OPINIONS BE BLOWED.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2917, 26 March 1891, Page 2

OPINIONS BE BLOWED.

To TIIK EIJIXOH. Sin,—l have just been reading in the Weekly News " Agricola's " short biography of the life of the: I ate Lord Tollcmache. In these, days, when opinions go for all, and practice gnu;: for nothing, it is pleasing, oh how pleasing and refreshing to read of praclic. " ,-Vgricola " does not say whether Lord ToUoiiarhe was a Liberal or a Tory, and as I have; never beard his name before, I cannot tell whether he .vis one of the Tory or Liberal party, but ju-.lg-iiu'trom human natun\ and what huiiijin nature is, I would say he was a man who never expressed an ad.aneed Libera! opinion in the whole course of his life. Mr Kditor, as the world guts old-r, mankind sees that there arc oart-iiii laws, which have pas-ed muster in the past as being iu accord with fact, but now are being found to be directly opposite to hot. In the past, am! In a great; c.lent in the present, wo have and do accept profession as tin- re-it "Shu'iu I'l.re." H is not to be wondered that vv have accepted such. What, mole natural than tint we. should take a nun at Irs own wof.i ? W'lnl. more iu teisi iYjii to take the tongue as sneaking the nature ol tile man. But, Mr lvlit-.r, I'rnvidei.v.: ! l,as hi Idoit and ineompreheii-ible laws, J which arc so to u--, but n-ve.u 1e0r.,-. are ! iniprlect law-, and to us inco'ujneh'-n- ---! sible. is, that, the tongue doc.-, not represent the nature of the man. )'ro_eid lie■•. from some perfect law, as all Llis lav. ■ are, his so ordained that proles i sion aud practice are iueunpi! ibis. th'it this is so, so soon will Jjibylnu have fallen. Mr I'.ditur, if will be said when: is my proof for what I am saying? 1 say there is proof staring you ikinro your eyes. Are wc blind and cannot see that iu religion the more, profession there is. the less reality, and in fh • less profession there is the more reality ? Av -w- blind and cannot see that it is so in p.diUes ? Have we not Auckland audits quick politicians staring us iu the five? At the last general election wove there no' Auckland members elected who arc all "cry anil no wool ?'' Members who are. great in profession of liberal principles, but who in their own heart have construed liberal principles to be an oracle or a dodge to be worked for their own agrandisoment, at the expense of the welfare of the country. The Auckland voters may say we are not so blind as wdiat you lake us to be, we, they may say, arc perfectly well aware that we ejected men who had an oracle to work for their own benefit, and wc arc perfectly well aware that these men we elected did go in for their own good and not for the good of the country. Then I say that if they knowingly did vote for such men, that for the preservation of the country and for the preservation of liberty they ought, should, and must be disfranchised—disfranchised at all hazard and cyst. The first cost will be the smallest, the longer they are iu being disfranchised the greater the cost will be. 1 am not one who would advise others to run into danger that I would not myself share. 1 will offer myself as one of those who has to pay the cost. My life, could uot be better spent than in giving it I away in a right against political rogues, who by their roguery will bring society into a stale of pandemonium, misrule, chaos, confusion, and disord; r. Mr Editor, it is a lamentable fact that as opinions advance as to the rights of man, practice as regards the lights of man retrograde. It is a fact that it is so, and it cannot he denied This brings, mn to ask the question, is it better to have advanced opinions which are correct where practicable, but at the same time whilst these correct opinions advancing wc have the practice of real goodness of man towards man retrograding ? We will take the late Lord Tollcmache. 1 suppose he had no advanced opinions ; in this he was behind the present times, but then look at his practice. What was his life ? It was a life of goodness towards his fellow man ; to thousands his life was a blessing. It was good that he was horn, On the other hand, we have men who arc up to the present times, who arc all "jaw,' but whose inward natures are all in direct opposition to their tongue. I say, give me the one whose nature is active iu good, though his tougue be backward, to the one whose nature is diabolically selfish, but whose tougue is loud in professing goodness to his fellow man. —Vours truly, H.UUI Lit, P.S.—People who dou't know mc may think I am a man who would delight in civil war. 1 write these letters with the hope that in a small way I may avert such a dire calamity. .1 have long been of opinion that man was nut ripe for self-government iu polities. I have long been of the opinion that the dishonesty of our politicians would bring things to such a pass that civil commotion would ensue. Aud where does the political dishonesty lie? It lies iu this, that for the sake of emolument aud powor and oracles to be worked, politicians do not instruct the electors, but instead of instructing they say what will please Uio electors, and the electors being so pleased will vote for them, and so put them iu power. Look at what is going on in Queensland, We see a band of armed unionists going up to stations, and by force of arms ami by bloodshed going to compel non-unionists to cease working. This is the outcome of politicians for their own ends, saying what will please the electors instead of instructing them. The mass of the people need instruction, and the greatest part of that instruction is to have the kuowledge to discern between opinions and practice, and also to discern that true liberty consists of the liberty of the subject; also, that true liberty cannot exist without the rights of property being protected. Do away with these i lights, and bailttrism will follow, and i also that true liberty consists of property having its duties to perform, and if these duties are not performed, woe to the property-holders, for retribution will follow.