THE SUPERINTENDENT’S ADDRESS.

Evening Star, Issue 4148, 13 June 1876, Page 4

THE SUPERINTENDENT’S ADDRESS.

The folio wing.is the address of his Honor the Superintendent#'-the - members 1 of the Provincial Council: — Gentlemen, rnThe late, Colonial Parliament having 1 enacted tbat you shall not, as representatives of the people, assemble in your collective capacity, JE am- deprived; of the privilege of again addressing you in Council assembled,.'kud/yoii are debarred frbm cising ,those<rfonetiori3 -\rith which, by the entrusted,* and which were confefrdd upon -you by the Constitution. Ido not know that there is to be found feckless, uncalled for/ and tyrannical ,proceeding in the" histbry’of re-preaentatTve-iristitutions. ‘ PROPOSED ABOLITION OK PROVINCES. My belief .is that, in so far as Otago is con’the 1 popular’ - voice'- were, taken,'.jit, to be all but ndemanding thaythe Provincial 'Council ahadlagain assemble, and that any question of constitutional change should.be therein discussed and determined.' While I am far from saying.. that-theu Provincial Council -is immaculate, or,that its action iiv the "past might not have been improvet.upon, I assert and maintain that it affords a much more complete iSflei ' of thejjublio mind of 5 Otago than does the Colonial Parliament: And that, as such, it is the, proper arena on which to decide all UJuestions • affecting the' peace, order, and good government of the Province. I would say, lusher, judging from a lengthened experience as a member of the Colouial-j-Parliament, that in proportion to its numbers the Provincial Council or OtagS possesses- as much' ability as does "the Colonial Houoeof Representatives; and that while the former Ms much., more capable of dealing with subjects exclusively appertaining to the. y Province, it is quite - as competent to deal, with what may be termed Colonial questions as is the Colonial Legislature. I venture - to predict that, should the Abolition of .the Pro-, vinces be effected, and all legislative ami administrative power be centred at Wellington, it will be the prelude to years of departmental extravagance, political turmoil," and well-founded .local discontent, which cannot faiLth£xercise a most baneful influence upon thd-adVahcement 'of the Colony in general' arid'-Otago 1 in particular. Most asauredlyNew Zealand will yet .have cause bittqrly to rue the'daiy that OentrJtlism rulea supreme, .ayd political -entities of *the (3dlony snail,ba|Ve been.j destroyed \Te jure, blit not rde faclo.. From the beteifoLegial^m;©^is £ m:sde' up, it is not- -impossible that SrjfflQorityJoft votes may be found to accompnshrthe:'6ne,- although they canrtpt possibly effect the other. The blind iufatu-, ationJwhioh jlfeadS Colonial statesmen to presuiife.th&tjr rhyme or-reason, and . m spite of the ftqclared wishes of the pefople to th&cqntrMy r suddenly Wofout of jghtity qf a-Province like this .by pm?uis»4o some,extent, of setting one • district at ainst another,. and bribing its different municipal -bodies with their own moh.ey,, is to my mind, most lamentable, and augnfcs iSpPlI for the future. It exhibits hj very ‘ poor opinion indeed intelligence of the people and their capacity to realise what is best for their own intefest. ‘ Why, not have loft well alone ? Otago is in all conscience being bled snfficiently.by the Colony without being further drained of its land; fund, its educational endowments,- and its railway revenites, all of which must ? as a matter of eoiuve, become (fomfiioh property under the Abolitibn 7-ejTbne. ': To say that if will be otherwise appears ti) - me to be an insult to our common sense,.and cannot possibly lie’ believed but "by the most prejudiced partisans and inexperienced politicians. One of She promifient provisions of the Abolition Bill," which he who runs may read, is that tho LOO,OOO a y£ar intOrest oil the; Provincial debtj Which has,heretofore beeu. met,, chiefly out of the Otago share of'the consolidated revenue,;is henceforth to be charged-against its laud..fund. . When to this is added* the expenses of survey, administration, compensation to leaseholders, and payment of interest ojii unproductive railways- in other Provinces, it Tvould 1 be'interesting to know how -hiubh'will* • remain with which to fulfil those' gUttering‘'promises oC the Colonial Government aa, - whiehi;we may rest assured, 'will prove, as eyanescent ae.all those of a’similar nature-whiqb have emanated from the same source, ; • ' ■ :

. ■ AFFAIRS OF THE,: PROVINCE.- ■ Gentlemen; although you cannot be coni vened to review’potentially the action df the Executive, ami .to receive an accptpit of its stewardship, 1 deem it right that, yon should be put ih ; ,possession, of all thp information as to the state of the affairs of thp . Province during the, past financial year, ;which you woujekhava KtefiiWjd if in session assembled. With this view the various departmental reportsl, willbe fo'rwardfed to you,. also the Balance-sheet of the year ; likewise the estimates of revenue and : expenditure for the sue months epdinffthe 30th September next. will no doubt be interestmg As applying to the .twelve months preceding the 31st March last.. ~ FINANCE, 1875-6. The revenue paid into the Provincial Treasury was 1624,124, while the disbursements amounted to 1656,640. The revenue derived from this Province by the Colonial Treasury was 1533,980. It will thus be seen that the total public revenue of Otago, Colonial, and ProvinciaJ, . for the year, amounted to ,11,058,104. With such resources, why should the Province be required to go to Wellington'to botdry nursed ? STATISTISCAL. The number of. deposits in Savings Banks for the year was 21,600, the amount of cash deposited Being 1234,290. Of births there were 1,573, marringes 474, and of deaths 585. Immigrants landed from the United Kingdom, 5,132. The amount of gold received by escort for the year was 108,791 ounces. / . Of Public Schools supported tyy the Provincial ..Government there are now in the Province 102, with a teaching staff of 313. The 410481 number of scholars in attendance at the end of the year was 13.026. The amount expended on education for the year was 139,128, of which 125,023 was for schopl buildings, and 12,534 on public libraries and athenaeums. The education report enters very fully into these details, so that they need not be enlarged upon here. The area of rural lauds sold for cash for the year was 102,094 acres to 357 purchasers, and of town lauds 116 acres to seventy-six Surchasers. Area of rural land taken tip on eferred payment, 19,707 acres by 126 iudi-, viduals. The area of land surveyed for acttlement during the year was 245,740 acies, of which there were for immediate payment 1,216 sections, covering 210,316 acres; for deferred payment 16T> section?, covering 33;000 acres ;of town and suburban sections there were surveyed 1,5:17, covering an area of 2,424 acres. ;fcv lt will thus be seen that the survey-department has not been idle. There are at present, about 130,000 acres in course of survey; : la ■ RAILWAYS. The' railway revenues for the year-over 202 :to 1105,000, tlie working expenses being 166,500. It may be observed that iri our case the working expenses cover a considerable expenditure iuoiqental to thd initiafidjj of the Iraffic^expeuses which it may fa assumedwih pot

when the lines are in complete working order.- Goods traffic-han for some time been carried on upon the Awamoko Railway, and so soon as the light locomotive and carriages now being in are completed, the line will be opened for passenger traffic also. The Waiareka Branch Railway,is .abojit completed, and would have : been available for goods traffic now could the main line to Maheuo have been taken over from the contractors.

£. The Western district EaiLways,' in consequence of disputes 'between the Public Works Department and ‘ the contractors, have not progressed so speedily as .might 'have been - desired. At the same time, lookdug at the rate of progress in the construction of other lines throughout ( the Province, the Western” District lines - will compare favorably in this respect. The Government has now concluded to take the completion of the lines into its own hands, .paying the. contractor at the contract rates for the work actually performed by him. In connection with these railways, and for "political party purposes," a vast amount of calumny and vituperation_ has been heaped upon the Government, by persons .who know nothing and care less about the facts of All this, however, the Government can afford to treat with the contempt which it deserves.

With,;regard-; totlic" question of light branch railways, I may say that I. take some credit to myself for having been instrumental in promoting their adoption in this; Province, believing as I do that they will he. found .much cheaper than metalled roads. I caiibut regret that we are not in a position, hsfwe ought to be, to extend them, 'where practicable, throughout every district in the province. But for the actibn of the Colonial Parliament there would he nothing to prevent this I observe that in some quarters there is a disposition to sneer at these lines as compared with the colouially-constructed railways, forgetting apparently that the one can be made for the one-half or one-third .the cost of the Other.ESTIMATES. In framing the estimates of. revenue and expenditure for the'current sixsinonths, it will be Seen that the Government relied to a large extent upon receipts trom land sales. During ' your last two sessions there were authorised various important public* Works which were to. be coustructecf .6ut;of land revenue oi; out. of loan. The Colonial Tfofr/ liament -ha ving-. declined to, sanction the latter, there remains no option but to fall back upon-the! former. -It is true that Par- ,- lament empowered the Colonial Treasurer' advance to the. Province in respect of these works the sum of L 60,00- out of the immigration and .Public Works. Loan, the evident intention being that the sum Would have to be repaid by the Province on the same terms, and within the same period, as the Public Works Loan was to be repaid by the Colony. Instead of this,.however, the Colonial 'Govemmefft' ihdSted upbn the Province repaying the amount with interest in twenty-fodr moutbly.instaJmcAtsV commencing upon the 30th Jline, 1875. Had'the repayment of this L(i0,000 Men extended over thirty years, as it the Colonial loan, pqtbf which it was‘ advanced, there might have been some advantage to the Province ; as it is, we might almost as well have been ■without it:

It will, no doubt, be obvious that the land revenue is the only source out of which provision can he made, not only for the completion of contracts already authorised by, you, but;for numeteus othen* necessary works in all parts of the Province. " Under : these circumstances,-! need nbtsay that the recent action, of. the. Waste Laud Board has placed matters m an exceedingly awkward position, and has compelled the Executive Government to curtail operations in every direction. Practically, the. whole policy of the country is controlled by an irresponsible Board, which caii set at defiance the decisions of the representatives of the people. Such, lam persuaded, was never the intention of the Legislature when r it filtered the constitution of the Board, although it was pointed out by myself and others at the time as a possible result jof that alteratibxi.

; CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES. Gentle men, I dp not know that I need say mote.. T Would only express an earnest hope that in'dealing ..with the, question of. Constichanges theVuew Parliament may bring ; to, bear upon the subject a judicial spirit—rdrhat spirit of fairness, prudence, and gravel responsibility, the absence of which was so'-conspicuous in the . reckless action of the late .Parliament. The Provincial Council, which, means the pieople of Otago, has done muchm the; past, and 1 although very much still requires to be done, yet under its enlightened sway .this fair Province, which' yesterday was but a wilderness—for the most. :part; iiqaccessible—has now scattered over it a prosperous and thriving population,, thousands of comfortable homesteads abounding in ■ peace and plenty; and is intersected with ■ roads, bridges; schools, and other public; institutions, which in many countries have been the growth of centuries, lu fact, it exhibits the spectacle of a. “nation born imp; day,” Cap it be that the institution under which all this has arisen-the system of local self-government which has accomplished so much—which, in the heroic work of colonisation, has borne the heat and burden of the day, is to be suddenly swept • away—not by the sovereign fiat of the people, but by that of some mysterious power and influence at Wellington? lu a country with representative institutions, a political revolution, which not only does not emanate from the people, but is resented by them, is the greatest possible anomaly, and cannot but lesalt in disaster. What would be thought of Congress were it to abolish the states of America without consulting the several States, and they themselves dissenting? The very idea‘is preposterous, and yet this is precisely what is sought to he done in the case of Otago. It is not necessary that. I should enlarge on the political position' of parties iii New Zealand. As Superintendent of Otago, I have had a lorn* correspondence with the Premier, and I foi° Ward to you copies of the various communications'that, have passed between us. In conclusion, permit me to say one word personal to myself. In adopting the political action to which, under a sense of public duty and regard for the interests of the Province* I have been impelled ■ mercenary motives have been freely attributed to me by those, who it may be presumed are thom.selves incapable of being, actuated by any other or higher principles of action. All I would say is : that it only shows how weak is the cause which must needs have recourse to arguments so contemptible arguments which might be equally as well applied to the action of every public man, Central or AutL Central. In common with those to whom I have been longest known, such charge is regarded by me with disclaim—l have, &c.,

J. Mac an drew, .Superintendent of Otago. Dunedin, June 10, 1876.