THE BAY OF PLENTY TIMES. SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 1873.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume I, Issue 100, 16 August 1873, Page 2

THE BAY OF PLENTY TIMES.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 1873.

" The spirit ofthi- ii;:;.(■.•> sh -,■'.'■ Ua<-h , n r speed.." ~KV*Q .TOUN', ACT IV.

On October 21st, 1572. a telegram r..p]seared in the Hay of Plenty Timfs from Mr ’William Kelly, Al.H.ii., to the cilect that tlio lion. 1). AlcLeau stated “ that the Government would locate immigrants on lauds adjacent to Tan ran "a unmedtatclv on arrival of next vessstd.” Tin’s was simply a Ai inistcrial promise. .Hovv kept-, oar readers have had a period of ten mouths in which to form an opinion. Hundreds, we might say thousands, of

immigrants have been brought to colony since this promise was mi ]/ p j ie made, but not a single one has vet rearhe I our district. _ Hollowing suit, this st Vrinn another Minister—the .lion. M r O' j{ 0 „c U —replying with great plausibility i n °S° House ot Representatives to our membr ° says that “ two thousand muni-wants i.f.ft England for the Auckland prov’W and that a number of these will bo locAr.l at Taurauga.” “ c ’ u It is very easy, and withal amusing Ministers to make such promises i n tune from year to year, on!v, alas’ - 0 V forgotten and altogether ignored during the recess, when “ the vote ami interest ot our representative is of no further’.so,vice. \ cry easy and amusing, no doubt' out, at the same tune, contemptible an J unpardonable. \v o ask our readers I they credit this last Ministerial statement as regards immigration ? Eor ourself we candidly and regretfully confess w e ha not, but sincerely hope wo mat bo wrom in our forebodings. The settlers of T-n° ranga have built high hopes upon' £ expected advent of new arrivals, whikt the Government has from time to time made their coming au excuse for the m> o crastination of useful works. The K a V' kati ami Thames road, for instance" to bo reserved for them, so that emploV ment would bo ready immediately urnm location. Whore docs the fault liW 1 C cannot entirely be attributed to the supmeness of the Provincial authorities i°r, m reality, the Provincial Government has nothing to do with our waste !anH ‘ One would imagine that the locating immigrants at Tauranga ami otner places on the East Coast—districts partly native and partly European— would have no nttie eftbet in strengthening the Ministerial policy. But perhaps the°Bav ot Plenty is now* considered so safe and quiet that the necessity is no longer sunnosed to exist, and this fertile portion A the colony is still to be allowed tostrugipe on unassisted. We say again, respecting the latest promise made, that we have no both whatever in it. Any one reading the correspondence between, the Govern” • ment and the Agent-General will find that the latter deprecates auv attempt to provide immigrants for confiscated laud. That being the case, immigrants brought into such districts direcCfrom England would evidently be introduced undertaise pretences, and the lands in this neighbourhood best suited for settlement would come under the head of “ confiscated ” Besides, other available lands, though actually bougnt by the Government, are very much in the same predicament, being purchased under protest. It is true we heard some time since of a special Nova bcotian settlement to bo formed ; but, at the present rate of progress, wo might hope to hear something more of the subject about next session. Meanwhile the land is being reserved (telegram states “ surveyed”), and bona fide Settlers excluded.

We sincerely Lope that Mr Kelly will endeavour to wake up the Government to, a sense of their duty, and get something more for his constituents than empty promises, proved'by experience to be so easily shelved. Broken promises cause great disappointment—indeed, more so than quiet neglect; and in this particular instance we believe the Government has made a great mistake.

Thu numerous friends of Captain. Morris will be pleased to learn that he has authorised us to state that it is Ids intention to otter himself as a candidate at the next election of a member to represent the important district of Tauranga in the 1 rovineial Conned. Wo look forward with much interest to Captain Morris platform ' at this critical period of provincial politics.

—-o-

I ills telegraphic intelligence published in our issue ot Saturday lust contained amongst other items the somewhat astonishi-diing announcement that Mr -ictugene Joseph O’Conor, member for the Bailer (. eJson South-west Goldfields), had stared in the -louse of .Representatives, when speaking to a motion for a ‘’Distribution of Representation,” that the Last Coast couid only county/////electors. ho telegram at the same lime informed us that this state nad been contradicted by our ineiu.ivr, Mr \V ihium Kelly, and that the motion Being curious to learn further j.muieulars of such an untruthful and absurd !}.*' th I*-1011, 1 *- 1011 , immediately telegraphed to Mr hare to acknowledge the receipt of the following in reply ; ‘‘ O Conor detailed number of electors m each district throughout the colony. He estimated Last Coast according to last returns as about fifty.' I (Mr Kelly) immediately challenged the veracity of the statement, and assured the House that the East Coast recorded a much larger number. O’Connor then sta'ed he ou.amed information from Colonel Baltic*™, -registration Oilicer, Auckland, O’Conor has since received inforna'imi from Registration Otucer Bay of Plenty, showing sis to seven

hundred electors. He will retract statement that opportunity in House.’’ Further information is to hand that Mr O’Conor has made the honorable, retracting his foinmr statement-, and announcing the electoral number on the East Coast, as 057. An error so readily acknowledged is as readily forgiven. Wo would, however, advise Mr Eugene Joseph O’Conor on the next ocea-ion he favours the country with statistical information to he quite sure of ids data.

t) S re ter., 1 nee to 1 Hansard wo observe that the Honourable Mr Vogel in proposing to grant increased borrowing powers to Provincial Governments i> pursuing a c mrse which ho at. one time strongly opposed. Then again Mr Vogel now appears desirous to entrust to the Provincial authorities a considerable port,ion of the carrying out of Genera! Government public works. In this matter also lie has changed his opinion. 2'empora ntnlaniur, and very properly he is changed' too. Tile imminent danger, however, in the altered state of affairs is that too much power will devolve npov local bodies. The wings of Provincial Governments have of late years been so much cupped that they have scarcely had a feather t > (Iv with, and now it appears to us we are rushing into extremes in the contrary direction, and raising the Tag of Provincialism too high altogether. It laust bo remembered also, that bv so doing we shed most, surely lessen the status of the Colonial Government and possibly make that Government in the future as it was once in the past, the mere plaything of Provincial party politics. The Honourable Mr \ ogel is evidently anxious to work in uiuson for the common weal of the colony, and his desire to hand over the partial control, or rather supervision of public works, to local parties as being more particularly interested in their construction is highly praiseworthy, and a sure sign that he wishes everything in connection with those works to bo “ open and above board.” On the whole we are glad to find that Mr Vogel’s proposals will not be rushed through the House, and believe that Mr FitzherbertH opposition to the Bill will have a salutary and beneficial effect.