The Evening Star MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2655, 21 August 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 1871.

The motion of which notice has been dent is idhaLgik ]t'o fivl-pn iiUip.pi in in pit’s minds .respect.-... ing Provincialism. Perhaps no one was ever so thoroughly enamoured of pf the system as to dream for _ajn9.m£nt.. that it conl|P { cpptinue after meaps of rapid communication put-.au end jto the necessity for local administration. 'Mtftheie who ddbltdfOpjm the coiAiftuance 6f (Provincialisrn B asj a checkjp]??r^y ie l'P^i!4 e ; gy*Uegisktipn of a vjTlic theory sounded wpll out of the peculiar mode of colonisation of New -Zealand ; and circu instances, for many years, tended to per-, ! petuate to Tp|eveift S its (&fe6ts fpveirig themselves' 1 jnrpininentt/ upon attentioip,.i It-is only latterly ;that it,has! been proved utterly powerless to effect those improvements-which are necessary to - Colonial • development. When first instituted, it was intended to secure to each Province the means of forming roads and introducing settlers, but neither of these results has been intelligently nor extensively realised. , It, was thought-that it-would form a check upon central expenditure, and secure for, each Province affair proi portion! of the-revenue due to it, after the federal expences of administration of justice, of postal facilities, of lighthouses, and other .common charges were paid. This, perhaps, might have -been the case had the Provinces sent men to the Council who, by their talent were able, to influence the deliberations of the House. ,of lleprcscntatives One instance, in which they interposed an effectual check upon central encroachment : will ,be fresh in the minds of .’every one. We alludje to the*.determined. stand made when Air Btammmw; refused to delegate the goldfields powers. Bat with that exception we do not remember another in which the Provincial Council became a constitutional barrier.' In order to act powerfully in that direction, unity of purpose is necessary. When we use the term “ unity,” we of course mean on overwhelming majority; but this has never been secured in opposition to the General Government, excepting in that .instance in Otago. As in all small communities - the Council has, latterly, been 1 divided against itself so far as the direction of its own affairs are concerned. One objection to a CentralGovernment has been that distant •Provinces-or districts would-be neglected. A little reflection might convince anyone, how over, that the absence of local-influence naturally tends to .strict impartiality in the formation of public works, and that it will not do to entrust the execution of them to.small communities. It is impossible, to have .a more striking illustration of-this than in the preposterous demands made by different districts for railway communication. If Moeraki, or Oamaru, or Waikouaiti, could havethc-ir way, each would ignore the natural advantages of Port Chalmers-,, and sacrifice commerce and common sense to concentrating railway traffic on its own terminus. Just so with' the Hand''question"; the settlers would sacrifice all other interests to their own. We might multiply instances, blit it is needless, for we believe the waste of time and money, the.faction, and mismanagement .of the last two years, have thoroughly weaned every man who wished iwell to the Province, from the provincial system aa it exists;, Yet, there are reasons why a separate- government for eacli island would . be preferable to one General Government ; -the ■ principal one being that their interests are not identical. This mainly arises from the perpetual danger of insurrection on the pai’t of the Natives. Were there any security that the North Island should pay its own police expences—or call them internal defence charges, if more agreeable —much of the necessity for separate governments would be dope away. But singularly enough,. there has always been such divided opinion on that subject in the Middle Island, that the North has contrived to reap the benefit of it. On every principle of justice and common'sense,’ those who 'purchase land should not object to paying the police charges necessary to secure them in possession;, but, instead-of that, they say to the Government, We bough t the land, and you must secure, it - to ns, no matter at what cost. Up to this time the Government have .(lone so at the general expense. To the North Island this is a common interest; but to the South it is altogether a separate one, and should be so treated. We onjy have an outline of the motion of Mr - Macandkew. Its details' will throw some further light upon his ideas ; but we hardly expect it will!meet with the acceptance of the House, although he may secure such a pipdffjcation 0 f it as to localise expenditure, A government

for the vvould. seeing that of public which| wpiilcl tjencl best todevelopiviWl Tra4oj urai resources, and; would/^e- v snift^ntfy<-Identified -witheach locjdßyyto secure impartial ad,,piinistra|iioir fw thfi.. ...Many s btheh ? adyanWMefe t|cfcme in saving of expense,'security of the land"TuHci, uniformity' of—-legislation and expenditurprof reveiiue on Middle Islatid"" improvement; but 'these;' tiroiTglr so ’long needed, have" never secured combined action. Eveiy ’to Targe‘a proportion of men of opj)o^t^ ; yie\v^ : ,0)i A the subject, that the united purpose of .the North Island m£h! 'haslWeefi /sfMidincd. This all matters connected 1 witli its improyey r ,^t > afi.,pne man, no matter wlrat Government is in power; hhid;since’ the’Middle Island, and Otago 'id '• contrives to neutralise ifc.>•<s% septate Governments would be a means of securing us against; the results o|’ our own folly. The election now pending forms a means: of aiding, in tljis direction, by returning a man pledged to support—to say. the leastMlDcalisation of expenditure ; .ijnd ; tbej electors of Roslyii; must- determine, not to vote for any man who wilUuot give that pledge/;.