THE ABOLITION OF THE PROVINCES BILL.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1701, 31 July 1875, Page 3

THE ABOLITION OF THE PROVINCES BILL.

_• coniunction with the other colonial jouri« Je have been furnished by the Govern- "«_ with a lengthy telegram, giving a nmmary of the two bills to give effect to !?„ abolition of the provinces ; but, as the / mmary is diffuse and difficult to follow, we rhink a concise epitome of the provisions of i the proposed measure will be most acceptable f onr readers, and have therefore, at conSderable trouble, prepared one The order 1 . w ]jj C li these measures are furnished by [J? Government is—First : The ,:Local fpLrnment Bill, 1575," defining the nature I A powers of proposed local districts; and 'Second: The "Abolition of Provinces T t 1875 " but we think the most natural der is to take the latter first, which we B<The bill to provide for the Abolition of the Provinces is to come into operation immejj'atelv U pon receiving the sanction of the Governor, who is required within ninety _tvs thereafter to proclaim the abolition of 11 the provinces in the colony (in the South * well as the North Island), the abolition to take effect on a day appointed in the proclamation. The existing provinces shall then be known as "Provincial Districts," bearing the same distinguishing titles as at .resent, and all existing provincial and • colonial laws (unless expressly or by implication altered) shall remain in force, unless repealed by the General Assembly. Upon the abolition taking effect, the Superintendent and Provincial Council shall be dissolved, and all laws relating to the election of them cease to have any effect, and all powers, duties, and functions held under existing legislation by the Superintendent shall become vested in and exercised by the Governor, who, until the end of next session of the General Assembly, may exercise them whether resident within the provincial district or not, or may delegate any of them to the person who previously held the office of Superintendent, or to any person he may think fit. The Governor possesses power to place restrictions on the person holding the delegated powers or revoke the delegation. The Governor may also himself exercise the powers held by the Superintendent, even when^ delegated to another. The duties of Provincial Secretary, Treasurer, or other public officer of any abolished province shall become vested in a person appointed for the purpose from time to time by the Governor. All lands, goods, chattels, money and other property, rights and interests previously vested in the Superintendent shall become veßted in the Queen, likewise all provincial revenues and securities ; all existing appropriations for public works at the timo of abolition, however, shall still be applicable to that purpose, and all contracts, suits, and proceedings pending shall likewise be enforced against Her Majesty. All notifications relating to the Government of the colony Qr the administration within any Provincial District shall be published in the Neio Zealand Gazette or such newspaper as may from time to time be appointed for the purpose. The services of officers in the employment of the existing Provincial Governments are to be dispensed with in consequence of the abolition, each officer receiving as compensation out of the ordinary revenue of the colony a month's salary for each year he has been in the service of the province, and a further sum of a like amount if his services be dispensed with without a three months' notice. How Provincial Revenues will be Apportioned.

Publicanß, auctioneers, hawkers, dogs, and limilar license fees shall be paid into the public account, and will be handed over to the manicipalities or road boards within which the money was raised; fines on owners of sheep shall likewise be paid over from the public account to the Road Board within which the penalty was actually incurred. All goldfields revenue including gold duty shall be applied in defraying the cost of managing the goldfields within the Provincial District, subject to payments to native owners for land leased from them or otherwise occupied for mining purposes.

The Land Fund

of each Provincial District shall be made a separate account and shall be charged with the payment of interest and sinking fund on loans now chargeable against the provinces [at present deducted by the General Government from the capitation money]; also with the cost of surveys and administration of waste lands within the Provincial Districts ; with annual endowments to road districts, in the manner described hereafter ; and with any appropriation made by the General As-

I Sembly this year for toe purpose of education and school buildings withm those districts. And if the land revenue of any provincial district is unequal to meet these charges, the Colonial Treasurer may borrow the requisite amount on Treasury Bills, this money and interest so raised to be charged upon the lature land revenue of such Provincial District.. The money so raised under the Act on Treasury Bills' is not to exceed in any one year £100,000. After these deductions have been made the balance of the land revenue of any Provincial District shall be divided into two parts—one part to be devoted to the promotion of immigration into that district and with such proportion of the maintenance of charitable institutions as may be appointei ; and the other part to be subject; to. appropriation by the General Assembly for the maintenance of public works within the provincial district for the year ending the 3lst of June, 1876. If the portion of land revenue chnrged with the promotion of immigration shall not be applied to that purpose, the portion of revenue devoted to the maintenance of charitable institutions may be appropriated by the Assembly for the aforesaid purpose?. The expenditure of those portions of the land revenue within provincial districts shall, until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, be regulated by the Governor in Council. It is provided further that not more than a tenth mrt of the said rei sdrlue Shall bs appropriated for charitable purposes. £2 to Road Boards and £1 to Municipalities. The sums to he paid annually to Road Boards out of the land fund of each Provincial Distiict as an endowment shall be £1 for every pound of general rates received within the district, provided that this endowment fhall not be paid upon the basis of any general rate exceeding one shilling in the pound on the annual value to Jet of rateable property, and where a' rate in excess of one shibing is levied, the endowment to be paid Bhall be calculated at the rate of one shilling on the annual value. A similar course will be pursued where the rate is an acreage one, the Governor having power to order a valuation in order to ascertain the amount of endowment due at the rate of one shilling in the pound on the annual value to Jot. There shall also be paid annually out of the consolidated fund to every road district and municipality in each of the Provincial districts as endowments, a sum of £1 for every pound raised by general rate, this being also subject to the proviso limiting the endowment to the basis of one shilling in the £1 on the value to let. <">n or before the Ist of June each year the governing body of each Road Board or Municipality shall prepare and forward to the Colonial Treasurer a statement of the rites receive 1 for the year ending 30th April—this statement is to bs vended on oath by the chairman of the Board or the Mayor, in the case of a Municipality, and the endowment lo be paid by the General Government will be calculated on the amount actually received by such Roarl Board or Municipality from rates. For the current financial year, a pro rata contribution shall be made to each governing body on the amount shewn to have been received from rates up to the 30th if April last. Confiscated LandsAll lands taken under the " New Zealand Settlement Act, 1563." and amending Acta shall be deemed bind revenue arising within the Provincial District in which such land is situated. Maintenance of Provincial Services, Etc. [The cost of police, gaols, harbours, hospitals, lunatic asylums, charitable institution'?, and education throughout the colony shall be borne by the consolidated funds except where otherwise provided for in the Aei'. Nothing in the Act shall be deemed to affect the liability of the colony to the public creditor, or to affect any permanent charges or appropriation under any existing law. When any Shire shall have been formed under the Local Government Act the moneys payable to the Koad Boards constituting the Shire shall be payable to the governing body of the !-hire, to which also shall the provisions of the Act as far as possible apply. To meet emergencies arising in the working of the Act tho Governor may from time to time, until the end of next session of the Assembly, make or alter regulations to suit the necessities of different provincial districts and these regulations gazetted shall have the force of law. The Colonial Treasurer pays all money payable under the Act. " The Local Govesnment Bill, IBIS." The other bill giving effect to the abolition proposals bears the above title. It constitutes all existing highway districts under the title of "original districts," and provides for changing these districts, when desired, by proclamation, when they will bs known as "proclaimed districts," and for creating "new districts" where no districts now exist. "Original districts" are brought under the operation of' the Act by petition to the Governor, signed by inhabitants possessing property to half the value of the rateable property in the district, setting forth the boundaries and the Act under which the district is now constituted. The petition may be refused on the representation of. a counter one by an equal or greater number of inhabitants. The present members of existing boards remain as trustees for the new district until the first Thursday in June, when they go out of office, and their successors are to be elected under the provisions of the Act. Until voters' rolls under the Act'are compiled, persons on the ratepayers' roll will be entitled to vote for the election of members of the new Board. Rates levied under the old Act, property, liabilities, etc., become vested into the new, and any questions arising are to be referred to the Governor. New districts are to comprise an area of not less than 15 miles, and are incorporated by petition under the same conditions as those already described. Districts may be united and boundaries altered by petition to the Governor, due notice to be advertised. Each District Board under the Act shall consist of six members, whose qualification shall be rateable property to the value of £25, and enrollment either on the ratepayers or electors rolls. Members of Boards retire annually in rotation. Voters qualification shall be regulated by value of property, not exceeding in any case six votes; elections to be taken by ballot. The Chairman of the Board shall be elected by members of the Board and holds office for a year, and the Governor may appoint him a Justice of the Peace for the colony having jurisdiction within his district. The Board has power to raise rates on all rateable property, and where special » works are required a separata rate may be levied after notice. Roads, ferries, bridges, etc., will be under the control of the Board. Part IV. provides for the Constitution of Shires. Two or more adjoining road districts may petition the Government to be amalgamated and formed into a Shire, and upon the i petition being granted, the road districts become "Ridings" of such Shire. The districts thus constituted a Shire is to have a Shire i Council composed of the membeis elected from each Riding, and presided over by a Chairman elected by the Council. The powers , and duties of the various road boards thus i amalgamated into the Shire thereupon cease, and become vested in the Shire Council. The Shire Council will have power to take land for permanent works, such as roads, bridges, 1 etc., and for public institutions, hospitals, asylumß, libraries, etc., and may borrow - money for such works on the security of special rates. The Council is to have the control over all roads, tolls, bridges, ferries, and public works within the Shire. Part V. contains miscellaneous provisions relating to the recovery of penalties, making regulations, . settling disputes, notifications in ( Gazette, etc. ' ''.'' ' j