THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 717, 23 August 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1870.

Our readers will be glad to learn that the •.mc^eulfent for the Annexation of the Grey District between th 6 Grey and Teremakau •Rivers to the Province of Nelson is as good as settled. We have this upon the best authority, from Wellington ; and we may. expocLxjiery day. now to hear that the object aT which the .members of the AnnexationTLeague have been aiming has been" successfully accomplished. Yesterday the, tGfenoral Government introduced a Bill for this purpose into the House of Representatives, which was read a first ; and will no doubt speedily pass through all its stages, aud immediately come into force, notwithstanding the threat made ,by the hon. member for Westland South, Mr Bartf, that he would oppose it through all its stages. That redoubtable champion of Hokitika, and consistent obstructionist to everything that might possibly benefit the, Grey District/ has seized vjpon his last | available opportunity for making political capital, in view of the ensuing' general election, and, no doubt the electors qf the recently-formed- Hokitika or Totara Districts will duly appreciate and reward his .services by agaiiKreturiug him to the'se'at which Tie has httrrerfcd' filled with so much distinction in the Assembly ! But we feel, certain that all his efforts will be unavailing, as the Bill is sure to pass, under the sheltering wing of the General Government. - ,ln order that its progress may be obstructed:-- as little as' possible, and in order to remove a burden of debt and local jealousies between the two districts, the Government has made' a very great concession, by agreeing to take over the West Coast and Christchurch road, as a Colonial work; to' be maintained at the cost of the Colony at large, on the pame principle .as the. new main roads "to be made in the North . Island are .to be maintained. We must confess tliat this is more than we expected, and will go far to bring about ,ah amicable settlement of accounts between: ; Ho.kitika and- Greymouth when^this dis- | trict is annexed to Nelson. , There is not likely to be much debate qn^the Annexation Bill, as the question was* ivtfffi '/fully (discussed and virtually. «ett;led*onHhe hiotibirof Mr Fox that the *fousb go into Committee to consider the' Payment of Provinces Bill. As there lias' been a* good deal of misrepresentation published with regard to this question lately, and especially with regard . to the position which Mr Harrison took up ; and as he Jbse. bcea; roundly, abused and ' accit36d, l pi/ : Uein& a traitor! id the interests Qfapbrtiou of , his constituents, we > may i as 7?eIL, state -that . when the question of j the capitation grant, was before the Home •■ . - : ''■ >■• v S- ''•■'■ ' ; ■

Mr Harrison pointed out that by the plan .proposed by the Colonial Treasurer "a very great blow had been struck at the interests cf the county of Westland, and not only to it as a county, but also to the Colony. It had been erected into a separate district, and therefore was dependent on its revenues, but at the same time that this was done, £13,500 per annum had been taken away from the sums granted to it in order to enable it to carry on its local works. He was fully aware that no Government could in carrying out a large and colonial policy avoid doing an apparent injustice to some one part of the Colony, and therefore he thought that these provincial distinctions should not be allowed to stand in the way But Toy doing t)iis injustice to Westla«<3, they were killing the goose which laid tho golden eggs for the Colony of New Zealand. The population' of the County of Westland was an except tional one,, 75 per cent, of it consisting of adult males, who consumed a very large amount of dutiable goods, and this would in a great measure account for the differeiica between its contribution to the revenue compared with that of other provinces. If this arrangement was carried into effect, there would not be anything whatever left for the prosecution of public works, and "this too, in a country which from its special features, required a very larger amount than any other part of the Colony . to properly develope it. Therefore he thought that Westland had special claims for an increased allowance." It was in consequence of these representations of the claims of Westland (and not in answer to anything that had been advanced by Mr Barff, for he does not appear to have spoken during the debate) that the Colonial Treasurer desired the opportunity of stating what were the intentions of the Government with regard to the County of Westland. He said " It was quite impossible to do other than sympathise with the unfortunate condition of Westland, as in addition to the peculiarly hard position in which it was placed in this matter by the bill, it had a machinery of Government which did not seem to bu adequate to its wants. The Government had come to the conclusion that Westland.was in an exceptiona^'pdsition, and therefore required exceptional legislation. In view of the petition for the Annexation of a part of the County. to Nelson, the Government had come to the conclusion to recommend to the House to accede to that praj'er, due provision being made for a fair adjustment of accounts. The Government thought that something njust be conceded to present necessities, and therefore they had agreed to place a further contribution of between £2000 or ,£3OOO oil the supplementary estimates, as special contribution, so that no portion of the Colony could say it was left without the adequate means of carrying out its proper fun ctibns. And the Government thought the Assembly should not go out of session without changing the present form of Government for the County of Westland, as it was an exceptional case, and the Government would bring down a proposition that the County Cnairman should be a nominated officer of the .Governn}iont foi the of three yjears ._!' ',. iMr n;ifotoq«M»«<aw»ioiy »oittfa--wiietKeirt"he Annexation of Ahe. Grey District to Nelson should t t ake immediate effect ; as he thought that in a question of such . importance as this, the Provincial Council of Nelson should be consulted.' In answer to this : Mr Yogel very pointedly replied that as the Annexation Bill " would give to Nelson aJargj and rich.tepritjry, peopled by a thriving population, he thought the hon. member (Mr Curtis) might fairly take the responsibility of assenting to this without consultinghis Provincial Council. There were more than mere local interests concerned in this, as it was a matter of Colonial moment for the Assembly to make provision for the unfortunate position, in which this portion of the Colony was placed. This portion of -tho country really belonged to the Province of Nelson, and there was no chance of it -working harmoniously with tho remainder of the' country, therefore he thought it very advisable that the Annexation should be allowed to become law." Comparing these statements with the results, a-f recorded in bur, latest |telegra|n^ to-day, .we* may confidently look forward" to the speedy realisation of the earnest desire of the people of the Grey District.