Correspondence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 482, 17 June 1857, Page 5

Correspondence.

To the Edftar of the Lyttelton Times,

Sic, —-Will you allow'me to suggest, when you renew,'accenting to'promise, your chastisement of the Provincial Council for their con-; duct on the Immigration question, how desirable it'would' be to'lay down, somewhat fully, the principles upon which you conceive the line ''between the functions of the/ Superih-; tendent arid, those of the Council ought to he drawn p An' agreement on this starting point may save subsequent trouble, In oiiip've'spect I admit the Council has assumed Executive duties: in nominating an

and fixing -his salary. Under the circumstances, you will probably not blame them for this. Dv reste, they have set apart a large sum for the purposes of immigration, and have declared by resolution the sort of immigration they intend this money to be spent upon. If this ia assuming Executive duties, is it not equally so to point out the particular public worJcs upon which public money shall be laid out ? Yet will it be" assorted that our. representatives should only vote a large sum for public works, and should leave it to the Superintendent to say whether that sum shall be .spent upon a road to Papanui, or a tramway to..the moon? In either case, if they neglect to declare what it is that the people are to have for their money, they are surely neglecting their duty ay the guardians of the public parse. If the members of the Provincial Council go beyond this, and interfere with the means to be adopted by the Superintendent for carrying their decisions into effect, I grant they are travelling beyond their proper sphere, and will create confusion. This however has not been .attempted in the case under consideration,

With regard to the-resolutions themselves, which j rou accuse of timidity, &c, they appear to me only such as pvudenfc men would insist upon. To shovel in, indiscriminately, the largest number of labourers 3 Tou can possibly pay for is not the way to make a colony pex-manentl}' prosperous, A due apportionment of labour and capital will be found indispensable, and is one of the most difficult problems of a colonial government. The excessive immigration into a neighbouring province compels the Government th'ore to find the immigrants, employment upon costfy public woi'ks: when these come to an end, as ere long they must, it is difficult to say where the Wellington immigrants will find work.

Some regard should also be had to the state 0f...0ur finances. If it is true,as lam informed, that witK a net annual income of about £10,000 or '£15,000, the G-overnment proposes an expenditure.ofabout £50,000,1 think the is quite right in. looking somewhat closely into this expenditure. There are many others besides myself who look with, anxiety upon the liabilities in which we. «ne being involved ; and who, think that we may. fin,d ourselves, ere long, in a position of financial embarrassment, from which we .can only be extricated by an increase of taxation,; or by other violent and equally objectionable means.' :. " I remain, ITour obedient servant, A TAXPAYER. Lyttelton, June 13, 1857. [■ADVERTISEMENT.} To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. Sir,— -Notwithstanding your notice to : Corres« pondents to-day, I trust youwill permit me, as. I am the person whose character has been attacked, to say a few words on Mr. Gresson's letter, ... ■' '"'• ■•'.■■'..'■ '■'■' ' ' I can fully understand Mr. Gvesson's anxiety to defend himself from the supposition of hav-. ing neglected the interests of his client, and perhaps his sensitiveness for his own reputation m y make him undervalue th,n concern I feel for, mine. It was not, however, my intention to, impute to him the charge of neglecting, his client's interests. None who know him would think of doing so. My object, and my only object, in requesting you to publish my reply was not to fasten ixlame on others but to defend myself, and to enable the public to judge between Mr. Cridland's statement and my own, Mr. Cridland's having first been published by you ; . ■-■■■-...•■ •■ . ■.•■_• Mi\ Gresson's letter, however, is more than, a ' justification'of himself. It is a laboured effort to cast blame on me. I shortly reply to it by stating that Mr. Gresspn is right in saying that " An agreement was entered irito between Capt. Harvey and myself by which Capt. Harvey was to enjoy a portion, of my run, &0., 4C-" The^ length to -^hich; Mr. Gresson extends his letter in "attempting to prove this might have been spared. I admitted it from the first. But that is not the entire case... There were conditions attached to tliat agreement which Harvey was the first to violate, and I maintain J(and I cannot but believe that the public will, think me right) that after he hnd done so I waa fully, justified in declining "to; continue to advance'his rent for him, and be (he means of prolonging a connexion which he himself had made so. objectionable. If Capt. Harvey did not 'communicate what had- occurred tv Ins

agents, or. if rhey did not take the necessary means to' ascertain the fiicts of the case, that was no fault of mine. Yet it is- because they did not do so that I Have been charged with official corruption, a, wrong lor which A tear x can obtain no legal redress, because the document containing the charge has become privileged by being embodied in a petitiou to tue Provincial Council. I have the honor to be, bir, Your very Obedient Servant,

WILLIAM GUISE BRITTAN Christchurch, June 13; 1857.