CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES.

Evening Star, Issue 4044, 11 February 1876, Page 3

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES.

At a very recent meeting of the Ashley (Canterbury) Eoad Board, the Chairman (Mr J. A. Cunningham) moved the following resolution :—" That this Board earnestly deprecates undue haste in the formation of Shires within the Provincial district of New Zealand, and is j of opinion that the instance for amalgamation should proceed from the Road Boards interested." Believing that nothing would give the Government greater satisfaction than to receive an expression of opinion from the people on the subject, and looking to the fact that in all probability some five or six months would elapse before the' General Assembly would be brought together, he trusted every road board in the Colony would seriously consider the best manner of securing local administration to replace the Councils of which they have been deprived. He was not, so far as ' he saw at present, in favor of the proposed I institution of Shire Councils, believingj as he did, that there are no works purely local in their character that cannot and ought not to be left under the control of the present truly representative bodies, municipalities, and road boards. The cost of erection and maintenance main trunk lines of railway should be a General Government care. Now, what about Shire Councils ? The object of thoir erection was no doubt to remove the fears of the people that their Land Fund would bo taken away, but was it necessary or desirable to cut up the Provincial Districts iato a multitude of Shires for fihat ? Did they think the amalgamation of three, or

our Road Districts into a Shire, leaving the Board Districts as mere Ridings of the Shire, would conduce to. hannunioua and careful expenditure of pub ie money ': So far as harmony is concerned, he feared there would not be sufficient ballast to keep the Representation of the various Ridings in the wind to do equal justice to each other. Then about the Fund—On what principle could the residue of the Land Fund be divided amongst the various shires ? Then the fact that a shire council could afford a professional surveyor for its united district, although true, is but a specious argument in its favor. His own idea wan that a Provincial Board -of Works, bo far as Canterbury was concerned, should be elected, with its offices in Christehuvch. That all monies that would otherwise bo divided amongst Shire Councils should be placed under the control of the Board of Works, under conditions of expenditure to be established by an Act of the General Assembly for the benefit of the Provincial District. He saw no difficulty in the way of the Board of Works placingapractical engineer at the disposal of every two or more Road Boards. With regard to rating powers proposed to be vested in the Shire Councils, could not these.be easily placed under control of the Board of Works ? Mr Cunningham proposed, Mr Harwell seconded, "That in the opinion of this Board the Colony of New Zealand will be best served by the creation of a Provincial Board of Works within each Provincial District, in lieu of the proposed division of the District into Shires." Carried unanimously. It is proposed to bring these resolutions under the notice of every Road Board in Canterbury, and (if the suggestion is approved of) to hold a conference in Christchurch early in April.—' Lyttelton Times,'