HOW WE ARE GOVERNED.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2640, 3 August 1871, Page 2

HOW WE ARE GOVERNED.

However much one may differ with Mr Gillies, Superintendent of Auckland, in his .political opinions, hone will question his ability, or that in professing the views he so strongly holds in reference to colonial affairs, he acts from a sense of right. In a recent lecture on the Thames, he dwelt very strongly 0 :\ the question of Provincialism v. Centrialism ; and there are many here who will agree with many of the following observations made by him The history of our Provincial Legislatures and governments presents, many similar features to that of oar General Legislatures and Constant change of superintendents and executives, a steady change in the number of legislators, and an increased expense in the machinery of government has characterised our provincial governments. This province has had in its 17 or IS years of provincial existence seven superintendents ; Otago has had live, Canterbury four, Nelson four, Taranaki four, Hawke’s Bay three, Southland three, Marlborough two or three, with two at the time occasionally ; whilst Wellington a'one has been content with two. In their fatal propensity tomorrow they have faithfully followed in the footsteps of the general government?,—for the provincial share of our now seven and a half-millions debt has been fully three millions. There is, however, this to be said for the provinces, that they have something tangible to show for their loans, whereas those of tho General

Government have only resulted in our unsettled native difficulty. Not that the provinces have always expended wisely or well their loans. Otir unfinished Drury railway forbids ns to lay that flattering unction to our souls; but I do say that the provincial loans have been, on the whole, spent with better results to the Colony than those of the General Government. But, notwithstanding, what is the state of the provinces now ? Southland has ceased to exist, her debentures having compelled her to return to the wealthier maternal bosom of Otngo, Otago, thanks to her magnificent landed estate and her productive goldfields, has hitherto survived the financial storms surrounding her, though they again seem da' k and lowering around her. Canterbury, too, though her golden fields of Westland have been riven from her, has by means of her landed estate, backed by wise administration, managed to surmount financial troubles. Marlborough has well nigh subsided fr< m public notice. Nelson having wisely got quit of her landed estate, now waits placedly for whatever may turn up. Wellington, hopelessly bankrupt, after long years of government by one of the ablest men in Ned' Zealand, Dr Featherston, seeks to keep tottering on for a time by another pull at the Colonial purse. Hawke s Bay, the Goshen of sqnattooracy, is solvent, stationary, and covetous of portions of Auckland’s patrimony long withheld. Taranaki is, as she has ever been, living on the compassion of the rest of the Colony, in return providing seats for ministers by whose good offices she may hope to be still further fostered. Auckland has been alternately prosperous and prostrate, sometimes living on profits, sometimes on hope, with her seal at one time taken in execution, at another at the last gasp of financial exhaustion ; but now again, thanks to these wonderful goldfields, in probably the best position of all the Provinces—if only the paralysing paw of the Gener 1 Government were lifted from her lands and her natives. But that if mars all. That paw will not be lifted till the last drop is sucked from her veins—until the bst Official vampire is'satisfied. Snob is the present state of the Province 0 . There is, however, one feature of our system of government to which I desire to direct your attention, which does not appear in the Constitution Act, or in any other Act directly, but it is that under which you are governed. I mean the system of government b} r delegation. A more pernicious system I do not know. The origin of it is this. Important interests have to be legislated for, for the centralist party object to giving power in Provincial hands, but arc scarcely strong enough to ignore them, either in legislation or administration. The Provincials are ■earcely strong enough to assert their rights, »-id so a compromise is made by which the General Government theoretically and the Provincial Government practically administered the laws on these subjects, such as the goldfields. The power is placed by legislation in the hands of the Governor, that is the General Government, with authority to delegate to the Provincial Government, which must be conciliated, for it has a certain amount of voting power in the House, and so the delegation is made to the Superintendent. The result is that nobody is responsible to the people. The Provincial Executive is not, because by law the power is in other hands. The Superintendent is not, because he is only his Excellency’s dele gate, and responsible to him The General Government is not responsible, because being authorised to delegate, they have done so to the Superintendent, and so it goes on until you oaunot tell under which fhimble the pea is. What then, I ask, will be the results of our seventeen years of selfgovernment under this system of General Governments, Provincial Governments, and delegations ? We have had 848 colonial laws passed, of which a great number have been repeals or amendments of previous laws, and our law making does not seem to improve in quality. We have Provincial laws passed,-of which also a large number have been repeals or amendments, and the only improvement visible is the increased recognition of the futility of passing Provincial laws, which Provincial lawyers ride through, General Governments disallow or overide, and of which Supreme Court Judges take no cognisance, unless specially pleaded and proved like any road board resolutions. We have increased from 31,000 odd Europeans to 250,000. Our debts have increased from 32,000, or, inclining the New Zealand Company’s debts, from 1232.000, or 17 10s per head, to 17.500.000, or 130 per head, actual, and to 110,000,000 prospective. Our revenue or taxation has increased from about L 150.000, or about 15 per head, to 11,640,000, or nearly 17 per head. Oiir legislators have increased from 237, the total of Assembly and Provincial Councils in 1854, to about 360 in 1871. Ministers have increased from three to seven, —five pauj, Native and Defence expenditure has increased from butw-. en 1(15,000 and 116,000 to L325.000,--or even assuming the future according to the past, to 1150,000 to 1160,000 per annum,—whilst the natives have decreased from 56,000 to 34.000, Our civil servants have increased to an almost countless horde, atvl the cry is. still the come. Our pension list lias swelled up to 111,677, with rights accrued, if even we stop the system now, to the extent of what is known in algebra as X, the formula lor an unknown quantity.