THE MEETING OF MONDAY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1232, 10 July 1872, Page 2

THE MEETING OF MONDAY.

[to the editor.] Sir— May I be permitted, through the columns of your paper, to make a few remarks on the desirability of a change of Government on the West Coast, as I am of opinion that the " public" meeting of Monday night did not in any degree express the true feeliug of the majority of those interested in the subject, and I Bay so not from any prejudice to the few I gentlemen who lent their assistance to the furtherance of discussion, but on account of the apparent paucity of reasons adduced in favor of the resolutions. It is more or less an obvious fact that meetings of the kind, pspecially when called at Biich short notice, generally result in the unanimous approval of whatever resolutions are proposed ; this feature presents itself more forcibly (and 1 think many will concur with me in the opinion) when the resolutions were all in favor of provincial institutions, in form pure and unalloyed, with provincial appendages in the shape of Executive and Superintendent. But very few people on the West Coast, except perhaps those gentlemen who occupied the front seats of the Hall at the meeting, would care about seeing the antiquated system of Provincialism, with all its cumbrous and lumbersome belongings, in existence on the .gold fields, and I think every credit is due to Mr Harrison for maturing a plan which, if the formation of counties be excepted, is certainly the most feasible to promote the good government of all parts of the Coast, and I am by no means shaken in that opinion by the expression of the meeting, which seemed entirely to throw /aside that plan. There can be but little doubt that Road Boards (or Shire Councils, if the name suits better) must always be the unit of any system expected to work well on the Coast, following the universally accepted principle of decentralization ; but the efforts of the legislature must be directed towars obtaining such a clas3 of members for these bodies as will be capable and willing to act fairly and intelligently in that capacity. Road Boards on the Coast may to a certain extent have been a failure, but if so, certainly in no higher degree thaa the more privileged and better subsidised County Council ; and by having one or more members of each Board and Municipal Council to form the central Provincial Council, it is expected to so raise the tone and importance of them as will ensure the better expenditure of their several revenues. But what the decided objection expressed at the meeting against an officer of the General Government to act as Superintendent of the proposed Province may be founded upon was substantiated by as little argument and reason as the^other leading features of the resolutions, except it be the tacitly understood prospect of the emoluments of the office to be competed for amongst the supporters. N/jw, I take the nomination by the General Government of an officer of the Civil Service to watch over and control the affairs of the Province to be the happiest idea in the scheme, not only for the reasons already given % by Mr Harrison, but also because we may expect a qualification for the post and efficiency in the discharge of his duties in a gentleman who has devoted his lifetime to the study of those affairs, and. is just as amenable to public opinion as the elected Superintendent ; for it is a fallacy to suppose that any public officer may, for any length of time, act in direct contradiction to the wishes of the public. At least the elected superintendent, with three or four years' .tenure and a good screw, is not apt to care more for his constituents than other elected officers have done, and the absence of responsibility to the General Government would only tend to make his conduct all th 3 more arbitrary. Much more might be said on the subject, and abler said, but I am desirous not to occupy too much of your indulgent space, and only wish to repeat, before concluding, that Mr Harrison's scheme, provided the formation of counties be left out, is immeasurably superior, in my opinion, to any Provincial institutions with or without a drowsy Executive, lam, &c, Vox Populi.