THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 673, 12 May 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1870.

Amongst the first actions of the present session of the County Council was the appointment of a Committee to draw up a petition to the General Assembly, praying for assistance out of present financial difficulties, or, in other words, for a loan to enable the County to proceed with public works. In moving the proposition, it was admitted by Mr Harrison, the mover, that the ordinary revenue of the County was only sufficient to meet the coat of Government, permanent charges for loans which we never contracted, and the maintenance" of the few existing roads, and would not allow of a single mile of new road being undertaken, unless upon the obnoxious system of deferred payments. This is precisely what we have argued for some time past ; and, in one sense, we are glad to see the true position of the County fairly recognised by the Council and plainly stated to the people, so that there may be no delusive hopes held out of the speedy construction of roads, tracks, and bridges, in any part of the County. The revenue is still falling off, and, as there is no immediate probability of the tide turning in the opposite direction, if there are to be any public works carried on in Westland it must be by means of borrowed capital. Under these circumstances we repeat our statement that the present system of government in Westland, as administered, is too expensive, and requires to be remodelled. When the ordinary revenue, as now, will only meet the cost of government, where is the source from which the payment of the interest and sinking-fund for the repayment of the proposed loan to be found? The General Government would not accept the security of the land revenue of Westland, and the works themselves would not be reproductive, as they would principally consist of tracks, roads, and bridges, the tolls levied upon which would not pay for their maintenance and repair. We have been led into making these remarks, in consequence of the charge brought by Mr Harrison, while moving the motion above referredjto, against a portion of the Press of Westand disparaging the County Council. Mr Harrison knew well what " portion " ha referred to, and he ought to have stated it plainly. We disclaim ever having done so. It has been our public duty to complain of the expensiveness of the present system of government (as compared with the declining revenues of the County) —not the County system itself— and the want of administrative ability on the part of the present County Chairman and several of the members of the Council ; and while we have always fairly recognised the fact that the stoppage of public works was consequent upon a declining revenue, we have argued that the Government expenditure in departments ought to be cut down, if possible, in an equal ratio. Let us now enquire why this cannot be done, and upon what grounds Westland can ask from the General Government the proposed assisiance for the construction of public work?. Westland has been most exceptionally situated ; not only has it not enjoyed the advantage of other divisions of the Colony in the shape of borrowed money for public works, but it commenced its career saddled with an enormous charge, on account of a debt to which it .was no contracting party, and from the expenditure of which it derived very little benefit. Let us contrast the circumstances of the other Provinces in the earlier history of their career, and the great advantages they have enjoyed, with the unfortunate position of Westland. The amount of borrowed money the Provinces have received, we believe to be as follows :— Auckland has borrowed .£50,000 ; Wellington, £171,000; Taranaki, £75,000; Hawke's Bay, £60,000 ; Nelson, £54,000; Canterbury, £030,000; Otago, £685,000 ; Southland, £290,000. In addition to these loans contracted by Me Provinces mentioned, Auckland, Wellington, Hawke's Eay, and Taranaki have onjoyed an expenditure on purely Provincial purposes, out of Colonial revenue, to the extent of nearly half a million — viz., out of the moneys raised under the "New Zealand Loan Act, 1863," and the "Debentures Act, 1864.," those Provinces have received as follows : — Auckland, £186,707 ; Wellington, £141,841 ; Hawke's Bay, £21,727; Taranaki, £39,797; for which they were only to be charged six per cent, per annum, according to the ' ' Loan Allocation Act, 1865. " But these Provinces neglected to, or could not, pay the interest, and in 1867 the Loan Allocation Act was repealed and another Act pessed, which absolutely released the revenues of these Provinces from any future liability on account of the Bums they had received, and gave them until 1870 to pay up the interest due up to the passing of the Act. So much gratitude Joes Auckland exhibit for the consideration it received that only the other day

the Auckland Provincial Council refused to authorise the payment of the £27,800 due on this account? although it had a revenue of over £120,000 to dispose of. Look again at the case of Southland : that province got into an embarrassed position — oue towards which this County is fast travelling — and the General Government stepped in, paid off its liabilities, and took its waste lands in payment. Now, what is the position of Westland? The County commenoed its career with a charge of over .£22,000 per annum on account of the debt, of Canterbury ; that charge had by the result of the arbitration, been reduced to some £13,000, but what have we got for it ? The Overland road is all we have for this tremendous charge, and it has cost the County for maintenance above £16,500! Wo have therefore absolutely been paying out of our ordinary revenue nearly £26,000 per annum during the past two years for this solitary work? Even now it take 3 fully £18,000 a year to cover this item. All that Canterbury has expended for the maintenance of its portion of the road is £2,500 during two years ! It is this charge that is eating up the vitals of the County. Circumstances which no Government could control have caused a fearful falling off in the County revenne. Up to the end of 1867, whilst Westland was under the dominion of Canterbury, the revenues of the West Coast averaged nearly £LOO,OOO per annum ; the year 1867 they amounted considerably above that sum. Two years later the whole revenue of the County was £76,000, showing a decline of 25 per cent., and the present year it will not exceed, according to the present rate, £63,000, a further decline of £13,000 per annum, and a total reduction since the first foundation of the County of £43,000! These are facts, and are such that neither the Cduncil nor the Government generally are responsible for, although they might have done more than they have in meeting the exigencies of the position. We have made these explanations so that the true state of Westland's affairs, and some of the causes of her embarrassments, may be understood by "the public, and due consideration given to the question which must arise, "In the event of the Government's refusal of assistance (a very probable event) what will become of Westland 1" That a change in the present system must take place is clear— in what direction will that change be 1