The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 591, 3 July 1858, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times.

Saturday, July 3rd. Two very important petitions have been presented to the General Assembly during1 the present session. One is from the inhabitants of Ahuriri, or, Hawke's Bay, praying* for a separation from the province of Wellington: the other is from the settlers of the Murihiku District, or southern portion of the Otag'o Province, praying a release from their connection with that province. The questions raised by these two petitions should not be dealt with in a merely Provincial spirit, but with a view to the g-ood government of the colony as a whole.

The Constitution Act provides that the General Assembly may create new Provinces, and alter the bounds of old ones; and the necessity for this provision is obvious. The number and limits of the Provinces established originally were de-" termined' according to the state of New Zealand at the time the Constitution Act was passed. For instance, in the Middle Island there happened to be three settlements, founded at different times, and! forming different centres; but if Canter-! bury had been established the Middle Island would probably have been divided into two Provinces—Nelson and Otago. Such division would, howevei 1, have been no good reason why these plains should not have been erected into a separate Province as soon as the necessity arose. The case of the settlers in the southern portion of the Province of Qtago is somewhat similar to the one we have just supposed. Their interests are totally separate from those of Dunedin, and they are separated by geographical difficulties of a very marked kind. They have their own port, and their own resources; and they are in no way connected with Dunedin, either by interest or by sympathy. If our present Constitution were intended to confer local self-government, is it not worse than absurd to leave the unfortunate Murihiku settlers to suffer under a sort of bastard centralism —to be victimised at a distance by what we may fairly call the worst Provincial Government in New Zealand ? They may surely complain with justice of their being handed over to Dunedin.

The case at Hawke's Bay is somewhat similar. The Ahuriri settlers have not indeed to complain of an incompetent Government, but they certainly had to deal with a very grasping one. They have had less "local self government" than they would have had under the old regime. We wonder how the quondam worshippers of this " local self government" can for a moment oppose the natural development of these principles. Unfortunately, by " local self government" in too many cases was meant Provincial Aggrandizement. Let those who were in earnest show it now, by helping the petitioning

districts to obtain real local self governWe could have wished that districts situated like those we speak of, could have been erected into municipalities dependant on the General Government. Some such arrangement would meet the necessities of the cSse. But the Constitution Act lays down that every province shall have a Superintendent and Provincial Council. This provision need not, however lead to much expense. A Superintendent, who might, for the present perform the necessary functions of Eesident Magistrate and Treasurer, might get on with a Provincial Council of nine members, without much expense or legislation. He would not be able, it is true, to go through all the formula of a small kingdom ;—well, so much the better. But such a Government would give a just share of political rights to New Zealand settlers, who are now debarred from them. It is not by violent revolutions that the objectionable features of our Constitution should be overturned. In New Zealand we may follow the example of the mother country, and allow changes to grow up by degrees as there may be necessity for them. As any district becomes important enough to have separate interests from the province in which it is now comprised, and as soon as it can show good cause for separation, let it stand by itself. Gradually the Provincial powers will become wtiat they eventually must be, purely municipal. The position of some of the provinces at present requires that they should have more than municipal powers. By following out this policy of gradual separation, Provincial powers will only dimmish as there is no longer necessity for them.