LORD DERBY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1906, 4 February 1885, Page 2

LORD DERBY.

The Hon. John Merriman, ex-Ministef of Public Works at the Cape, and one ef the cleverest politicans of South Africa, has summoned up the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the oflicals of the Colonial Office, in terms which will doubtless find an echo in the breast of many an Australian statesman. "Lord Derby," said Mr Merriman, "is a man of the 'Yea foradoth' order; one of your born officials who consider thatthecolonies which now number 8,000,000 of inhabitants and are daily increasing in numbers, wealth, and importance, were created solely in order to afford amusements in the shape of ofiical 'occupation' to ■himself and ( , a few other well-edu-cated gentlemen in the neighbourhood of Downing street. The great i obstacle in the way of maintenance of the colonies Is the Colonial Office. Excellent, smooth-speaking officials, no ' doubt, every man of them; but collectively their influence is a bane/to the empire. You will never get any-good done in the direction of the unity of the empire or the of the colonies until your revolutionise the Colonial Office, and put men at the head of it, who make a business of their frork instead of drawling, over it in the ineffective fashion with which you are so well acquainte'dbofch in your colonial and foreign affairs. ;''-So far as I have seen, there are. only one.or two business men in the whole company."