The Daily Telegraph WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 2985, 19 January 1881, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1881.

Jln continuation of his leading article oh ."Local Government Reform," Colonel j Whitmpfe asks," what part of the govern;ment of the colony should be locally !administered and paid for from local jfunds? He then thinks that there can. be co reasonable objection to tho purely local admini*tration of the Harbors, •River Conservation, Education. Hospitals, and Charitable Aid ; and why should not all these branches be brought under the control of a single local body, call it Council, or any other name ? The Provinces succeeded faiily well in managing them, and.were the area, now that tbe country is becoming more populated, restricted, fhere : would be less difficulty in providing the necessary local funds to support them, than would be experienced if the geographical boundaries of the old Provinces were strictly maintained. Road making, and the maintenance of the traffic through districts can . beet be carried out by Road Boards; at least : that is the experience of the colony ; and jif this is admitted why should another ! local body,be permitted to select certain highways upon which to carry out rival road works, in each district ? Even if ! we admit that certain lines of roads affect iOther districts, than those through which .tbey pass, or affect each differently, cannot this distinction be recognised and provided for in some better way than by providing two road making Btaffs in the Isame locality ? The proper function of ithe central local authority, call it County if it be desirable, would be quite as well discharged, if its powers only extended to tbe distribution of County Funds among the Road Boards, in such proportions, as might seem just and requisite, I for the maintenance of the part of the County Roads passing through each. Accepting then these as the normal duties which should respectively fall to Ithe superior and lesser local bodies, would it not be better to abolish all the minor Boards, which at present subdivide among themselves work, by no means excessive, for a single consolidated organisation, which having higher and wider 'duties, would attract men more able than at present compose them, and would they .'not paymore attention to their duties if their responsibility was increased? It .would be to argue against human nature ;to assert this, and we may accept it as a that coustituent bodies, like individuals, rarely fail to rise to higher re- • sponsjbUity. The present subdivision of jthecdlooies into counties requires revision ; for, as a rule, they are too small. Probably twenty counties in all would be sufficient, at present, and it is a question whether there is any wisdom shown in fixing a •• hard and fast" number of Ridings. At all events, each Riding

should be coincident, in its boundaries with a Road Board.- In the arrangement cf Ridings, the large Road Board system of W e Ui°g ton a -d Canterbury would at first be a difficulty ; 'but, aa the v/nrds might be converted iuto Ridings or Road Boards, it would not prove insuperable. To popularise the composition of tbe County Councils, and insure harmonious action between them and the Road Boards, it would be desirable to leave to the Boards tbe election of a Councillor from each,to represent it, and as there is no real reason why the Municipalities should be excised from the Counties, they also should have a representation fairly proportionate to their importance, and elected by the Municipal Council?. The Chairmen of the several Road Boards might ex officio be the delegates, if election was deemed inadviiable. Whether Road Boards and Counties can be thus welded inlo a joint concern, or not, there can be no doubt that the superior local body should have a certain control over the lesser ones, and be able to exercise over them, in matters of general concern, a certain authority for the protection of the public interest. It would be convenient that they should be in fact a Court of Appeal to oppressed minorities of the Ratepayer?, and enabled by law to compel Road Boards, which neglect their duties to fulßl them. There is at present no appeal against an exctssive or insufficient general rate, and Boards which fail to provide for the maintenance of the pubic traffic cannot be compelled to do so. This last lack could be easily ensured by a power enabling the Council, in extreme cases, to suspend until the next election any defaulting Road Board, assuming its powers, imposing and collecting its fates, and executing the necessary works. The next election of a Board would enable tbe locality to provide a better set of men to carry out the Board duties. And as regards the minorities, now quite unprotected, no set of men could be more competent to bear their appeal, than a Council composed of Road Board members from all parts of the district. It would be essential under such a system of local government that the Chairman should be the Chief of the Executive, and entrusted with actual authority. At prosent nobody has any special authority, and each detail is supposed to be voted by' the whole Council, which usually meets but once a month. As a fact the Chairman assumes the authority, when requisite, but he has none by law, as yet, and trusts entirely to being indemnified for any action he may take.