The Lyttelton Times. Wednesday, October 22nd.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 414, 22 October 1856, Page 6

The Lyttelton Times. Wednesday, October 22nd.

The members of our Provincial Gov rnment seem to mistake their position. Tliev look upon the questions which they are now bringing before the Council as economical, not political ; ■and, therefore,..they say. a rejection of their measures by the' Council will not cause them to resign. We.may remind our readers that the principal measures so -spoken of are' the Loan Bill and the Railway-Reserves Bill; propositions for inclining a debt, for spending money, for dealing in an-unusual way with a larc;e tract of waste Lands, and for entering upon our most important public works in a particular ! manner. By the Government, of course, we \ mean the ministerial portion of the Ex cutive; those gentlemen who are, according to law, invited, by the Superintendent to advise him on all matters of government ; several of whom must be members of the Provincial Council, taking i| ie duty of introducing and watching over in that-assembly the-measures which they have advised ; who are, further, aco rding to law, responsible to the people for those measures ; which means that rejection by the Council is taken to prove the unsounducss of the advice tfiven, and the iiieoinpetency, therefore, of the advisers; and. if the measures are important, compels them to resign their oilice in favour of some of the majority of the Council, who are supposed 'to hold th« risrht opinions, and, therefore, to be able 'to advise the Superintendent rijrht. Certainly, hitherto, this: theory of the" vay to cbt In the 1-e.n advice has been acted'upon; and. certainly,. t|, e present Government took ohice upon these terms. It' there is one subj.-rt nioie important than nnoilier to the peophi of this Heit!enient,mwre deserving of care in halation, more ihnn r.noMieriequiru.g that Ih- wisest head, the sounde>t juognient.und the most pr;i':iical **xi)enence, should be suugl,! out from avnonir us to delerinim.. it, ii is ti K; fiu i>j t . ct of OUI . nmuu;l> . and next to it, the subject of our public works; together, involving nothing less than the future prosperity of the province, now to be determined upon once and for ever.

We should like to know why the distiuc (ion between measures of policy and 'eeono my is in favour of the former. We have s en one ministry resign because they were anticipated on the Council Enlargement question ; another driven out on ihcAVaste Lands Regulations. There is a distinction here, but which was the most ■important cause of change ? If Ihe Provincial Council is renlly to represent the people, an Executive, to be Responsible, must be chosen from the majority of the Council on an important question ; and, thenfoie, the present Executive must he prepared to resign office' if their propositions are not accepted by'the Council. In short, if the-entlemen who now represent the Superintendent in the Provincial Council a>e ivsil!y responsible for the measures they introduce, according j 0 the theory of their position, it is merely a presumptuous insult to the other members to say that a condemnation of their financial plans by the majority will , lot force theS to resign. If the th.-ory is ,-i-ht, theiV practice is wrong. But, as we said at first they mistake their position. Instead of pretending to be responsible to the people they should say at once that their duty is to do the work of their offices, and to advise his Honor ; and that, their responsibility is to his Honor to carry out, if possible the measures they have agreed upon with 'him That, in fact, the system'lias changed since th^y took office. No,v we ■ look-upon their practice as better than the theory. So lon» as the public are quic-Uy governed in essentials, and have a voice against bad roads and great expense, with a constitutional check on the head of affairs if matters come to'the worst, they do not care to be always changing-inferior officers. We therefore hail, with great satisfaction, this breaking through of a clumsy and expensive theory. We can see the advantage of the Superintendent getting information and advice from his officers ; but we do not see either advantage'or convenience "in one elected body choosing from anotherelec'ed body a few per. • sous who alone shall give advice to both parj ties,and be responsibleforevery thing-done by either. If there must be a Provincial Secretary, it is, .doubtless,-very desirable t'lat he should give the Superintendent the benefit of his information and sayneity, and very convenient that lie should have a seat in the Council ; but if he also pretends that his position depends upon his being the , leading man of a. majosity in the Council, let him be prepared So resign when he and | his plans aie 'unsupported. We repeat that we are glad to see a step-- in the right direction practically mark. It. would have been better, perhaps, not to have challenged the Couircil by a demonstration on the point.

Tin: Council met on Thursday., with great anxiety fov accurate information on the state of the provincial finances, and the measures to be proposed by Government for carrying on the works ' necessary . for the prosperity of the province. We think we may say that whatever differences of opinion then* may be ns to the measures themselves, there waa a general feeling of patipfni-tion at the very full and detailed .statement of accounts!, estimates, and proposed measures which were laid upon the tniileof the Council and furnish' d to each individual member on the iirst day of the session. The paprrs (.laced in the 'hands'of the Members, lhe contents of which we shall publish as soon as we can, were 1. A comparative statement of sums voted for the service of the year 1856-7, and of the expenditure incurred in the half-year • cnuing 30th September, 185 C. 2. Estimates of revenue and expenditure fm" tjc half-year ending 31st March, 1857. 3 lhe Canterbury Association Estate Account, to September 30, 1850. 4i. Account of Immigration Eund.

5. Railway Reserves .Bill. 0. Waste L,ml Regulations Amendment Bill. 7. Loan Bill. / 8. Canterbury Association Debenture Bill. The Council cannot, at any rale, complain of lack or information. What its views are upon the measures submitted we are not able to'state ; but \v« are sure'that members -will feel it their duty to give thirn that patient, and careful consideration which they deserve at their hands. The adjournment, which the Council has just agreed upon, will enable members to investigate closely the details _ which have been supplied for their information.