The Weekly Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1868. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 90, 21 September 1868, Page 229

The Weekly Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1868. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Erom tlie papers-received on Tuesday night from Wellington by the s.s. Ahuriri, it •would appear that the fate of .the .Stafford Ministry is rapidly approaching a crisis—the progress of-the. debate on Mr Fox’s motion of no confidencehavinisr shown the' weakness of the Government ancl the strength of the opposition. At the commencement of the debate it was confidently assumed that the Government could , command a clear majority of eight, but as it progressed that majority appears to have become “ small by degrees and beautifully less,” until at latest dates it seems, that it was reduced to unity. Nor can we wonder at this when we consider the unsatisfactory nature of the proposals made by Ministers in connexion with the? carrying out of the dissolution of partnership scheme. : ! In the adoption of this plan into their policy a great hit was made; and one that, but for the conditions with which it was accompanied, would have re-estab-lished the Stafford Ministry on a firm basis oif popularity. The whole colony" was ripe'for such a 'change in £act, it was almost universally felt to be necessary," and, it , ; was pretty, well known tpj be a principal part of the policy of the opposition. From one end of the colony- to ' the other it wa's asserted that ’the only

hope of a for tlief. better in the cost of - the Government .of . the colony . lay in the disentanglement of the financial relations between

the-General .Government andLthdsei ■of-i^h©/several^: Provinces.- ' It - was’ .i ll fiict,- that: the 1 subsidy, to-the provincial chests must cease, - and that these' Governments must; be! thrown on - their o"v7n resources; : So, on ly, could the country hope, to" rid itself of a, portion of its burden- of taxation,’ and? 1 biing about, a ? mord economical system of provincial government. ....

' The scheme proposed by- the Ministry fellshort of the need bf the country in the all-important' particular that, it made no provision for - a reduction of the fiscal burdens of the colony, but, on the "contrary, it opened up a prospect of- a vast increase. While depriving the provincial governments of their usual proportion of the consolidated revenues, heretofore appropriated to provincial purposes, it maintained intact the oppressive tariff, and asserted that no reduction of taxation was possible. So that in addition to the unprecedented weight of taxation already borne by the Colony, fresh burdens must be imposed by the Provincial Governments to enable them to exist. Even in the case of Jails and Police, a department of the General Government which it was proposed to leave under Provincial management, the subsidy proposed for its maintenance was not to be regarded as a permanent charge,, but made subject to an annual appropriation by the General Assembly. It could hardly have been expected that such a scheme could be acceptable to the house, and certainly it was not a matter of surprise that it should be found to reduce the ranks of ministerial supporters, and, that when the counter -pi'oposals of the leader of the opposition were heard, severaFfrf those who" are usually found with the Government should be seen amongst the ranks of its opponents.

Mr Fox concurred (as, indeed, we have already intimated) in the proposal for the dissolution of the partnership between the General and Provincial Governments, and gave the following reasons for his concurrence 1. Because it is the only prospect of reducing taxation. 2. Because it prevents complication of accounts and endless disputes. 3. Because the will- know what their means really are. 4. Because it will prevent falsification of accounts by the General Government, and-the constant squabbles arising thereout.” But he objected to the proposals of the Government in connexion with the carrying out of the scheme on account of its unfairness to those provinces which had borrowed but little, in making {hem bear ah undue share of the! burdens incurred by those who have borrowed heavily and expended their loans. He argued that the feeling of individual responsibi’ity should be maintained, and mo inducement held out -to any province to borrow mierely that it might stand on an equal footing with the rest, which was the obvious tendency of the proposals of the Government. ' - : -

Mr Fox does not propose to make quite ' so complete a ' severance of • the" . General GoV eminent , from the provinces as that : piopos.ed by? 1 the ministry, as, in addition to the departments of Jails and Police, * he places that; of Harbors under provincial^management, and to grantsfor the maintenance of thes3e 'departments a of 30s. -per head from .the consolidated revenue, the balance of such sum, (after pro-, viding for the due maintenance of

the; above departments,- and providing interest' s andainkmg: ifuiadd -'of loans, to be?- at'' the -'disposal > -'Of--- r the provincial governmenSs for. the > prosecution of public &c. -t He Claimed for 'Ms scheiae thatut would put an end to all Uncertainty, "conflict of accounts, ' and .log-rolling; and \7hile,. for all practical purpo-. se s, - it made the? dissolution of partn.ership coinplete, it was more favorable to the provinces, than the ministerial proposals-;—effecting no sudden revolution, and holding out inducements to increase of population.

The fairness and advantage to the provinces- of these, proposals of Mr Fox cannot be called in. question* more particularly as regards the smaller provinces. , Of these the complaint has often been, made that under the. old system of allowing the provinces a proportion of-,the consolidated re\ enue for- provincial purposes they suffered a manifest injustice, as the proportion allotted to the provinces has been according to the amount of duty collected at the ports of entuy, and not .according to the dutiable goods consumed there. A large proportion of the revenue fairly due to - Marlborough has been enjoyed by Nelson; of that fairly due to • Southland, by Otago,. &c., all which the capitation grant would obviate, and as the grant to each province would be in the ■ ratio of population, the inducement to encourage immigration is at once obvious. .....

But if the proposals of Mr Fox so far are more satisfactory: than those of the Ministry* still more* so are his proposals regarding^reduction of taxation. . He does dnot, indeed," assume that a. great reduction is .possible; but having Regard to certain savings claimed as having been made by . the Government *in several departments of the'public service, he felt that those savings might be made available ior effecting some reduction, however small, wMch would be acceptable as indicating the sincerity of the Government in its professed desire to reduce the burdens of taxation. . . .... .

With regard to iiatiVe affaits, hb assumes that the Middle Island is justified in demandmg that 'a limit shoiild be fixed to ii§' liability for the cost of' riarmgmg {he fratives iii the Northern Island.' ' Se'helieved that less than five years will suffice, under energetic* watchiul, ahd:ptudent adrri inistration, to thb native difficulty to' sufh a ; proportion that the Northern 'PrOrinces may with safety uhdertakV 'its management as a portibn of its" ordinary police administration.'. ~ To; this end he proposes that for each? of th e nexfi two years £100,001) should -be ‘devoted from the cbhcolidafed'revehue,. and £Ts;ooo*fdr each of the ensuing.( three years, ' the management' of the natives to he by tlie Sup'ei*intendent3 of Provinces, by delegation from the General Government. This, he believes, would he sufficient" td'*make ah"eiid_6f .the native. .difficulty..'" .

With . reference to local self-go-vernment, a point oh wMchthe .pre- .. sent itself, strong, Mr Fox would extend the principle v as? 'fully aspossible, hot in "opposition * to the ProrineialtGdverhments,? but; rather in ? while the be ensuring that-their dnty ' ; bh' r per- : formed by ments to outlyihg dis{rietS---hcjldmg ' outmoproimum- ; for"di;sc<®tehtj-but 7 encdnmging-a satis&ctioh with existing institutions. > ’ -

The' debate* . which was begun on the ;9tb, r . has been carried on with ■ Yigor, , and was not concludedat; the date of our latest intelligence. .The Wellington papers spsak of an appeal to the colony as imminent, whether the-Government he defeated or. not.; . ,