THE SUPERINTENDENT'S MANIFESTO.

Evening Star, Issue 3973, 18 November 1875, Page 2

THE SUPERINTENDENT'S MANIFESTO.

" An address to the People ot Otapo " is the title of the pamphlet issued yesterday l,v the bupenntendeut, ia which hj gives ex pression "to a ew thouyhta as regards the present political situation." His Honor's opening •Nervations hear reference to the progress of Otago which is all the more marvellous since it has contributed up. wards of twonulhons t. the CoLuial chest, i„ respect of which there has not been one sinele sixpence of value received. This progress is more forcibly illustiated by the fact that Otago, an unpeopled wilderness a quarter of a century ago, is superior in reject to the amount of its public revenue and the extent of its commerce to twenty-eight of Britain's Colonies Ihe further progress of the Province has, in his Honor * opinioti, been prevented bv the abstract], n uf its revenue by the Colony, and the action of the Colonial Legislature, by which the Province has b rt en deprived o 1 the power of carrying on its own account, immigration and pupl'c _ works-both of which he maintains could, in the n ture o- things, have been more satisfactorily couducted by the Provincial than by the General Government. A striking example of the contrast between the two svs terns is atforded by the fact that Colonial immigration costs L2l 10s per head for each .- tatute adult, as against Lls 10s paid for years by the Province, while theie was nothing te have .revented the whole of the rece. t immigration into the Province from havintr been conducted on the same terms, had the Province been allowed t> borrow for the purpose He denies that theve will be any savins of public expenditure effected by the abolition of P ro vinces—that argument might be much more forcibly applied towards the abolition G f the Colonial Legisla ure, as at present constituted. The Provincial Legislature and Kxecut ve of Otago—which could fulfil all the functions of the Colonial Legislature and Executive without any additional charge—osts Is 6d per head ou the Provinces' popula tion as against 2s 9d, the cost of tbo Colonial Executive and Parliament. And as regards the C-lony, the total cost of the nine Provincial Councils and Executives is under L.32 000 a year, while the < 'olonial Parliament -md Executive cost L50,0i)0. To this mi>'ht be added L 250.000 of annual department! and other charges, which would disappear alon" with the Assembly, ° Discussing next the effect of the Abolition Bill, his ilonor men'ions one or two facts co bear out his opinion that the measure will be disastrous to the interests of Otago, First as to the land fund. Assuming tba, there will be a residue, his Honour tells the electors that they may be cer aiu very Ittle, if any, thereof will find its w, v back-the Colonial horse leech must be first satisfied. There are political railways wh-oh will not pay, and " fo surely as any portion of our land fund goes into the common purse just as surely will it be applied ciencies in every part of the Colony." TJnoVr Provincial administration railway revenue would have been expended whol'y within the Province. One of the practica results of the Kid will be that " whatever surplus nny be derived from remunerative railways should t>e devoted towards making up the deficiency of those which may not pay, in whatever £f> ° f . l , he Colun y the y m ".V' be situated'' I his h.s Ho. or ,egards as a gross )„v, c h of that fundamental pr>ncn.le of the p u bl c Works pol.cy viz., ihat each ! rovi, ce shoul , be charged with the cost of its railways On no other condition would he and others have assented to that policy, and the d, claratiou of Ministers on this subject last, session only show* the folly of relying upon the Htal.i.itv and laun of the Lohaiial LegUalute, where the lights and mte ests of particular i rovincesare concerned. Cuttinp down un|>roducive exp n ditme would be the natura' solution of the uifficulty, but long experience has convinced him that this caunov, be done, and that the only i practical remedy is to cut down the tree and to < plait it afresh. i The blotting out of Provincial Councils, 1 which exercise a watchful eye upon the administration of <1 o waste lands will be more detrimental slid. It will probably result in ' ill.'puhlio estate falling imo the eajnig of tho few instead of th many, and ,n the indiscii- ( ruinate renewal of the pastoral leases without reference to the requirements of settlement or I i tp their real value. His Manor regrets, tio think 11

thßt Abolition of tbe Provincial Legislature is, 111 a great measure, supported bv the pastoral intermit, in the hopo that it is likely to get a renewal of leases on better terms under Colonial than Provim ial administration. If certain Provincial Governments are unable to carry on wp.hout funds, his Honor asks How tbe 001.-ny can do ho hiilm the needy <»-e supported at Mio expert-f llu rich onesa proceeding against, which he will a.ways protest, Mil which wejne told the Provincial authorities of Auok'an.i reje-t w .th nxun 'I hose Provinces h»vo been left high and dry because the lion s share of then revenue has been absorbed by the < oWiial Parliament and ap-l>hed-n.,t to the settlement », n d occupation of the Colony, but to tho inaintenrncp at Wolin.gton of a Colonial es ablisl.ment upon a sc-de of extravagance nopar.illeled in any other country in the world similarly situattd. Says his Honor:— J ™T a =k ~o f. . Pr 9l incial extravoganco-Uie thing pales mto insignificance compared with that of the atom ;>,„ epend « Upo , n Jtl uul,!BS w> retrace our E'^f fty will come sooner or »»t.bJ hugging the chain which binds traitsmthat n t ? ?U P funhor . int<) tbe armß ° f Genbe me?in oL B . day 18 *° be wud <sl. It can only theSdl Z°\ t , WO - wa y«-either the taxation of W t fi e i e *l )e . ud,Ulr e must be reduced. sltehteJt & - f? convinced tliat there in not the bligtttest nope, so long as the two islands aro inixnd up and unequallyyoked together in onTwislature as at present-. Legislature which asWe?to iSSS the conduct and control of the uS business throughout the Colony, instead ofcS SSVit , 7 te ? *° tt0 I w , fßW coScern New Zealand as a whole. J he electors are next told that tbe outlving districts have had vastly more money expended ll' nth<!m ,^, tl l e Provincial < ouncil than they are ever hkelv to receive at the hands of the Assembly. If the Assembly can be coohued to purely federal action and the Colonial expenditure reduced byL2OO.OOO a year—both of which objects can be accomplished if the people are true to themselves—the outlyin K districts would be in an infinitely better posit>on than under the Abolition Kill. And if k r u f J eLC T,^™ Sa,ive were abolished, L 126.000 a y.-ar would be saved thereby, and the Provinces be enabled to largely increase their expenditure in oi*tlymg districts. Kt-ver was there " a more reckless and unfounded charge " than that the *ole aim „f the Ptovincial ( oui.cil was to aggrandise 1 unedin attn* expense of the Piovinw. l>un«viiii has had no more than very scant justice. But "it la tnu.h to be regretted that there are thoße among us who while they exhibit an unfounded J.alousy towards Dunediu, have tio objection io aggrandise Wellington, to any extent, at -he expense of Otago." After alluding to u& ■ »tt repeated conviction that, genuine l«>e»l s-lf-government can only emanate from Pi ovine al Councils, his Honor tells the electors if they sweep away the latter they will commit "an. act which you you.selves wdl ye t bitterly regret-an act which posterity will mourn over and deplore'• and he asks: "What would hngla-d -Ireland, and Jutland giv now to nave what we are ask. d to throw away-local parliaments to deal .villi load ..ffairs " Ataia sa s his Honor : wL'fJi 11 ?* diß & uise f, : om myself the fact ttiat, could Ifn and '* b « true wm*ly f«the existing evils, in £?„« a l ?f °\ a coneCT «»ed, wou'd he that tho ProColonv v£ be e l? cted in »° independent; ™^? y \. von we J e tbe P°°l ,le unanimous on this point however there are difficulties in the way which would take much time to surmount. ATfo E'fn S^iT'm 18 prac * lcal at this moment is to send to the new Parliment men who will epara ShiPh T T tlmt P M bora of govemmeniwiS which it has for years been scourged-men who rti l «T t0 ?* that e Geueral Assembly shall takS the shape of a simple and inexpensive federal <.oun- ?& d w« lD f °^ ly very few sub J°cts j .ad that 8 ' and the various Provinces in eaeh. b + l S T rate, , diß, i uct ' alia iudopendoail as regards the disposal and control of their respective OS" "«? UiG ™™e™™* of their Of course thete must needs be an equitable adiustment, as between the l-rovinces. as to the JSent of existing Colonial liabilities, which adjustment would have to be regulated by the federaY ifflE

In conclusion, his »onor advises, if at anv contested election there should be monj than one anti-Centralist candidate for tile same seat, that all but one should re: ire or the elector confine their support to one and the same can-