THE SUPERINTENDENT'S LAST REPLY' TO THE PREMIER.

Evening Star, Issue 4125, 17 May 1876, Page 4

THE SUPERINTENDENT'S LAST REPLY' TO THE PREMIER.

;• The following letter appears m to-day's * Gazette ’:— ‘‘Province of Otago, N.Z., “ Superintendent’s Office, “Dunedin, May 13, 1876. “ Sir, —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, in reply to mine of' the 22nd ultimo. ■ “ Knowing as I do the vast amount of personal labor which must at preseint devolve upon you, and the extent to which your time necessarily must needs be occupied in connection with the constitutional changes upon which you' have set your mind, it is with some compunction that I again address you subject. You will, 1 however, I trust,* pardon me if I attempt in this letter to convince you, and the few pedple in Otago who are in accord with your views, that you both have misapprehended the nature of the Abolition, and ‘ the consequences which will flow to the people of Otago,’ should Centralism become the policy of the Colony. 'I am persuaded that any one freed from party or personal feelings who compares the position of Otago as v is with what it will become under Abolition, can have no difficulty in determining his course of action and deciding on his political platform. “I find, on perusal of your last letter, that your only answer to the grave charges I made against that political party with which you are now allied, and against the action of the Colonial Government, is a brushing away of these charges by saying, ‘That they seem to you of a tu quoque nature, and out of place in this correspondence.’ Such a remark makes me hesitate as to the object oi

the various letters you have addressed to me; and if you think that the breach ol . faith I pointed out, aud the mismanagemerr of Colonial finance, can be set aside in thtu quoque manner you adopt, it is evident you altogether misapprehend the sinCerit and underrate the intelligence of the peoph of Otago. You may rest assured that the people understand more of politics and of political history than you seem to realise. It would appear from your letters that 1 dare not even hint at the extravagance and maladministration of the Colonial Government. You, however, are entitled to criticise the action of the people and their, representatives, and also, as appears from paragraph 6 of your letter, to bring sweeping charges against civil servants who have no opportunity of self-defence. In none of my letters have J. written one single word against any . General Government officer. My allusion to the cost of the Clutha Railway went to show . that all works could be more cheaply constructed under local administration than Under Government at a distance. You, however, bring charges of the most grave character against all the eminient engineers the Province of Otago has ever employed. I need scarcely remind you that many of the ’■ engineers, and I might add other professional men of ability who have been employed by the General Government, have been taken from Otago. It appears to me ungenerous, to say the least of it, to allege that the. many able and eminent engineers that the Province has employed have wanted ; * competent engineering skill.’ “Passing on to the charges you made against the Provincial Government of sacrificing the landed estate of the Province, I can only say you are entirely astray as to your facts. As to this I would refer you to . my letter to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary of the 4th inst., with enclosures, from which it will be seen that the action of the Provincial Executive has been not only strictly in . accordance with law but with good policy. You are of corrrse aware that the law admits of land 1,200 ft above sea level being sold for 10s an acre, with consent of lessee. Whereas the action of the Executive would have secured at least 20s an acre for the same land. ' ' , “You seem to impute it as a great crime on the part of the Provincial Legislature that , it should dispose of mountain lands .for the ... .construction of branch railways. In my . opinion, if the whole of the mountain tops could be converted into branch railways tomorrow, instead of being a loss it would he k; a vast gain, to the Province. The latter would he as .productive to the State as the former, while there would be the advantage* . r ,in as far as Otago is concerned, that its ’• mountain tops woidd be disposed of for railway construction within its own territory, instead of in the North Island, which will be the practical result of. your present policy. 11 While upon this subject, I must say that it seems somewhat extraordinary that in other parts of the island, under that system of free selection you have so long warmly advocated, vast private estates are being created, and the finest agricultural land alienated from the Crown in large blocks, and no objection raised; while in the only Province in New Zealand where any efforts for conserving agricultural land for settle- : ment have been made, fault should have been found with its land administration. Because the Otago Provincial Government chooses to reserve the agricultural land for settlement on deferred payments, and to sell the hill tops sooner than let its best agricultural land go. to auction to be purchased by the speculator, its action is condemned by the Colonial Government. If your Government proposes that no person shall acquire or hold more than a defined area of land, you will be inaugurating a new. policy in dealing with Crown lands. As yet the Legislature has not fixed any limit to a man’s holding ; on the ’ contrary, it has made provision. Bee section 150, Otago Waste Land Act, 1872, which shows that it contemplated sales of high laud at ten shillings an acre. “Were the action ; of Otago contrasted with that of Canterbury and other Provinces, it would, I think, be found that the contrast would reflect no discredit on this Province. Of course I refrain from even hinting as to how the Colonial Government has dealt with the lands under its control. I venture to predict that when the passions created by party feeling have subsided, and the true circumstances of the case come to he understood, the action of the Provincial Government which you condemn will stand > the test of a rigid scrutiny. “I cannot but regard the attempt on the part of the Colonial Government to coerce what is supposed to be a non-political body like the Waste Land Board as uncalled for, if not illegal and reprehensible. It is the small cloud in the horizon which foretells what Centralism really means. “You say that were Otago an independent Colony it would mean ‘centralised power in Dunedin and financial difficulties of very grave character.’ .No doubt were Otago an independent Colony the central power would have to be somewhere, and it requires but little acumen to see that it would be infinitely more advantageous for the Province that the central power should be at Dunedin •than at Wellington. Moreover, there is this marked difference between the Provincial Council at Dunedin aud the General Assembly at Wellington, that whereas the whole Solicy of the one has been to economise, to ecentralise, and to divest its Executive of power in favor of local bodies, that of the other has been exactly the reverse. As to the * financial difficulties ’ they are I apprehend, as respects the Colony, eus- - grave already, and one of the most effec : ive ways out of this would be to make Otago a separate Colony, relying entirely upon its own resources* It is far better able, to gtaod alone than were any of the neigh*

boring Colonies when they were created, ei And I believe that notwithstanding the tl millions of money of which it has already P been drained by the Colonial Parliament, it tl ,uud be 'wu.n.g, ami it, \v«*ukl K- <me..i i,. i ■ tl is interests, to pay a handsome price, it by 1 e: loing so the Province could steer clear oi ■ n ■<o inae’strmn of < olonial ie-aoco. W ■■'••• ; n btago a separate Colony, New Zealand would ii be compelled to start afres.i, and m cut us j t coat according to its cloth, in which case its a present Civil Service and its Standing Army j \ nust needs be reduced and brougnt within j me compass of its absolute retjuiremeuto. a fo doubt this end might be attained in a t less degree were each island to be charged . vith the uncontrolled management of its ' own affairs. _ ! “As to the savings which you say will be ] incidental to doing away with the Provincial i Executives, savings, by the way which your i colleague, the late Colonial Treasurer, was forced to admit would be nil, I confess that 1 with every desire to be enlightened, I cannot see how the creation in Otago of a number of counties, each with its staff of officials—small Provincial Councils, in fact, under another name -is to be less expensive 'ban one Provincial Council. Your saving of LIO,OOO a year will, I fear,’result in an idditioual expenditure of double that ‘amount. Even assuming, however, _ that there would be such a saving, I am convinced that the people of Otago are content to pay much more towards the upholding of their local Parliament. “As to the proposals you intend to submit to the Assembly, it is unnecessary for me to allude to them further than to repeat my opinion that you cannot seriously believe that a body like the Geueral Assembly may not demand various and serious alterations in any proposals your Government may sub-

tnit to it. “I would now refer very briefly to your •emarks on the branch railway lines, and the absorption of our land revenue. You express surprise that the Provincial Governnent should have formed branch railways. iou seem to be unaware that those lines ;ave all been sanctioned by the Colonial rovernment and that no line has been sanctioned which does not open up a settled country or a district fit for occupation. Would that the same could be said of all Colonial railways. It will be found that the light lines now being constructed in Otago will be quite as cheap as metalled roads. I assert further, without fear. of contradiction, that every railway in Otago will pay interest on the cost of its construction, were the management left in the hands of the Provincial Government, I have yet to learn that it is right to form railway lines close to the sea-board, not thereby opening up much fresh land for settlement, and wrong to construct lines into the interior, thus giving those districts which are far removed from water communication a reliable and speedy means of bringing their produce to market. I look upon it that while both are desirable, the one is of much more importance than the other ; and that if the money which has been, and is being, expended, by the Colonial Government in Otago had been at the disposal of the Provincial Council, the results, as regards the beneficial occupation and development of the resources-of the Province, would have been vastly different. Under the Abolition regime, the many districts to which branch railways ought to be made are to be denied that privilege, inasmuch as Otago railway profits and land fund must be absorbed by the Colonial Treasurer. This must be very consoling to the country districts, for whose interests the Colonial Government now express so much concern. “ And now one word as to the astounding proposal to repeal the most important provision of the Immigration and Public Works Act. To me it is a matter of most extreme surprise how you can possibly bavc arrived at the conclusion that such a proposal was just. It is far from comforting to those who, like myself,' supported yon in the inauguration of the Public Works Policy, to be told that your promises of 1870 and 1871 are to be cast to the winds in 1876. Were I, you write, to be ‘a member of the Colonial Government for three months, I would cease to doubt the necessity of upholding the law which has decreed the abolition of the. Provinces.’ This is an extraordinary statement. Can it be true, after all, that this policy, which at its outset promised so fairly, has so involved the Colony in financial disaster that the Con-titution must be swept away, and ! our political action controlled by moneylenders? Pledges the most solemn, oft-re-peated promises, Acts of Parliament—all to be ignored. “ It is anything hut pleasing to me to write in this strain, but with all due deference I submit that these are thoughts that should weigh with the Colonial Government in considering well the results of any proposal they may make before attempting to force them upon an unwilling people. Nothing could act as a greater beacon of warning to the people of Otago than these proposals, proclaiming as they do that to trust to an Act of the General * ssembly for localising the laud fund, even should there be any residue to localise, is placing reliance upon a rope of sand. Indeed you have now to admit that Abolition means that the people of Otago must either be deprived of their laud revenue or submit to an income tax to meet the charges on unproductive railways elsewhere. My own impression is that they will have to submit to both if Abolition becomes law, “ I fear I have trespassed far too long on your attention. The grave position in which you find the Colony, as disclosed by your letter, must be my excuse. I cannot better conclude this letter than by sincerely thanking you for the trouble you have taken in explaining your policy, although to my mind you have failed to make good your position. I believe the attention you have paid to my opinion will not be wholly thrown away. Jt will tend to excite an interest in the study of politics, which this Colony much requires, whilst it will also show that a sincere, an earnest, and an able man may, from force of circumstances, apparently uncontrollable, be led to adopt a political creed he once denounced, and to ally himself with a political party with whom he has little in common. “Again thanking you for your courtesy, “I have, &c., “(Signed) J, Macandrew, “ Superintendent < f Otago. “The Hon. the Premier, Wellington?’ The following is the letter referred to by his Honor in the above : “Sir, —Referring to your telegram in reply to mine requesting yon officially to contradict the rumor current here, that the Colonial Government had intimated its desire that the Waste Land Board should re use to grant certain applic tions for land recently proclaimed by the Provincial Government, under the delegated powers, open for sale at 20s per acre, I much regret that while you neither deny nor admit the rumor alluded to, you express your approval of the action of the Waste Land Board in declining to grant the applications, and as a necessary inference your approval of the serious consequences which that action involves. Those consequences are concisely set forth in a memorandum addressed by me to the Waste Land Board, a copy of which is forwarded herewith, as also the Chief Surveyor’s report as to the quality of the land referred to. “I need scarcely say that the result of the Board’s action will have a most injurious effect upon the labor market during the

isuing winter-if, indeed, it does not irow thousands’out of employment. The - rovincial Executive, charged, as it is, with re peace, order, and good government of lis portion of the Colony, has a tight to ' spect the support of the Colonial Governlent: as it is, it cannot but feel that it is ot only receiving scant aid from, but that j is being thwarted by, the Colonial Execuive. You say that the plan by whieh the .pplication was confined to the leaseholders ras one which, must be disapproved by any lerson who believes that the law should be ,dministered in accordance with its spirit ,nd intention, as well as with its letter. \s to this, I can only say that the ‘plan’ was precisely the same, verbatim et literatim , rs has been adopted in similar cases for years last. Indeed, If I mistake not, it was idopted when the present Premier was vt the head of the Provincial Executive. I refer you to no less than sighteen proclamations, as per margin, in proof of this assertion, from which it will be seen that the power of application is not confined to the leaseholder. I may say further that there is good reason to believe that the applicants in question would have preferred that the land should have been put up to auction under section 150, Otago Waste Lands Act, in which case there can be little doubt that they would have become the purchasers at ton shillings an acre.—l have, &c., J. MAC ANDREW ‘ Superintendent of Otago. “ The Hon. the Cololonial Secretary, Wei ingtm.” The following are the references of the proclamations referred to by his Honor Provincial Government Gazette, 1868: pp. 128, 203; 1869: pp. 199 and 200; 1870: pp. 105, 232, 256.332,333, 393,461, 481; 1871: p.p. 6, 38, 212, 218, 324, 347.