Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1878.] MONDAY, JUNE 25, 1894.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4756, 25 June 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1878.] MONDAY, JUNE 25, 1894.

Tubus is a feeling of discontent throughout nil classes in the Colony, both rich and poor, both men of the "right colour" and men of tho "wrong_ colour." Wo may except from this sentiment a few individuals who liavo boon tho direct recipients of Ministerial favours, but the mass of the people of Now Zealand arc unprosperous and dissatisfied. We ask tlioso who have read tho Governor's speech whether this unhappy condition of our population is expressed or concealed in that document, To our mind it has been carefully excluded, and all traces of it obliterated by high colouring phrases, If this bo so tho Minister, ial utterance which it voices is dishonest and deceptive. The speech tells tho outer world that the Colony is contented and prosperous. There is only one word which fitly characterises such a statement, and that is one which we do pot care to apply to words that have proceeded from His Excellency's lips,

Nbvkh has tho cry of tho unemployed in the land been so bitter as it is at present, Wo can speak from thirty years personal experience, and assert positively that never has tho tension of hunger and suffering been so great as it is now. Tho political opponents of tho Government are touched with this distrcss,.and havo made strenuous efforts to mitigate and roliflvo it, But in tho Governor's Speech do we find any sympathetic expression tending to show that Ministers aro alivo to the misery which and are earnest in any real effort to relieve it ? Let the unemployedreadtbo Governor's Speech for themselves, and leam for themselves that, as far as they are interested, it is a hard, cold message of unconcern,' It holds out to them neither hope nor sympathy, Itpasses them by on'the other side,

" God, I thank theo I am not as othor men are," cried the Pharisee of old, and. in something of the same spirit tlie speech says" thatjthe unemployed hereare proportionately fewer than in almost any civilised country. So that after all, from the Ministeiial standpoint, tho unemployed in this Colony are a'matter for congijitnlation. No wonder that our Mfmste'ja) '.Pharisees are'jubilant, having com? tp the conclusion that' the Colony is' well 'flfl ch} as regaris., tliOjiunemploycd. Woj'fajl to see'.■■ how they: can justify this statement, for civilised countriea do xibt, as a rule, publish reliable stotis-

tics of unemployed, and ihe assertion 19 a very doubtful presumption Theie me probably twenty thousand ablo-bodicdmonMm out of employ ment in Now Zealand, and m the face of this we got a cook a doodle do in the Governor's sppech instead of an'expression of deep regret and' sincere sorrow.

What is the use of this "fiddling" about tho Hervey Group and "the destiny of New Zealand to play a leading part in Polynesia," which! comes from our: local Nero in this ■ official manifesto, at a time when tho! colony has shown its uttor incapacity ! to manngo its own affairs, and serious men askthemselves whether Now Zealand is after all fit for self Government, and whether it would not be more prosperous as a Crown colony pure and simple, If Mr Soddon could be mado Emperor of Polynesia, and Mr Beeves Premier of the Horvey_ Group, and the pair took np their permanent residenco in thefio Islands of tho Blest, we would have some hope for tho colony—but very little for tho Islands.

A DHDPiiic oraole could not beat; some portions of tho speeoh, There is something curious nbout the proposal to tap vast supplies of English capital without incurring dangerous obligations, What this moans wo know not, but if ono of the persons unknown, who recently raided a i certain Wellington jewellery establishment desired to justify his line of action, he might possibly havo adopted somewhat similar language and said to his mates: "Some effort should be mado by which you, without incurring dangerous obligations, may aid private enterprise to avail itself of tho vast supplies of English jewellory, tho holders of which are only awaiting openings for secure investment." Both ways tho uttcranco is a littlo vague, but tho sentimontisquite as appropriate to tho ono as to tke other, Why does not Mr Seddon, who prides himself upon being brusque and clear, say what he means.

Axotiikb curious thing in the speech is tho allusion to the Loan and Mercantile Company nnd the proposal to safeguard tho public against loose methods of company management. It was not the mothod of management that was fatal to tbe interests of the Company in question but tho virtuo of its directors which was not unhappily'test proof, To make directors virtuous by act of 1 Parliament is just tho sort of legislation that Ministers are fit for. We like to see them going in for this sort of work and feel suro that they will have a good timo of it. We thought that, an eminent English judgo had fairly squared up things with this company, but had this distinguished personago known that Mr Seddon was going to tako tho thing up ho would no doubt have left tho matter for him to deal with.

Thbrk are some very bold assor-1 tions in the speech which wo would lib to challenge, but thou wo cannot use tho plain expression which ought to characterise thorn, Still wo _ would like to suggest that Ministers are under a delusion in declaring tho Cheviot Estate speculation a success, and in assorting that the process of settling tbe wasto lands of the Crown during the past year lias been attended with genuinely good results, Even if the latter be true regarding other parts of the Colony, wo are certain that it is untrue as far as this district is concerned. Even that loyal supporter of the Government, Mr A. W. Hogg, is overwhelmed with complaints from unfortunate settlers in all parts of this district, and wo don't think' that he, without cousidorablo mental reservation, would ondorse this portion of tho statement, Wb lack tho necessary humour to do justico to certain paragraphs in the Speech. "You will be afforded," said His Excellency, "full opportunity to consider the liquor question." To the unitiated this might meanaboozo at Bellamy's to wind up a somewhat dreary oration, and to wash the taste of somo rather queer statements off the palates of legislators, but really wo tako it to mean that Ministers desire to olimiuato the liquor question from party politics, and that they are, quite nsready to givo Prohibitionists a lift this session as they wero to assist browcrs last year. The Ministerial weathercock goes round once more, fanned by tbevotesgiven nt tho genoral eloctiou.

Misistkbs rathgr glye themselves away when they oxprosß a hopo in the Speech, that "members wjll show themselves no way inferior to members of former Parliaments," They don't expect thorn to be superior —there aro too many Prohibitionists amongst tbeni for this—they don't; perhaps expect them to bo equal to their predecessors, they only hopo they will be. We join in this hopo, being fully aware that it is only a hope and not an expectation. There must bo a " Truthful James" in the Cabinet who slipped this bit in as a tnil-piece, but we womlor it was allowed to remain. However, its ragged and literal honesty sweetens up the address n good deal. It would have been a pity in such a long speech if there had not been one morsol which honest people could swallow without a protest,