The Westport Times. TUESDAY MAY 28, 1872

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 974, 28 May 1872, Page 2

The Westport Times. TUESDAY MAY 28, 1872

Possibly good and sufficient cause will be shewn why the session of the General Assembly already prorogued until the 29th instant is now again postponed until the IGth July. Assuming that it indicates the prolonged sitting of some of the Provincial % Councils now in session, tho cause is to bo regretted, inasmuch as, so far as any material advancement of the Colony is concerned, the deliberations of Provincial Legislators, judged from • past experience, are likely to prove of littlo worth. Public moiiey has been too long frittered away in keeping up the sham display of petty Provincial parliaments, and tho patience of the people is utterly exhausted in hoping against hope while the good results arising from Provincial Government are but classed at nil. Of all the Provincial Councils now in solemn conclave the staunchest Provincialist can adduce but feeble argument in favor of either. Haply there may bo some latent vitality still left in these moribund institutions, but the public care lttle to hear of inane babblings in the Council chamber while knowing from the experience of" the past, how little actual good will arise therefrom. Premising on the other hand that the ministry desire time to prepare to meet the enemy, in -the shape of the strong opposition party who will in all probability attempt at the onset of proceeding to carry a vote of want of confidence, the delay is justifiable, seeing that tho ministry will be placed on defence against so many pleas of misfeasance beyond tho legitimate rights and privileges of office. The lavish expenditure of money in the face of diminishing revenues, the random and erratic actions of ministers during vacation, the long catalogue of orrors in judgement, to be atoned for, explained away or remedied, arc suilicieutly formidable to make even the most valiant political campaigners pause and carefully marshall their forces before entering on the conflict. The cry ' a new government and radical reform' finds a reechoing sentiment in very many places, but true British love of fair play will willingly accord to the assailed every chance to prepare for defence. One thing however is very certain, the public of New Zealand, while indifferent in a great measure to the dubious tactics and peddling proclivities of Provincial rulers, except so far as curbing by all legitimate means their power to work evil; are on the other hand watching with earnest expectancy for the result of the next meeting of the General Assembly. A well adjusted scheme of financial reform, backed by substantial pledges for the more economical administration of public affairs will be insisted on, and a more wise developement of the goldfields and an altered system of administering the delegated powers will be considered a sine qua non, seeing how much depends on j udicious action therein. Not alone on the goldfields but throughout the Colony, wherever any intelligent ideas of public business prevail, the opinion is rapidly gaining ground that if goldfield affairs are administered with wisdom, the country may safely depend thereon for salvation from present difficulties, and moreover as they fade away, so in equal ratio will hopes of future prosperity increase. It is satisfactory, in a degree, to learn from qnasi official sources that a flow of emigration has at last set in to these shores, on a scale that holds out the best-hopes for its steady continuance, that all preliminary difficulties and points of difference concerning our

pot railway scheme, have been satisfactorily adjusted, and that a concurrent increase of general prosperity may bo anticipated, but tho public mind craves for more than mere assertions on these points. The united voico of New Zealand colonists demand that public affairs shall bo for the future administered with wisdom and economy, so that population may, without adventitious aid, bo not only attracted hither, but also find inducement to make our vaunted Britain of the South a permanent abiding place. Tho momentous question with hundreds of hardworking men, ot cverv degree and station, in Naw Zealand is, shall we stand by tho ship for yet awhile longer or save ourselves while there is yet a chance to get away in safety. The result of the coining session of the Assembly will exercise a critical inlluence on men as well as communities.