Page 4 Advertisements Column 5

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 280, 12 June 1873, Page 4

TO THE PEOPLE OF OTAGO. ON Wednesday, the 18th inst., the electors will be called upon to exercise one of tho most responsible and. important trusts which have been conferred upon them — that of deciding who is to be Superintendent of the Province. I believe it is the opinion of a large majority of the electors that the office should be held by me for another term. - If 80, it will be necessary that those who desire to give effect to this opinion should, on the polling day, record their votes by drawing the pen through the names of the other candidates. I am aware that you are being dosed with statements to the effect that the present political crisis is the result of an undue grasping after power on my part As Superintendent of the Province — an officer created by the Constitution, and elected by the people, liable at any time to be removed from office by a majority of the same — I am charged with attempting to subvert tho one and to encroach upon the other. This charge is, upon the face of it, so utterly absurd and improbable, so entirely contrary to the nature of things, that.it would be almost an insult to your common sense to attempt to rebut it. As Superintendent of Otago, I have been elected, among other things, for the express purpose of guarding the rights and liberties of the people : and I will venture to say that no man in the Province has taken a more active share than myself in asserting and vindicating both. I confess that, after well-nigh a quarter of a century's devotion to promoting the interests of this Province, it does sound strange to be charged with seeking to ride rough-shod over the liberties of the people, and to subvert the Constitution, which, with others, I fought so hard to acquire. lamat a loss to con- j ceive what possible object could be gained by such a betrayal of trust, and can only characterise the charge as a piece of the most; unmitigated flapdoodle — " the stuff lhat. fools are fed wiih nn — which I hope my fellow-set-tlers will have sufficient perspicacity to see through. I would most earnestly entreat of you to investigate the whole matter for yourselves, and to take nothing for granted either on my ipse dixit or on that of my opponents. The Constitution Act passed by the Imperial Parliament most clearly provides that the powers of the Superintendent are co-equal with those of the Provincial Council — in fact, to a certain extent, they may be said to be superior, inasmuch as the initiation of money votes is vested in the Superintendent exclusively. The Act also distinctly provides that the practical administration of the Government shall be at the hands of the Superintendent. It provides, moreover, that the Superintendent skall have power to convene and prorogue the Provincial Council— not when the Council shall see fit, but when the " Superintendent shall see fit." The Executive Council Ordinance passed by the Provincial Legislature provides "That the Superintendent shall act with the advice and consent of an Executive Council, chosen from among the members of the Provincial Council, who shall be appointed by the Superintendent and hold office at his pleasure." I quote the exact words of the Ordinance. Of course, it will be obvious that unless the Superintendent and the Provincial Council can mutually agree as to who are to be the members of the Executive, it is in the power of the Council to refuse 'supplies, and to bring the affairs of the country to a standstill — or it may petition the Governor for the removal of tUp Superintendent in terms of the Constitution Act — in either case the ouly solution of the difficulty is an appeal to the people. Such then being the te^ms of the Executive Council Ordinance, it ia clear that I had a perfect right to remove Mr. Reid from office as the head of the late Executive. In my opinion, the fact that Mr. Reid had accepted an important office in the General Government—an office which involved the whole of his time being devoted thereto, and which involved moreover his residing at Wellington —not only justified but demanded the action taken by me. It was clearly impossible that he could serve two masters : either he must have thwarted Mr. Stafford, his colonial chieftain, or the Superintendent of Otago ; for they were opposed to each other on points of policy in which the interests of the Province ware concerned. As to my refusal to convene the Provincial Council when requested to do so, the annexed copy of my reply to the application sufficiently explains my action in the matter. Had the Council been called together six months earlier, the business of the country would have been brought to a temporary stand-still so much the sooner, and the numerous public works which have been initiated during the past year would have been postponed until the season for prosecuting them had passed. As to my having applied for a dissolution and an appeal to the country, I cannot see by what process of reasoning this can be set down as being either despotic or tyrannical. Most assure Jlj it is neither pleasant nor profitable to subject oneself to an election contest with all the abuse and vituperation which it involves— and, if consistenly with my duty to the Provinca, I could have seen any other way out of the difficulty, such a course wculd not have been urged by me. The very fact of my appealing to the people is a sufficient refutation of the charge of attempting to exercise arbitrary power ; in fact, it is to protect the people against an attempt at arbitrary dictation by the majority of the Provincil Council that I have been induced to make that appeal, What are the actual circumstances of the case? The Council assembled on the 6th of Alay for tho despatch of business. The Executive Government was prepared at once to submit for consideration the Estimates for the year, also various important questions bearine: upon the interests of the Province in addition to those referred to in my opening address. The 19th of May arrived without any prospect of business being proceeded with. In the meantime the interests of the country were being neglected, and a large daily expenditure was being incurred for no practical purpose. Under these circumstance I submit that there was no course open but to prorogue and apply for a dissolution. It is said that history frequently repeats itself. It is a remarkable coincidence that the present political situation is precisely similar to that which existed some sixteen or seventeen years ago, when the then Superintendent stood forth so manfully as the guardian of the public interests and the rights of the people, which at that time, as now, wore being sacrificed at the shrino of faction in the Provincial Council. Although I had resolved never again to drag the Superintendency through the mire of a contested election, yet, under the circumstances of the case, I should have been glad had it been possible to have met you face to face prior to the polling day. It is physically impossible, however to go the round of the Province before the 18th instant, and to visit peculiar localities only, is apt to cause offence. Moreover, important official engagements make it exceedingly inconvenient to be absent from Dunedin. As it is, my views ami opinions are, I believe sufficiently well known to enable you to decide as to whether or not I am the most suitable candidate for your suffrages, without anyporsonal canvass ou my part. Fully relying upon the sound judgment of the Electors, I am quite content to leave the result in your hands. Yours faithfully, JAMES MACANDREW.