The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY, FEB. 3rd, 1876.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 82, 3 February 1876, Page 4

The Clutha Leader. THURSDAY, FEB. 3rd, 1876.

I We cannot impress Often enough, or\ r too strenuously upon our readers theJ fact "that there are two points [A&t ißsud •_, in the present quarrel between the '-bene*? tralisjs. <|md SProvinciahsts-^twb main I- " questions' which bave to be'de'cided;brii^. the present^' Parliament. The 'ih&mjfe^ whether the land fund shall be coKrv*-*: nised. "Tlig second is, whether tlSf • people shalL-be fg-overned by a ruling*' class or govern themselves. With re- • gard to the first, we are continually ref, ; -minded of. a game we used ,toplay ;.m : our' childish days, which consisted Qfn Jour party pulling a long, rope one way.}' • and ajothlj payljy gulling* the othißß y we used to aivide Pji*t*|ely^s*'*int'6 corfntieg- -#*• Lanark against,. Aberdeen,. . .or 1 - English ' and Irish .against** Scotch, "or **' A t'd: :R/; r o f rf.-*a-q[y*;bther division, .that - might suggest itselt j- and .' the sides" used td be 1 often so nicely bdanoed thit an urchin who' tbok his hand' offi the *» rope to scratch his -nose, was ' Smartly -j kicked.. We. in , tJhe,„Spuih_have got V just; .about eight milHon^aeße^oljla^dunsold.: * We have it'^^^e\\ent i Q^^ : thoricy'irotn a gentleman^^iigh/in-officS"' in the 1-knd department, ith&tl -^6 -j have eight million acres left inptago,. Tfiink what a prize. The samd 'authority—^ who is comjjeteht to "judge-^says that ,r if carefully nuife'ed.*, and sold by degree-si :> it is worth, on ;dh average, £l per acre* Eight millio^lQiiriiis— -nearly half the debt of Nl^^eafand, is. the prize of th& ] present figM* -'-The Centralists try and make ouli thatd'ur lahd.fun'd is nearly gone, is not worth fighting over. Wti have taken pains to vetify our •"•figures'**; and, we are of opinion that -the estimate** above given is rather under- than . .oyei? f the mark. , .The vjry fact that the den-" tralists have taken a. good deal df trouble to depreciate tbe value of thel' prize, is ominiotis. "It is naught, it * is naught," saith the buyer, but when: he is gone away then he boasteth, Bpoke the wise man of old. Now, we do not hesitate to say that Abolition of the Provinces as projected, means nothing - more nor less than a. sacrifice ot this"' property to Northern need and greeds I Let us suppose that Road Boards and 1 I Shire Councils occupy- tjhe, ground at I present - taken up by. the Provinces \. their two pounds for one would' be' duly M paid— for one year— and then we_wi_Ur suppose a Ministry of Reynoldses, bad B gered by the claim of th^: Provinces that cannot pay their wa^-j arid perform their functions., . Is. it:treasonable to suppose, that with the money arising from our land actually in their possession, and the hungry Provinces howling*, round them, with the altertative of imposing extra taxation, which means unpopularity, that they would go on pay- ' ing the two pounds steadily ? Anyone! I who supposes it must know very 'little:; i of the effect of actually possessing W capital sum on the minds of individuals let alone Government ; nor can so credulous an individual be very well posted up in the history of past . events, or the story of. -the great, mind of .our present Commissioner ittf^Siistoms. The Shire Councils would not* present any steady resisting front like a Board of Works or a Provincial Council. Divide et imper.e would be the moto to pave the way for their rnin and — serve as righti Centralism means the loss of eight mil j lion pounds to our Province of Otago> and if we are fools enough. to assent to the Ministerial "proposals, we shall never again have thsi chance of recovering our estates. Abolitionist* every time they talk of unity being -.strength, and the national future before of " New Zealand, are really that our land fund must be colonised" 'to buy an estate for Wellington j Itq^ pay for the education fof Auckland^or for the salary of the hangers^olir; upon Providence, whose political sW vibes 'entitle themselves to a pension for life in some public departmefitl *: Mr Macandrew was in the right, with his Board of Works. If that Boards -were i eri36y^ed with the land it would giv«3j; roads and. bridges and lines ' of railways . right through Otago. Again, we rhave said that Provincialism means self-govern-ment. 'We • may at once' aildw ; that it has been disfigured by many mistakes. Nevertheless it means in very deep earnest the actual control by the electors of the machinery of government. Everyone who knows the .feeHng-^at Wellington, i knows too -mthj-wliat a sense of deep r relief *Provinci*^.r Councillors find themselves mem tiers of that larger and. ■*more^distant i body in whioh . they are largely treed from the inspec-

tion of prying eyes. The public opinion t>f Wellington is entirely official ; ' the myrmidons of the Government Compose it "almost entirely, arid the ill deeds arid piece ?>f corruption which ; can be k-ept' in check only by ia /h^lthy- jttiblicopinion, are , hushed up; anibtig* those whose livelihood -is dependa-rit*- *upon their acquiescence iri nameless* wrßng&* This state of. things alwayi^resultsfa't last inthe men r iri' office thtfflsirig' that they-can' do no wrongj tfo^is, that they nreja governing .class, set apart to rule, ■aricf that their fiat must be accepted as law." Sir Julius VogeH^t'trabed the ; he .ought to know - the WelK-ngtdn cat jumps as A-^ll'i&Wj^ngiy l^ $ c P eo P le of o'tago f dJ3sfre 'l^gQ-fßrii theiriselyeS, and tliirik they 'can they must- maintain' their ''-Provincial Eritity iri some shape, or another/ At any rate don't leVthentf^ricy that it will do them any gttod 'to send Government to a distance. Experm:hce; ik all agairist thdin, and if there mast be rhisgovernjient, let it be near at hand where we can correct it.

It will" be seen from our report of Tuesday's meeting of the Town Council that the negotiations for a loan to tbe Cto#pdration has now been satisfactorily concluded. A considerable suril is thus at the disposal of the Council For the carrying, : ont of public works within the*towhshipj»snd it will depend upon "the administration of this fund whether the steps taken by the Council will ■meet with. the° unanimous approval oi the. ratepayers, or the reverse. It will admitted that from the state in Which the present Council found Ihe finances ofthe municipality, tbey were not only justified but in a 'manner compelled to borrow. But to borrow is one thing — even Sir Julius can. do that, but to prudently •■"and economically administer is another tiling, and but few of Sir -.-Julius' most devoted admirers will give him credit for 'ever having exhibited any evidence of ability in this . respect. Haphazard recklessness has always been the characteristic of his administration. It is to be hopett ihat'the. Town Co-uncil of Balclutha will exhibit astrong contrast in forethought and prudence. It must be admitted however, that their begin'i'ngs are not encouraging. Upon the intimation being made of the 'money 'having been received a petition was immediately read calling attention to the state ; of, several streets in North Ward. The standing orders were at once suspended, and a motion passed that the ' permanent levels of William, Gedrge, ; and Charlotte streets be laid down, and that the work of their permanent for■•mation be carried out. Quick work 'this! But why the suspicious haste to pass the resolution, seeing that the works are.nojt to be undertaken till after hafyest-f We give Mr Hogg credit for his; tact in thus getting the works for hiSlsfard passed in the first and ; Spgfcial schediij-e, --but did it never occur to Cdundillor^ that ordinary people are Sometimes in'-the habit of counting the 'Cost before, works of such magnitude are ordered, to. "be executed ? Besides, CounTcillors v seem "to T ha've overlooked the fact 'that there are other streets in the •township -besides the secluded but favored tryo. , W*e ask any impartial individual to- compare the state of, say John street, "with -that -of any of the three -named, - and we doubt not the decision would bfc that it i 3 by far the Inost needing attention. Yet not a was said on its. behalf. There •are many other streets in the township -in the same position, andstreots>|too "which have to sustain a large traffic, •whereas the traffic on William, George, •and Charlotte streets is virtually nil, •and is likely to remain so for many a day. It was a piteous picture Councillor "Hogg drew-—^somewhat ludicrous ■withal— of the<irihabitants climing home during dark 'nights -lipon the fence; rails "(Just'dmagine his Worship in. such a 'positionv^.^u^^s^ple^botpaths would have r^aß^^B^^f-^hd: ~we - humbly -submit tn^^^lt^|fe'i?red to' are much •better for traffic'in-their present-condi-tion, with only some of * the hollows filled up, than they will be in wet ■"weather when the surface is broke and -the streets formed with good black earth. At present they will bear heavy •waggons ; then, they will be impassable for bread carts. The Council have acted in haste in this matter and we do .not wish to be too severe upon their 'first offence, but in spending the funds ; of the 'ratepayers they must have regard to the necessities of the whole township arid ;not only one favored spot. They should order a report by their •Surveyor or the Works Committee of •the whole necessitous works, with an estimate of their cost, and then apportion the dunds at their disposal prudently and impartially wherever most •"required. Thus they will maintain the confidence which was reposed in them when tbey were elected to their present important positions.