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Hokitika Guardian, 4 August 1924, Page 2

'I UK long-siistiiincd oifoi t of the West land County Council to regain lost re venue front timber loyalties was carried another stage last week by the important conference and deputatioi held at Wellington. I’erhajs the con

fere nee was mote important, governing latino possible results than the deputation itself, for the reason that si many members of Parliament cinin to be interested in the subject. Tin Member for Westland took a veto

practical interest in the matter, in scoured the attendanto of a number

I romiiielit parliamentarians, several hi whom it- appears evinced a close ami intimate knowledge of the sulql. t It is well that it is so. The subject touches local government very closely, and local governuicn' is next to parliamentary government: 'I he two are iiiicrwu-.on in the good government of the country, and it is right anil proper Unit those of the major branch should he directly intoiOstcil and concerned in all tilings milking for the betterment of local government. As regards tin- Ministerial re piles, that of Sir Francis Hell calls' top attention. lliCenu.se In' 111-Id out hopes, as lie (lid in Itljti. of sonic redress. Still, it is over live years since the matter was first mentioned, ainl if Sir Francis is as sincere :ik we hope he is. we can hut. marvel that he allowed so great a length of time to lit 1 st* without any practical step. As the matter is purely one of finance; why Intve they bothered at till about a Koval Commission, which was no confined its to produce a negative decision, which merely relegates the subject hack to the starting point Sir Fiaucis was credited hy one of his colleagues as being “the father of •...<■ forestry policy.” and in that ) ii-t'Til.-II position In- had the power to •■•take recommendations more influential than any Koval Commissioner. Indeed, if we are to expect sound statesmanship from such an e>v

enrol Minister as Sir Francis, helm lie designed to take from the loc; bodies important revenues, lie woul

see tn it its .a matter of conseqiien tiitl equity tliat something was give! in its place, Sir Francis failed to if tluit, ns lie failed also tn exercise lii. op ininn of live years ago. The le mimler of the recent deputation sliolilt tlioret'or<> not lie untimely of In's lie {iiect of nil obvious duty, mid hi might. with its little delay as possible, take steps to remedy the omissions of tlie past.

; Tuf. personal opinion of .Mr .Massey ryI gnrding payment of roynlties to loenl bodies is recorded in Hansard. In I 1 !)0-T .Mr Massey as header of the then • Opposition pul lip a strong jilea for the whole of the royalties going to the local -bodies—instead of the halves as proposed hy the hill brought down h,v the Seildon flovornment. Mr Massey on that occasion said the Premier (Mr Seddon) had promised that the whole of the royalties would he given to the local bodies of the district in which the flax and timber were grown and that promise (Mr Massey continued) had not been kept. Mr Massey said he did not like the piecemeal legislation. He wanted a Local Government Bill which would give the local bodies an assured finnm-c. They desired to have a T.oeal Government Bill which would give them an assured finance by handing over the royalties to them. The Prime Minister of to-dav, it will he seen, hold verv strong opinions on the subject the local bodies have now so very much at heart. Also. Mr Massey is the Minister of Finance of to-day. Tn approaching Mr Massey now. the local Todies should receive something of a square deal, for in the interval since 100-T Mr Massey from time to time has held out hope to the local liodios on this very vexed question. Tip? local authorities concerned have lieen living on hope for a long time. a*d it i.s time something definite was done. There is to-day more than ever the need for ail assured finance. The report of the ‘Royal Commission reveals that in the past year alone Grey and Westland Counties have lost pyer

£15,000 of revenue through the operation of the Forests Act, while the future timber supplies of the district at present values, would be worth to the two local bodies upward of two millions of income. AYo repeat as we said a few days ago, that nothing more important to local government on the Coast, has yet cropped up. and tl:o amount involved is so great that the local body and the ratepayers should not lie-put off longer with promises and I latitudes, but should persist in the agitation for that relief which the whole circumstances point to as manifestly fair and just. To allow the claim to go hr the hoard is to part with a birthright which is the special privilege of the district and not of the Dominion as a whole.