The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1892.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3067, 12 March 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1892.

Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

There is probably no event which would bo hailed wich greater satisfaction by the Ministry than the departure of Sir George Grey on his contemplated visit to the Old Country. Our contemporary the Lyttelton Times, which must be accepted as the inspired organ of the party, has suggested that an additional inducement should be offered by appointing him delegate from New Zealand to the meeting of the Empire Trade League, to be held in London. This is the first intimation that has been given that it was intended to officially appoint a delegate. There is nothing remarkable in the suggestion, but the reasons our contemporary gives for offering it are very curious. The writer, in a political sense of course, says that Sir Q-. Grey is a great architect, but a bad builder, which means, if it means anything, that he is an impracticable politician—an opinion which most men will endorse who have watched hi? career since he left the seclusion of his island home to take an active part in political life. This is surely a funny roason to_ urge for sending him Homo to discuss a question which of all others provides little scope tor theory, but on the contrary requires that facts shall be dealt with in a practical manner, and due consideration given to the relation of the Empire with foreign countries. It is not our object, however, to deal with the question on the present occasion. It is natural that our contemporary should accord to the architect some portions of the policy which it upholds ; to do otherwise would be to stultify it. The metaphor is, however, not a happy one ; no architect can be termed great, or for that matter, in a professional sense, an architect at all, who is not thoroughly informed as to the strength and nature of the material he designs shall be used to give shape to his conception, It is the architect who is the arbiter between the builder and the person for whom the building is to be erected. It is on his certificate that the work has beon faithfully performed, that payment is made. Sir George is unquestionably the architect whom the electors who support the present Ministry may be said to have employed, and his opinion as to the manner in which his designs have been carried out will, without doubt, have great weight with them; admitting that it is generally accepted that he is only an indifferent builder, they will accord him full credit for tho ability to judge as to the result. There are many points in which the builder?, to continue the metaphor of our contemporary, have deviated from the plans prepared for them. The most vital being with regard to the restrictions on the freehold tenure of land. There is no text upon which Sir George has so often and so eloquently dilated as " The land is the property of the people, and every man should own the land he occupies." Many are the Utopian pictures he has painted from this text, and many the upbraidings he has administered to his hearers for not insisting that this should be the case. Another reason our contemporary urges for Sir George's appointment to the Empire Trade League, is that being the representative of the New Zealand Government, he would command attention he would not otherwise receive. Ttiis _is about as presumptuous an assertion as we have heard for some time, coming as it does from the mouthpiece of the Ministry. Imagine the endorsement of Messrs Ballance, Seddon, Reeves and Co. being necessary to secure Sir George the reception which long service and undoubted ability always command in tho metropolis of the Empire. ! Is not the reason of the writing of our contemporary to be traced to tho fact that the Ministry are afraid that the architect will not only refuse to give them a certificate, but will, in addition, denounce them as "jerry" builders of a pronounced type? We think so.