The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1889. MORE SLAUGHTER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2227, 16 September 1889, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1889. MORE SLAUGHTER.

Two more Government Bills have received tUeir quietus. These are "ihe Public Debts Sinking Funds Acts amendment," and " the Publio Revenues Acts Amendment." 'Ihe lastnamed measure proposed the transfer of the management of tho funds of the Post Office Savings Bank to a Board consisting of the Commissioners of the Public Debts Sinking Funds as named m the first-mentioned Bill, and both measures contained a clause restricting the investment of funds under the control of the Board to the following securities, that is to say : — (1) Government securities of the .United Kingdom ; (2) Government securities of the colony of New Zealand ; (3) Government Eecurities of any Australian colony ; (4) Loans to the local authority of any county, borough, road district, town district, or drainage district m New Zealand, m respect of securities made and issued by any such local authority under authority of an Act of tbe General Assembly, and which are secured by a special rate on property m such district, or partly by such rate and partly m some other manner ; (5) In deposits, for a fixed period, with any incorporated bank carrying on business m the colony. And for the purposes of the Act tbe term " Government securities " was defined as moaning securities issued by or on behalf of the Government of tho country or colony to which such expression relates, and the principal and interest payable on which securities are secured by on Act of Parliament of such country or colony." Tho Bills under notice were presented by the Government m obedience to a resolution of the House approving of a report of the Public Accounts Committee iv which such legislation was recommended, but from the very first it was apparent that the Premier disapproved of the proposals as also did a minority, but a determined minority, of the House. And we think the minority were justified m their opposition for two reasons. First, as will bo seen, investment of Government funds upon mortgages of freehold under any circumstances was prohibited and so also tho investment of such funds upon any harbor board securities no matter how good they might be, and secondly — and this is the more important pomt — to have handed over the whole matter to a Board would have been to set up a buffer between the House and tbe Government, which now is and we think should continue to be responsible to the House and the country for the proper management of the Trust Funds. Besides which the experience of the past m the matter of the Insurance Board, and more recently of the Railway Board is not such as to induce confidence m the system of administration by Boards, On the whole then we think the House has done well m relegating the Bills m question to the waste-paper basket.