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Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1615, 8 October 1873, Page 2

The spirit, in /which the so-called Local [Revenues Act has been accepted by the inhabitants of the' Nelson Gold-fields 'must have somewhat startled the authorities of ! the Province, unless .th'ey'are as incapable | of feeling 1 or seeming" surprised as a Red Indian or;. a Celt. The measure may be jßaid-to,.have .fallen. -in : a still-born. state ■from the Council,, jnstead of being brought 'into existence sound in wind and limb, ■amid the blessings of its authors., and the I admiration of the attendants. By even the ; most friendly of tHe latter it was only ; damned with fairifr praise,. 1 and by those byw^hotn iti.was begotten, if it waslookfid npon with favor, the favor was not unaccompanied by' some misgivings as' to its treatment. : in its own rude world— the West Coast; But , the, .event has proved that eVen the most innocent measure in the guise of. Local 'Self -Government . will not only not be massacred in these districts, but wiil be' taken tip tenderly, lifted with care, in case the bantling «i%ht become, ; in course of years by careful nursing, a source of pride arid.-ila' joy for ever. Considering all tjie'!cirG«mstances, it is indeed astonishino;,.how \ thjs ; little iristatmsht of local self-govern^ienfc , has ' been seized npon by the : communities on the Coast Commencing .at Cobden, the «mmber of candidate«,£or election as members of thp different 33>istriat Boards has been double the reqttifem'entß7«j! each body ; ;the 4isposition to nominate members culminating at v ßeeft6nj ' where -NiNe*«ew candidates have been nominated,- and only #iy memfeeraj are wanted. , ; So far, good, JJut, what. is no,w.jthe,tnews;? Why, that, bf the act of its authors,jthe. Government, the measure will, in many places, be rendered null and void. It appears

that, in reply to the Returning Officers, the Provincial Secretary has telegraphed that the Superintendent can only appoint polling-places at the time of giving notice of the day and place of nomination, and regrets that he cannot comply with their recommendation for additional pollirigplaces. Whether this.was the result ;pf oversight or premeditation — arid we shall presume that it is- only another of a long list of grave sins of omission — the Sequence simply is that the suddenly created constituencies have been as suddenly and unceremoniously disfranchised. For instance in the Ahaura district, the election, being so exclusively local, will probably be. confined to not more than a dozen voters ; in other districts the circumstances will be very similar. Consequently there is reason to fear that, as far as. achieving popular representation, the elections will prove a farce. 'Tis a pity, but, having entered upon the* matter with so much spirit, it .would be still more a pity were the electors not. now to make the very best of what is in the beginning a bad bargain.