ELECTION MEETING AT RENWICK

Marlborough Express, Volume IV, Issue 197, 2 October 1869, Page 4

ELECTION MEETING AT RENWICK

A Meeting of the Electors of the Upper Wairau was held on Thursday evening last, at the Woolpack Inn, for the. purpose of hearing Messrs. Goulter and Paul, when 26 persons were present. H. Pitt, Esq., in the chair.

Mr, Goulter said they had called them together before offering themselves again as candidates, to give some account, and to indicate what they thought should be brought before the next Council. During the last year or two, they had been unable to do anything for them for want of funds, and from a division of opinion in the Council. Some wanted a fair division of the revenue, which would enable us to go on more successfully than any other Province ; others despaired of getting justice, and were more favorable to a County scheme, giving up legislation to the Assembly. What we wanted was Education and Roads. The late General Government did all they could to retard us, and hojted to diiye us to give up the Province, and adopt their pet county scheme. The

present Ministry, being ultra-provincialists, sought to attach us to Nelson, a course by which we could gain nothing, while we should lose the control of our local affairs. Consequent upon our opposition to re-an-nexation, £3,000 had been voted for us, by means of which we were placed in the position to help om-selves, by the creation of Road Districts. It would be their first duty to reduce the expenses to the lowest scale of efficiency. During the last few years they had been brought very low, but thei-e w’ere yet some to be reduced. He considered £3,000 could be saved out of the Land Revenue, but we must have a Road Act as well. He would propose the division of the Province into several large districts—Picton, Pelorus, Wairau, Awatere, and Kaikoura. Some of these now wished to manage their own affairs, which he was quite agreeable to. These Road Districts would have to save all they could, and apply to trunk lines. In those like and Wairau, they might form local boards to raise rates and make roads. In this district, which was divided into three portions by the rivers, care should be taken to group properties together, and people could ai’range among themselves what was required. For trunk lines there should be a general rate, and throughout the Province small local boards foi local roads, leaving the trunk lines to the large district boards. What could be spared by the latter, he would give to the local ones. He would use the same territorial divisions for educational purposes ; the late Education Act broke down for want of funds. Either parents must defray the expenses themselves, or, if we looked on it as a public benefit, the whole Province must contribute. He did not approve of drawing a line round a school, and making the residents bear the expense, and could not see why people not using the school should pay more than those at a distance. Where there was a large population, schools were self-supporting, but the country required assistance. The fairest way would be to make the public pay by a small rate over the whole Province. In reply to a question, he had gone over the list of householders supplied, and found everyone had either paid or been sued. The Land Regulations provided that works might be paid for in land ; and as there was still much good land in the Kaituna, for instance, unsold, be hoped some one would see their way to “ take it out." Some road lines not now required could now be exchanged for more advantageous lines by complying with the Land Taking Clauses. In reply to Mr. Litchfield he said there were some Education Reserves unlet ; they had been advertised, but few offers made. Land to be given in payment for road works would have the price fixed by the Waste Lands' Board, but the work would be advertised. About £3,000 of the Land Fund might be saved, and about £I,OOO in departments; he would prefer to leave the details to the Council, but would reduce all that could be done.

Mr. Eves said there were one or two items gradually increasing every year of which they must not lose sight, which could not be got rid of. These were. Supreme Court expenses and charitable aid. He had tried to get sittings here, and should continue to do so. They would increase as we increased. It would be much cheaper for us if the Judge came here in various ways ; except bare expenses the cost was borne by the whole Colony. He referred to a recent case which had coat the Province over £ 90, besides personal cost and inconvenience. The benefit would be both in civil and criminal cases. Mr. Paul had little to say after what had fallen from his colleague. He was elected under peculiar circumstances. They could do nothing in the Council for want of money. He looked on Roads and Education as the principal things. It would be well to appoint District Boards and Central, Road;Boards ; the latter kept up by the Land Fund as much as possible. For some time he had felt they were suffering greatly from indirect taxation in their district. It was part of a main trunk road, and wanted mendiug badly, and he was an advocate for District Road Boards. It was a difficult matter to provide Education to suit all persons, but he thought it hard to tax land for such a purpose ; it ought to come out of the Land Fund, and the Household Rate, which was not heavy ; true, it was unpopular, but it was hard for landed proprietors to pay for Education, when they did not derive benefit from it. He would advocate an amalgamation of offices, paying them well, but see they bad something to do, treating it purely as a business matter. They must have a Superintendent, but he would find him something to do ; and advocated economy in all things. In reply to Mr. Ward, he was in favor of a compulsory Road Act, and did not think permissive bills any good. Mr. Coulter was in favor of a small compulsory rate for the Central Boards, but for Districts, he would let them wade through the mud if they liked. Mr. Eyes had no intention of saying anything, although being an elector of the district he had a right to do so, but he was surprised to hear Mr. Coulter say as he had done ; he thought he had come to his own way of thinking, that the permissive system would not work. There were some things in which he could not agree with im, as that nothing had been done for the district, becaus there was no funds. The district had needed little compared with other parts of the

Province, as the Awatere, and the Clarence roads. They had always had a good road to Blenheim, their port ; the Kaituna road, constructed at great expense, and lately repaired. Their representatives had done all that could be done for them ; that more had not been done was because no absolute necessity arose. They were interested in Picton ; a very costly road, requiring a large and constant outlay, and must be kept good. With reference to the late Ministry, he thought the present no better disposed to us than the last —he feared not so well, since they would have re-annexed us to Nelson, a course distasteful to the Province, but infinitely worse than the present system. He had always been an advocate for a compulsory Hoad Act. Money paid for rates was well expended ; Blenheim and Picton had long taxed themselves, and found the benefit; so far from being distasteful to Blenheim, they had gone in to a very great extent under the Municipal Corporations Act. Permissive Bills were unfair, because people would not rate themselves; the rates might be as low as they liked, and they would never get good roads until they were compulsory. His plan was that trunk lin s should be supported out of the Land Fund, and what remained divided among the District Boards It had been the savings of the Provincial chest which had kept the roads going hitherto. They should go in for economy; none had done more than he had himself, both in the Province and the Assembly, and he had saved £1,300 the session before last, but this year he did not see bis way clear to do more except at Kaikoura. [Mr. Ward : Why not do awaj 7 with the Resident Magistrate at Blenheim as well as at Picton ? ] He endeavored this year, with others, to get an Act passed to give a jurisdiction up to £IOO to J.P.’s, but was unsuccessful. Picton had the benefit of the Resident Magistrate as well as Blenheim, and were he done away with, they would have to go to Nelson with every case over £2O.

In reply to Mr. O’Sullivan, Mr. Coulter said he considered the trunk lines were from Nelson through Kaituna and Renwick to the Amuri ; from Picton to Blenheim, and from Kaituna by Spring Creek to the Ferry. Mr Ward and Mr. Litchfield next addressed the meeting. The latter was in favor of a compulsory Road Act, and believed the country people were quite willing to tax themselves. He was in favor of a property-tax, for roads, hospitals, charitable institutions, and education Persons using the schools should also pay a small fee. He was in favor of economy in departments. The rest of the proceedings were of a conversational kind, and were closed by a vote of thanks to the Chairman.

A Maiden’s “Psalm o? Life.”—Tell us 10 in idle jingle “Marriage is an empty dream!” for the girl is dead that’s single, and things are not what they seem. Life is real ! life is earnest ! single blessedness a fib : “ Man thou art to man returnest !” has been spoken of the rib. Not enjoyment and not sorrow is our destined end or way, but to act that each to-morrow finds us nearer marriage day. Life is long, and youth is fleeting, and our hearts, though light and gay, still like pleasant drums are beat inn weddinn mar ohes all the way. In the world’s broad field of battle, in the bivouac of life, be not like dumb driven cattle ! be a heroine—a wife. Trust no future, how’er pleasant, let the dead Past bury its dead ! —act, act, to the living Present ! heart within ami hope ahead ! Lives of married folks remind us we can live our lives as well, and departing leave behind us such examples as shall “tell.” Such examples that another, wasting life in idle sport—a forlorn unmarried brotherseeing shall take heart and court. Let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart on triumph set—still contriving, still pursuing, and each one a husband get.—American paper.