The Lyttelton Times

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 453, 7 March 1857, Page 6

The Lyttelton Times

J ......... - Saturday,^March Ith. . . The difficulty which has arisen with the General Government respecting the appointment of Resident Magistrates in this province is one more proof of the incapacity, or worse than incapacity, of t!)3 present Ministry. We have, abstaine (or. a longtime from givi g expression to an opinion, whiclj has been daily forcing itself upon, (he Southern provinces, that the reign of tile Stafford ministry must cease upon the next

meeting of-the General Assembly, unless a very great change takes place in its views and conduct. We have abstained for various reasons. The difficulties -with which a new government must necessarily be surrounded, the confused state in which the business of the country was left by the. old Executive, the duty of giving a/air trial to the first responsible ministry iv New Zealand, and the fierce attacks to which that ministry was, from the first, subject from the ultra-provincial party, have all conduced to make moderate men pause before they pronounced very harshly upon the proceedings of the new Executive. In no province 'was there a greater inclination to .give Mr. Stafford and his' colleagues fair play than in Canterbury. And we are hound to state our conviction that if Mr. Sewell had rernained^in New Zealand much indiscretion would have been avoided; Although nominally a member of the Kxe cntive, we cannot hold him responsible for those acts of the Government of which he could not be cognizant. Endurance has its limits. In order to secure some unity of action the South gave way to Auckland further tharr Auckland had airy right to expect. The lesson the South has since learned is a bitter one. It is one, however, which will make our members adverse to any compromise which may again endanger our interests. The General

Executive appear to Have thrown themselves as partisans in!O the hands of the North. Southern districts are neglected. Southern business is brouyht to a dead-lock through the apathy of Government or rath«?r, woise than apathy,, the mischievous meddling of a red-tape bea,urocracy—and tlie money voted by the whole colony is spent in such a way as to confer the almost exclusive benefit of the expenditure upon the province which has twelve members to support the Executive in the House of Representatives. It is not our present purpose to enlarge upon the course which the General Government has thought fit to pursue wi.li respect to the Resident Magistrates,—a course which has virtually _.stopped the administration of justice in this province. The General Government have already token care that, we should have no sitting of the Supreme Court and no gaol "delivery- This last effort of theirs lias brought judicial matters to a climax. We propose to consider the question of the Resident Magistracies when the correspondence is published. This dead-lock lias led us., however, to consider the whole spirit and tendency of the General Government policy. We have lately had the question of the Postal Communication with Australia brought prominently before us. At Wellingt n, the General Government, appears' prepared to sacrifice the interests of that, province on the question of the purchase of native lauds. To this subject we also propose to revert on another occasion. And again, on another Postal Question, that ,of the Panama, route, it would appear that the General Government is prepared to make arrangements which may meet the interests of Auckland alone. Where is this to stop?., Have the present ministry counted the cost of their proceedings ? ; They are uniting the whole South cordially against them, and if,unfortunately, it should be found that. the. whole of Auck. laud should vote with them, and tVat the queslion must at last be tried whether one province is to rule the rest or not, we can calculate to a certainty on the issue of the struggle. . ,

The ministry have taken care thata-sys-tern conducive to unity of action, as opposed to the ultra provincial' system, should not receive a fair trial. Instead of being really a General Government, they have shown themselves to be a partisan Government; — they appear to b.e as isolated from, the rest

of New Ze.ihmd, except for purposes of mischievous interference, as the Provincial Government of Auckland itself could be"; and their acts are the more mischievous from the fact of their being done under the name of a Government representing tht voice of the whole colony. . 'If they have done no other good, they have demonstrated more forcibly than ever the necessity of central Government, and have convinced Southern members, of the duty of reconciling petty differences, in order to secure the estiiblishmentof the seat of Government in a position which should be the moat accessible from all paits of the islands of New Zealand.

The Provincial Council, which should have been now in session, has been adjourned for a mouth. . The.reason for this is given out to be, not any embarasstnent from press of work, but the contrary. "The Executive Government, it is said, will not undertake any business of a legislative character nor introduce into the Council any measures but such as .are absolutely necessary, as the budget and its accessories. This course renders it unnecessary to call th/» Council together before the beginning of April, when ti.e accounts for the past financial year will be completed and the time will 'have arrived for voting the supplies for the

coining' year. P.-rliaps tliis^coiirse may be rendered bjr circumstances absolutely necessary. It ia possible ihut, instead of any sins of omission beiiii; chargeable to the office/s of government, they--H» iiy-4eserve every praise for accepting dmi^s from wliicli tln-y could acquire neitlier honour nor emolument, and for consenting1 to subject themselves to many.troubles and, perhaps, much obloquy, during an unsettled time, for the sake of carrying on the govtrnrneut according to law. This, we say, is perhaps the-right view to take of the ca^e, but the-time for full enlightenment has not vet come

Tliouji tlie Government ma}' not be prepared to bring forward an)' measures in the House,there is no reason why the Council should on (hat account be wholly idle. There are pome measures which are really so important that an opportunity for effecting them ought not to be allowed to slip. We pointed out one of the most pressing ofthese a lew days ago, the'amendment of the Council -Extension Ordinance, for which there will occur no other opportunity after the approaching session.

Another matter which we should be glad' to see the attention of the Council drawn to is one which has before now been adverted to in our columns; and which, as concerning the appropriation of the revenue to the department of public works, would be properly entertained at this the regular annual meeting' of the House. We mean the establishment of a permanent gang of men to execute small works and repairs, in lieu of the cumbrous and cosily contract system. The advantages of this alteration are so apparent that it i.5 not necessary to dwell upon them at length. It is sufficient to say that practical experience has taught those who have been.hitherto engaged in forming and repairing our roads the benefit of such a change ; and to point to the .small requirements which any one can see gradually growing up on the roads already formed, in confirmation of its advantages. The contract system nourishes little holes, just as a housewife fattens chickens, till they are large enough for profitable destruction. The expense of such a gang would not be greater than" thY sums required for the current repairs of roads by the contract system, and the power thus obtained would be applicable to many miscellaneous purposes. From A central office a party of men could be, despatched without delay to any small jv/b required ; and at such an office the-re-por.tr.

or complaints of'the public on the condition of the roads they use could be received and made really useful. For our part we should be rejoiced to find some, other outlet than our columns for'every man's particular roadgrievaucK. As long as a newspaper is the only means of producing some, particular performance in the public works department we shall 'of course hold our columns open for public use in that respect, but we should be very glncl no longer to be the vehicle of the indignation of every person who desires to hold the Government up to public odium for the puddle in his own road. How much more convenient, for instance, it would have been forA Bullock Driver,'ourcoi respondent of to-day, to have reported his case, with all particulars, at some office for |he purpose ; and how much more efficacious such a course would have been than a general appeal, corampopulo, to one or two individuals whose business it may be to take steps in the matter.

We have-got several roads in very fair condition ; let us try to preserve our property clevevly.