THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 685, 9 June 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 1870.

In further considering the question of the Annexation of the Grey District to the Nelson Province, it must not be supposed that we have lost sight of the fact that it has frequently been our unpleasant duty of fete to complain of the treatment which the Grey Valley District received at the hands of the Kelson Government. On the contrary, we are fully alive to the fact that since their headquarters were removed from Cobden to Westport this district has not received the amount of attention to its wants to which it was entitled both by its population and revenues. We do not for a moment paliate the past neglect of the Government to the wealthiest and most important district in the Province ; at the same time, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that there is every cause to believe that those days have gone bye, and that there is now an earnest desire on the part of the Nelson Government to do everything in its power to assist in the advancement of the material prosperity of the Grey District. The special attention of the Government has been of late directed to this district, and we have received the assurance of the Superintendent that it will now be fostered in a manner hitherto unknown here. As an earnest of this we see roads and tracks being laid off and made in all directions ; the wants of the people are attentively listed to and courteously entertained ; an application is to be made to the General Assembly to borrow £30,000 to construct a railway from Cobden to the Arnold ; while the negotiations for the gigantic undertaking of pushing on a railway through the Grey Valley from Nelson to Cobden is being energetically proceeded with at Home, with every prospect of success. If this activity is shown when only a portion of the Grey Valley belongs to Nelson, and only one-half of its revenues is received by that Government, we have a right to expect that if Greytnouth and the district as far south as the Teremakau were transferred to it, and all its magnificent revenues were made available for public works in the district, a new era of prosperity would dawn upon us, which has hitherto been unknown in the district. A correspondent suggests that the past should be buried ; but even the past treatment of the NelsonGrey District; is preferable to that which has been experienced on the Westland side at the hands of the County Council — a system of government which, after two years' experience, has ended in stagnation and the stoppage of all public works, and become a by-word in the months of the people. The district is now ripe for a change — the . only feasible change is Annexation to Nelson — and we think tßfe r time has now fully arrived wb*« I^rtsidents in the Grey Distrieff WJfttfC to put thei^ shoulders jtet-i^fewß'eeTj and, by a strong^ nngw^tftiS^ movemen t, drag - th« diitrict bnfarf the-»lough of despond into which it has been so long allowed & stick fast. In such a movement we seek the assistance of our brethren on the other side (if. the riverf and, in Tor der to show them that Hf is for their best interests to vgive it, we^direct their attention toihe fol-i -lowing tacts and figures, which we have carefully culled from official documents. Inconsequence of the growing discontent in the district, a return was prepared the other, day, and laid on the table of Hie Westland County Council, showing, the revenue received from, and. the expenditure in, the district north of the Teremakau, from the' Ist January, 1869, to 31st March, 1870— *. period of 'fifteen months. Looking at-ttie purpose for which the document was prepared, and where it was prepared, we were not in the least surprised to find that (on paper) we had received more than our share, in accordaaco with our contributions to the revenue, when such items as rj&e construction of the road from Hob^^Jo the Greenstone were included in it,^W|sr irill take another opportunity of reviewing that document ; all that we have to do with it now is to thank its compilers for the materials of proving to the Nelson Government and people the actual financial position of the district which we ask them to take over ; but in doing so we must remark that the items under the expenditure head appear to be veiv much exaggerated, and capable of considerable reduction. Reducing the returns from 15 to 12 months, so as tv speak only of the year 1869, we find that the Grey District, lying between the Teremakau and Grey Rivers contributed to the County revenue

as nearly as possible as follows : — Gold duty, i 5753 12s ; land fund, £474 4s ; Gold Fields' revenue, £3714 9s ; mining surveys, £352 8s ; spirit licenses, L 431 6; incidentals, £1165 14s ; total County revenue, £15,776 7s. To which add our half-share of the consolidated revenue (Customs, &c), £17,410 7s (after Nelson had received a similar amount); and we paid a total of £33,186 14s. Against this we had to meet the following charges : — Wardens, £1688 16s ; Resident Magistrate's Court, £300 ; . police, £3164 15s ; surveys, £779 6s 8d ; harbor, £371 2b sd; Hospital, £1061 3s lOd— total, £7365 3s lid. To which add our proportion of payments on behalf of Canterbury loans and sinking funds, £3760 (which we eroniovisly stated in a recent issue to be £6000); and i our own share of General Government charges, say £1500 (Nelson paying an equal amount) — making a total charge I upon our revenue of £12,615. In addition to this we must allow for our share cf the cost of the Provincial Government of Nelson — in the event of Annexation being accomplished '— for which we would allow £2000, and say £1000 as our share of the cost of District and Supreme Courts, and we find a clear balance of £17,000 or £18,000 per annum, over and above all charges whatever, which we would take with us, and which would be immediately available for public works in the district. In addition to this, it will be seen by a glance at the figures quoted above, that by the amalgamation of the two districts very great savings would be effected. We would I have one Magistrate's Court, Survey staff, and Police staff to maintain- instead of two ; we would get rid of the charges for | the County Council Department — in fact, we believe a saving could be effected sufficient to pay the whole of the interest and sinking funds on our proportion of the Canterbury loans, leaving nearly £20,000 per annum to be spent upon public works in the district. When these facts are fully considered, no opposition can reasonably be anticipated to the Annexation movement in the Nelson Province. On the contrary, we expect to receive from the residents on the Nelson side of the river the most energetic and generous support, for it must be borne in mind that not the least of the advantages to be gained will be that one miner's right and business license will then be in force on both sides of the river ; and instead of being divided and consequently jealous of each other, the people of the Grey Valley will be [united heart and soul in advancing the prosperity of the whoip district. ......