THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1305, 4 October 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1872.

There are new three measures before the Parliament, all pretending to ameliorate the political condition of the people of the Wea'fc Coast. First there is what has been designated the Westlaod County Bill — the measure introduced by the late Ministry with the object of achieving unity and uniformity in the government of these Gold Fields. Second, there is what is known as the Nelson Counties Bill, a measure nominally introduced by that very capable compiler of Bills, Mr Arthur Collins. Third, there is the Bill which was, two days ago, introduced by Joseph Shephard with the intention of including Greymouth and its district in the Province of Nelson, and of thereby balancing the representation of the Province, and contributing to the administration of its affairs by West Coast members of its Council. It is much to be regretted that the details of these several separate measures are not before the public who are peculiarly interested in the character of their contents. The last of three it has not yet been possible to transmit to the Coast, but the first copies might surely, now that it is printed, have been forwarded tp the lpcal journals, so that some opinion might be formed as to the possibility of its operativeness. In a very off-hand manner it was condemned by two of the West Coast members as " a sham," and in one instance the representative who used the expression may with propriety be accepted as an authority on anything in which the element "sham" is introduced. Opportunity for agreeing with or dissenting from his opinion has not, however, been afforded. With the , second measure the case is different. Care has been taken to forward, both to Nelson and to the Coast, copies of the , so-called Nelson County Bill, and, although we have not been among the favored few, we find in one of our Nelson contemporaries a sufficient abstract of the Bill to enable us to indicate its principal I propositions; The Bill, we learn, contains as many as 136 clauses, and is divided into seven parts, under the following headings :— Part 1., Preliminary 5 Part 11., Constitution of Counties and Establishment of

Road Boards ; Part 111., Qualifications of Voters and Regulation of Elections ; Part IV., Proceedings and Election of Boards ; Part V., Rating Pewers; Part VI., Roads, Bridges, and the like ; Part VII., Miscellaneous. The Bill is specially introduced for the Constitution of a County, to be called the " County of Grey and Buller," the boundaries of which are set forth in the schedule ; but it is also provided that, " any part of the Province of Nelson, not being wholly or in part comprised within the limits of a borough constituted under ' The Municipal Corporation Act, 1867,' &c, and being of an area of not less than 50 square miles, may be constituted a County if a majority of the persons on the electoral roll for the time being in force shall sign and present to the Superintendent a petition in the form provided." The inhabitents of every County constituted under the Act are to be incorporated, and all property vested in the County. The Grey and Buller County Board is to consist of six members, two for the Buller, two for the Grey, one for Charleston, and one for Tnangahua. Onethird of the whole number of members shall retire from office on the third Tuesday in September in every year. The following persons are to be entitled to vote for Members of Board 3 : — (1). Every man who shall be on some Electoral Roll, under " The Registration of Electors Act, 1866/' and whose qualification is in respect of property situate within the electoral district for which he claims to vote. (2). Every holder of a miner's right or business license who shall have held it for ' not less than two months consecutively immediately preceding the day of nomination of candidates. The Chairman of the Board, who will possess a deliberative as well as a casting vote, is to be elected annually. The Board may appoint and remove officers, and pay such salaries and allowances as they shall think reasonable. Any member may hold the office of clerk pr treasurer, but is not to receive any payment for his services. The Chairman or members of the Board may be allowed payment for actual travelling expenses when travelling on the service of the Board. The ordinary revenue of the Board shall consist of the following : — (1). Rates and tolls. (2). Moneys received under any grant or appropriation from the General Assembly or Provincial Council. (3). All other moneys which they may receive, not being the proceeds of any loan. (4). Moneys received by way of subscription or voluntary donation. (5). All the land revenue raised within the limits of the County, and all other revenues received within such limits, and forming the revenue of the Province, and which shall be subject to appropriation by the Provincial Council of the Province, together with a proportionate share of the Consolidated Revenue payable to the Province of Nelson. Provided that all such moneys and revenues shall be liable to snch deductions as may from time to time be properly chargeable against, the County for the maintenance of the Provincial Government within the limits thereof, together with such share of the general expenditure of the Provincial Government as may be agreed upon between the Province and the County. (6.) Any grant or grants in aid allowed to, or granted to the County by the General Government. The Board shall once a year make and levy- rates, to be called "general rates," equally upon all rateable property within .such County, no such rates to exceed one shilling or be less than threepence in the pound. All main roads, public bridges, and ferries within the County are to be placed under the control of the Board. Clauses 93, 94, 95, 96 respectively provide as follows : — When a main road is formed up to the boundary of a County, and there is no continuous road in the adjoining County, the Board of either County may. apply to the Superintendent to order the road to be made, and the expense is to be borne out of the roads subsidy payable to the adjoining County, or jointly out of the shares of both Counties in such fund. — Before the order is made, the Superintendent is to call on the Board for plans aud estimates. — After compliance with the order is certified, the Superintendent is empowered io issue an order for payment to the contractor, &c. — The Provincial Treasurer, on receipt of the order, is tp issue the money put of the subsidy due tp such Cpunty from the Provincial Government. The Board may from time to time erect and maintain toll and ferry houses, and take such means for enforcing the payment of tolls as they deem necessary. The Superintendent may direct tolls to cease if he shall be satisfied that any road, bridge, or ferry at which they are payable is in a ruinous state or incapable of being .wprked. Tramways or railways may be constructed in lien of any other sort of road with the consent of two-thirds of the ratepayers in the County. The Superintendent shall have the power to cause all such roads and bridges as he shall think fit to be constructed and maintained within any County. Nothing in the Act shall authorise the interference by any County Board with any road or public work, not formed or constructed by such Board, which may be exempted from its jurisdiction by any proclamation made by the Superintendent. Last, and by no means least, in all cases in which no sufficient provision is, in the opinion of the Superintendent, made by the Act,, it shall be lawful for him to make and prescribe, or to revoke or alter, all such regulations and orders, either general or applicable to particular cases only, as he shall think fit.