THE DUNEDIN ELECTIONS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 45, 7 March 1874, Page 6

THE DUNEDIN ELECTIONS

The appointmenc of the late junior member' of Dnnedin to the Resident Magistracy of thia City, renders* the election of a Provincial Councillor and a representative in the General Assembly, necessary. Several candidates offered themselves for the vacant seat in the Provincial Council. As yet, there is only one for the representation in the Colonial Parliament. Hitherto we have not said anything in reference to these elections, inasmuch as they do not interest us much. We are powerless to influence the electors, and an enemy is sure to be sent to both the Council and the House of Kepresentatives. Under such circumstances it would be useless to expend ink and paper in discussing them. As a matter of contemporary history, however, they deseive some notice at our hands. For the seat in the Council there ye c four candidates. Mr Chapman is a new man, and his speeches to the electors show That as a politician his views are not yet fully matured. He may develop into something by and by, but at present he gives every indication that he is still a raw youth. iJr Isaacs is very prononce on the land question. He shares this, peculiarity with every new candidate for political honor?. Iv fact everybody says he is most anxk.us to see ths people settled on the land and to lend a hand in effecting such a laudable object. From the Superintendent downward.;, all our public men declare that the one' thing of all others the most desirable, is the settlement of the people on the land. And as an evidence of sincerity on the part of lion, members, a new Land Bill to promote settlement is introduced each session, and largely discussed. A fine opportunity is thus afforded to our representatives to air their vocabularies, and speechify 1o Bunkum. There is no end of political philosophy and patriotism spouted. But somehow the people are not yet settled on the land-

somehow, too, when a few spasmodic efforts are made with thia ostensible object, all the good land manages, of course by the force of natural gravitation, to fall into the hands of large proprietors or capitalists. Notwithstanding perpetual legislation and billions of good intentions, the people who want the land to cultivate it, cannot get it on reasonable terms j and a landlord class is growing up here as surely as if the feudal system were legalised amongst us. Perhaps this is as it ought to be ; perhaps the landlord system as it is in England, Ireland and Scotland, and as it is in no other civilised country, is the one best calculated to promote the peace and prosperity of the Colony, and the comfort and independence of the peopJe. It may be so, but if so, it is strange that experience tells a different tale. For some time we have entertained the idea that there is really no sincere desire on the part of our leading 1 politicians to settle the people on the land, except as tenants of great proprietors. Their object, it appears to us, is in the first instance to parcel out the country amongst a few rich men. We may be wrong, but we do not think that any proof of the contrary can be adduced. The third candidate is Mr Reeves. On the all important subject of education he holds views that, under the circumstances, *re fair and equitable. He says that personally he is in favour of secular education. This is to be regretted, and we hope for his own sake that lie is like a good many others who, whilst helping to provide secular teaching for other people's children, are very careful to give their own a good sound religious education. It would, however, be wiser and moie consistent to give to others what one gives to his own. On the land question we cannot agree with him : and so far from thinking it a calamity that the Crown has parted with the fee of so much land, our opinion is that it is a misfortune that a great deal more of the land has not been disposed of to small proprietors. Wherever throughout the civilized world there is the most general well being and the highest agricultural cultivation, there small proprietors abound. Mr E. B. Caegill is the fourth candidate. He is an old colonist, has served the Province often as Provincial Couhcillor. As a public man he is honourable and outspoken ; he is intelligent, well informed, and in business enjoys the highest reputation for integrity. But his principles are not ours. On the land question his views are at least ambiguous. He advocates the reservation of really suitable agricultural land for bond fide settlement. Rut who is to decide what is agricultural land — the squatter or the intending agriculturist? No law is or can be perfect, but in our estimation the Canterbury system, though faulty in mauy respects, is better calculated to provide settlement than the Land Laws of Otago. If settlement be really desired, every man wbo wants fifty or one hundred or two hundred acres of land to reside on and cultivate, should be enabled to select all he wants, wherever he pleases, out of the unsold laud of the C.-own, provided only he can pay a reasonable price for what he requires. Almo>t even other system is only a disguised hindrance to settlement. On the education question Mr Cargill is consistent and intelligible. He does not wish to disturb the Otago system, but sooaer than give us for example, any aid out of the common taxation, he would comjiel us, as we object to a Hresbyterhn system, to aid in supporting a secular system which we abhor. We have called the Otago system a Presbyterian system, because it is such iv t-ffect, though not by the letter of the law. But it makes little matter by what name an injustice is culled, so long as il is an injustice. As to Mr Barton, the only candidate who is as yet in the field fur the vacant seat iv Ul3 iiou^o of Representatives, our space will not permit us to say rmch. "When speaking of thia gentleman's pretensions to political honors and duties, we are reminded how he did not present, as requested, the Petition \of his Catholic constituents on the subject of education. He ! says he Lad a legitimate leason. Tin*,, however, we shall not delay to discuss, though we differ irom him, and shall at present contmt ourselves with the bare statement of the factj On seeing his address in the morning papers, our memory called before us that beautiful picture of the " lawyer full of sweetness and light ' given so eloquently in the 'Daily Times' a few d:iys ago ; and until the arrival ot the ' Timaru Herald '' we had not fully made up our minds that the writer in the ' Daily Times' had not drawn the portrait of Mr Barton. The ' Timaru Her ild,' however, has dissolved all doubt. Our contemporary knows Mr Barton" well, this is evident, and from what be says of this learned gentleman, however true of Mr Barton might be what the ' Daily Times' says as to

light, it is clear the words — lawyer of sweetness, Are not applicable. Mr Barton, then, is not the " lawyer of sweetness and light," and it is to be presumed he would not absent hiinaelf from church, because his minister has not one, two, or three thousand a year, < r may have been below him in class at college: Having now settled what Mr Barton is not, let us see what he is, and what he is likely to be — that is in the event of his being elected. Ha is a lawyer of ability and industry, a successful advocate, an uncertain politician, and a timid man, we mean politically, in presence of bigoted' public opinion. As to the future, he may be Minister of Justice, if elected in succession to Mr Bathgate. Whether he may be able to emulate t)he noble public services- of that learned gentleman, and come ultimately to a similar glorious reward, we can not say— time will tell.