THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 742, 20 October 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1870.

In continuance of our last leader on the financial administration of the County we may point out other directions in which savings may be effected without much inconvenience. At present the Warden at Ross, Mr Aylmer, pays a weekly visit to Kauieri, at a cost for travelling expenses of certainly not less than £100 per annum. Now this outlay is absolutely unnecessary : the work of the Warden's office at Kanieri could be done very much more regularly and constantly without entailing the expenditure of a single sixpence. The Resident Magistrate at Hokitika should be appointed a Gold Fields' Warden, and, as the work of tha Resident Magistrate's Court hasfallen off consideaably, and left .ample time at the Magistrate's disposal, he could easily hold a court once or twice a week at Kanieri — only three miles from Hokitika. This arrangement would make ie possible, for one Warden to do the whole work for the rest of the coast. The maintaining a Warden at Okarito has for a long time past been an unnecessary piece of expenditure. There is really no necessity for more than occasional visits by a Warden to Okarito and the South Beaches, and the officer stationed at Boss should be able to spare half his time, or say a week or ten days every month or every two months. By an arrangement of thii kind half the salary at pres jut paid to the Warden at Okarito might be saved, making on the two servicj3 we have referred to a total saving of about J350 per annum. We would like to say a f*v words with regard to that expensive aid very absurd institution, "Government House." The idea of maintaining an official residence, providing it with expensive furniture and surrcunding it with carefully cultivated ornamenal grounds may be a very proper one to indulge in the seat of Government of a prosperous country, but as applied to the circumstances and political position of Westland it i 3 utterly absurd and ridiculous. Such a thing as an official residence of any kind for the Superintendent of a Province is unknown in New Zealand, the only person enjoying that distinctive convenience being the Governor and his Cabinet Ministers. There is something excessively ludicrous in this aping of state that ha? been allowed to grow up in Westland. It is not only absurd as applied to the crippled circumstances of the County, but is especially so as applied to the person who may by accident become entitled to make " Government House " his home for a couple of year 3. The chances are that the contrast between the -normaLhabits jind surroundings of the Chairman of the County Cunci', and the new state of existence into which he is "officially" forced willalways affordfoodfor free, if good-natured, comment, whilst the individual himself feels that he is placed in a false and uncomfortable position. Besides, residing in "Government House" and ever so modestly keeping up the inevitable concomitants of such a luxury really means a very serious reduction in the salary of the Chairman, who is supposed, to be paid for doing certain work, and not for keeping up appearances. And this toy costs money. The outlay for repairs, gardener, housekeeper, furniture, &c. , for " Government House," has not averaged much le3S than £500 to £COO per annum. Peop'.e iv.ay f ilrly ask cwi bono ? Would it not be better to convert the house iuto a school, a public library, anything in fact that would be a real public benefit, than to maintain it asa piece of Brummagem state. Sail the furniture, hand over the grounds to the Corporation af Hokitika for public purposes, and save ; the j!500 a-year which will be much more sensibly expended on a road or track into t!ie interior. We have only indicated a fjw channels of expenditure which we think are capable of beiig cmtiued within narrower limits, but even on the various items we have mentioned in tlm and our former article, a total saving of con3iderabl3 T more than £2300 per annum could be effected. No doubt, there are other directions in which economy may be practised, but those we have alluded to are salient examples. Another question, which the electors of the Grey district should express a decided opinion upon is the fair division of the expenditure between the districts north and sonth of the Teremaknu. The principle should be enforced that for tho future the expenditure as affecting these two divisions of the County should be strictly just. Little as there will be to divide, ,let that little, whatever its amount, be divided fairly in proportion to the revenue contributed. There is nothing new in the principle of keening the accounts of the two districts distinct, for we see it ha 3 been adopted in Canterbury with respect to the district south of the Rangitata. The Provincial Auditor keeps the accounts of revenue and expenditure for what may be called North and South Canterbury separate. Such a system should be brought into operation in Westland. It would serve considerably to allay the irritation which sometimes arises from exaggerated ideas of financial injustice ; whilst it would afford a groundwork for greater confidence in the appropriation of the votes of the Council.