual lethargic sttte, and it his rushed .forward to justify the part takeaby the Provincial Government in that nefarious transaction. Conscious of the untenable n ture of the ground it takes up, the " Herald " j' suitically attempts to transfer the odium of the affair from those to whom it justify attaches to parties who had no hand in it ; and apparently smarting under the conviction that it has miserably failed to do so, savagely attacks everyone unconnected with the Reid party who has taken a prominent part iv the politics of Otago during the last five or six years. The "Herald" asks the people of the province to " be just to those who have loyally risked the sacrifice of their name and reputation to save the country from more extended evils, for had they not stuck to their posts, the dire evil which has been confined to the Teviot district would have extended ovev the whole province " Yes, we will be just to them ! We will be just to them now, as formerly we were generous, and will accord them the full infamy their turpitude deserves. Saved the country from more extended evils, forsooth ! What more extended evil can there be than the utter annihilation of a flourishing district ? How consoling it must be to thp residents of the Mount Benger district to know that their future has been sacrificed for the sins of the (iovernment ; that the proceeds of their estate will' enable Reid and Co. to protract their insane- efforts to arrest -"he march of events a few wretched months longer. With charming ingenuqus.ness the " Bruce Herald" omits' all mention of the manner in which the sale was effected, and also of the priceat which theland was sold. Probably the vile machinations of his opponents caused the patriotic Reid to dispose of the land secretly to a fofeign monopolist, and at 4s 61 per acre less than the upset price. And then, how was the 5000 acre block, which was so ostent itiously thrown open for settlerupnt some time ago, included in Mr Clarke's purchase ? Did Messrs Yogel and Holmes, who characterised the transaction as daringly illegal, " thwart" Mr. Reid's noble efforts to throw open land for settlement on the Goldfields? Perh-ips the "Bruce Hey Id " will enlighten us on these matter* "If th<- Reid Government hnd not stu k to their po-?H the dire evil which has been confined to the Teviot district would have extended over the province." So says the " Bruce Herald." It strikes us that if they had not been so enamoured of their posts such a rascally act as the sale to MrClarke would never have occurred. Having committed thh act, they have not the manliness to avow that they have done so ; but like a school boy who, having been found ont in some fault, attempts K> escape the consequences thereof by saving th^t a bigger boy made him do it, they attempt to rehabilitate their reputa-tion-bv whining that they were compelled by somebody else to per- j petrate this iniquity. We sincerely hope that the Committee appointed by the General Assembly will succeed in annulling the sale of the 45,000 ncres, and m prevent the Mount Ben ger district being sacrificed on the shrine ot clodocratic incapability. . •

Thb public mind has so long been prepared for orgaYiie changes in provincial institutions, that the proposal-? of the General Government, as indicated \n Mr. Vo'geFs speech on Friday 'last, to reduce Provincial Councils to the status of the County Council of Wetland, will excite no surprise: In fact" the onoe allabsorbing question ( of Proyincialisrn.

v. Centralism has to a great extent lost it-* interest, having been eclipsed by the Colonisation and Railway schemes. The ehm ge proposed by the Colonial Treasure! 1 will, we have no doubt, be hailed with satisfaction in Otago — so completely has Provincialism alienated from itself even its most ardent advocates Want of space precludes us from at present more than cursorily referring to this matter, but in a future issue we will review at length the General Government proposals. ~