The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 403, 13 September 1856, Page 5

The Lyttelton Times.

Saturday, September 13.

Some time has now elapsed since the Constitution Act lias been brought into operation in New Zealand. The spirit of this Act was so liberal, the intention of the British Parliament appeared so fair towards the ■ inhabitants of this colony, and the grievances -' from which we were relieved were so real and great, that even those who had secret misgivings hailed the new Constitution as a boon. A boon it undoubtedly was after ' the shameful nrisgovernment of past years, ■ and, as such, deserved a fair and patient ;tiial. But every day shows the Colony 1 more and more clearly that it was but an experiment, and that the time has come'

when some changes are necessary, in order to make the various- Governments of NewZealand work harmoniously.. The; colonist? have hoped each year , that some means would be devised for making the; complicated machinery work smoothly* but infvain. Each session of the General Assembly, appears to leave us \n a more, difficult, posi-, tio.n.than, .we.were in before.. No steps have been taken towards removing the causes of collision between the General and,. Provincial Governments; ; and the prospect held out to us of future sessions of the General Assembly is dark wjkh Provincial jealousies and inextricable, confusion. This state of things cannot, last. Men begin to talk vaguely of the. necessity of a change, to point out anomalies which ought never to have crept into the Constitution Act, and to demand the practical benefits which would accrue from a more simple and less pretentious system of Government. Experience has shown that nothing is. more, difficult than to frame a written Constitution for a young country, although constitution-mongers have often conceived, it to be a very easy task. No two countries are placed in an exactly similar position. And you might as well try to fit one man's cqat on another, as'to attempt to adapt the institutions of one/country to the circumstances of another. Above all absurdities the greatest is to attempt to fit a big man's coat on a little, boy's back. For a short time, the little fellow struts about well pleased at'having a man's coat on, but when he finds that he cannot run about, and that it trips him up at every step, he is glad to get a jacket cut to suit hisyears and dimensions. Whether New Zealand will be able when it is grown "P to endure such a com. plication of Government as it now groans under is very improbable ; it is very certain that its Government system,' is not a very healthy one at the present moment. The long: coat tails, and the big brass buttons have already lost their attraction ; and the youngster is getting very ill-tempered at his vain attempts to run about in the unwieldy garment. He has got an unpleasant feeling that bye-standers are laughing at him. Besides this, he knows that it is not even like his father's coat. It'is true that the collar and and cuffs are something like his, but the tails have an unmistakeable resemblance to those of the flashy garment worn by his big bullying cousin Jonathan, wbo is on bad terms with" the family And he knows that, notwithstanding its flashy appearance, that coat never fitted even big Jonathan, and that it looks as if it was going to tumble off his back. Well, we can easily imagine the poor little fellow's feelings, and allow for some ebullitions of bad temper, and some very hasty and angry language.

Seriously speaking, it is quite time for our legislators to begin to consider the best means of adapting our constitution to our position. Every one knows that we have plenty of them. When the Constitution Act was first promulgated, the Londoii Times prophesied that every second man you stumbled against in New Zealand would be either a Superintendent or a member of some popular legislature. • The exaggeration was not a very great one. And these legislators have by this time had plenty of experience both in General and Provincial Legislation. ■ .

It is almost'an acknowledged truism to say that a constitution must grow up by degrees. And yet there are many people who appear to think that a constitution can be written so as to adapt its provisions at once'to the circumstances of a young country. The fate of all the written conslittitions~adopted in Europe on the model of British Institutions shows the natural end of such attempts. We must gradually and carefully mould our institutions so *as to suit our circumstances. The greatest

benefactors, to the Colony will be those who without rashness ov. precipitancy gradually and one by one effect the alterations of such anomaUes ; as at present obstruct the efficiency of Government..

The first question.'which naturally suggests itself on a consideration of the best means of simplifying the present machinery; of; Government is, whether the chief powers should be vested in the General or Provincial Governments. We have before expressed our opinion very strongly as to the advisability under the present Constitution' of strengthening the hands of the central legislature. As our institutions stand at present, any enlarged powers given to the provinces would tend to make them, more: and more petty independent states. But we see very clearly the advantage which: would accrue to the Colony in its present dislocated state from the exercise of very large local powers, if these could be conferred in such a manner as not to create a feeling of ultimate isolation and independence of each other among the different provinces. Each province with its elected Head and Provincial Council would with largely extended powers cease to look beyond its own limits, and would have no appeal from the tyranny of a triumphant majority. It has been often said in private conversation by those who have carefully considered the Constitution Act, that the elective nature of the Superintendency-is the great blot in it, and that to this mistake are traceable many of the inconveniences we now suffer. But many of those who hold this opinion have feared that once the idea of an elective Head had got possession of the minds of the people, it would Jae very difficult to get them to renounce it; and the fear of a popular outcry against tne : notion of a change in this particular has led many men to be silent on the matter. We do not, however, apprehend that our fellow-colonists are so bigoted as not to weigh carefully a question of vital importance. If they can clearly see that the exercise of popular suffrage in the choice of on officer is prejudicial to real liberty, we are persuaded that they would be the first to propose a change, in .the mode of appointment. We*would earnestly request our readers to turn their attention to the question—" How far is our position benefitted or prejudiced by the institution of an elective Superintendeney ?■"• The secret of. the success of British institutions lies as much in the balance of power maintained by the three estates, as in the municipal institutions spread ail over the country. The danger of popular institutions in a country like America, where there is neither crown nor aristocracy, where there is no perfect!}* independent legislature, is often felt in the tyranny exercised by a majority. .When a popular cry has momentarily taken possession of the majority, there is nothing to check their exertion of their power in the most tyrannical and unjust manner towards individuals. The end of all good government, the security of individual rights and liberties, is forgotten iv the idolatry of v shadow. Men submit to tyranny that they may be able to boast of democracy. And this will be one great danger here. If there were good communication, between all parts of New Zealand, .no doubt a central government, with municipal institutions established iv the different districts, would, be the best for the country. But it is evident that as long as the provinces are so isolated'they require powers larger than those of a municipality. The election of the head of a municipality is confui triable with English institutions, and has been found practically to be a most useful institution. But the more we depart from mum. cipal powers, and the nearer we approach to the,forms of a representative government, the-.greater; .does the difficulty become of reconciling the elective Superintendency

with the monarchical* institutions which otherwise surround us. It is found next to impossible to delegate large powers held by the Representative of the Crown to the Representative of the people. You cannot place an authority who, by the very nature of his office is a tribune of the people, in the position of a representative of the Crown. Far less could the General Government, with any degree of safety •waive even for a moment the controlling power which it exercises over every act of the local legislatures, as long as the Crown has no voice whatever in legislation.

Fortunately for New Zealand, in most of the provinces, the first elections for the office of Superintendent'have returned some of the best men that could have been found in them for the office. But have we any o-uarantee that this will be the case for the future ? On the contrary, there is every reason 't o 'apprehend that, in many cases at , least, the election will be made a party matter *-^t the first elections Provincial parties were not formed, and tbe public iiaturallv lo°ked for the best men. But the bi s t orv of e lective Presidencies and- Governorships in America,'teaches us that generally very inferior men are preferred to j iheir betters, owing to the jealousies and i Intrigues of party. Again, according to our present Constitution,the Superintendent and the Provincial Council go out together, so that both are re-elected upon some party cry:of the moment. And for four years, the whole machinery of Government will be mjthe hands of those'who happened to lead the majority at the "time of the elections. No stability can attend such a form of Government. What is done by one Superintendent and Council will probably be undone Jby the next; no traditional policy—if you may so call it—will be handed down ; all public confidence will be shaken; the provinces will be nests of political intrigues, from one four years' end to the other. : There is another point of view in which, ■when we consider the question of the mode of appointment of Superintendent, it appears to us that under the present system "we are considerably losers. In the event of a difference of opinion between the Superintendent and the majority of the Council, it would be the interest and duty of a representative of the Crown to weigh carefully the arguments and claims of the representatives of the people, and,if possible, to be guided by their opinion. But the case of an elected head is quite different. He is a representative of the people, he may say, as well as the Council; he is responsible to the people to exert his own best judgment on any question mooted ; he lias no right to bow to the opinion of another legislature (for, according to the Constitution Act, he is simply one of the Houses of legislature) ; he stands unbendingly by his own decision; and who can say that he is not justified in so doing ? What people have been pleased to call Responsible Government in the provinces, is a mere fallacy. We have had proof enough of this (if any were'needed) in this province already. If the Superintendent were an officer representing the Crown, a deputy of the Gcv>rhor in fact, we can understand how very large powers miglt be given to the provmcer, without destroying their dependence upo:i one common centre, without merging their natural love of nationality in a growing feeling of provii)cra'ism, arising out of isolated interests, and, above all, ■without entirely destroying that balance of power, which is so necessary to the effective •working of popular Governments.

As log as Elective Superintendencies are an insftution of the land, it is our duty to make the best of them, and to endeavour to make the Provincial Governments work as harmoniously as possible^ with'the central Executive. But we think that it is time to

consider carefully the position in which we stand; and not only our present position but our future prospects. We have only space enough at'our disposal here to draw attention to the subject. A great deal, of ad captandium oratory" could be adressed to the people against the views here put forward. But we trust that on so grave a question as that of a form of Government people will be* inclined to weigh carefully the arguments that might be advanced on either][side. For ourselves, we confess that we cannot look forward with ar.y degree *of hope or satisfaction to an enlargement of Provincial powers, unless some such modification as we have alluded to is made in the form of the Provincial Governments.