THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 750, 8 November 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1870.

It is somewhat surprising — to say the least of it — that the County Council, amidst all its multifarious enquiries, did not pay some attention to the regulation of its own affairs. It is true that a series of bye-laws have been passed with regard to the subordinate officers of the County, and others also have been carried respecting the financial responsibility of the County Chairman. But a most important omissions has been made, and that is with regard to the administration of affairs during the time intervening between the decease of the present Council and the election of its successor. This is the more surprising, seeing that one (if the very first acts of the existing Council was to indemnify by formal resolution the previous Chairman for his proceedings during the interregnum that preceded the meeting of the Council. It was made very evident at that time that the County of Westland Act made no provision for the discharge of the functions of Government between the termination of one Council and the formation of another ; and it is only now, on the eve of another general election, that the fact of the difficulty not having been got over, is again brought home. The blame of this entirely rests with the Council. Although the County of Westland Act is silent on this particular point, it does contain a clause which enables the Council itself to provide for all extra rules that might be required for regulating its proceedings. Section 67 of the Act, following closely on that which prescribes the mode of electing the Chairman, confers ample power on the Council to make its own arrangements for carrying on the administration of affairs pending the election of the new Council. That section says, amongst other things, that it shall be lawful for the Council to make such regulations as it may deem fit " for the purpose of regulating their proceedings ;" and clearly it is o culpable omission on the part of the present Council not to have provided for the absolute void of Government which will now exist between the Bth of December and the second Wednesday in January. As matters now stand, it is indubitable that there will be no County Chairman during that period. As Governor's delegate, indeed, he will continue the exercise of bis functions until the delegation is recalled or transferred. But so far as the actual legal functions of the Chairman of the County of Westland are concerned, there will be no properly authorised person to discharge them for four weeks. No vouchers for payment of money, no contracts or engagements of any kind on the part of the County can be signed or entered into by Mr Hoss during the interval mentioned. Of course this sort of interregnum was never contemplated as being probable. The Council could easily have passed a bye -law authorising the Chairman whose term of office was about to expire, to hold office until his successor was elected. But this has not been done, and it appears to us that the only way of getting out of the difficulty is to convene a special meeting of the Council to frame a bye-law applicable to the case. Unless some such step is taken, it is possible that serious cam plications may result. A mere resolution of indemnity passed by the new Council would go no further than to relieve the Chairman from the consequences of any proceeding that he might ultra, vires have taken, but could not certainly stamp with legality the whole of his acts and engagements. This subject is a matter of considerable importance, and we would suggest as the best means of solving the difficulty, that a special meetiug of the Council be convened for the purpose of passing a byelaw to authorise the present Chairman to hold office pending the appointment of his successor.