Manamatu Herald. FRIDAY. JUNE 20, 1879. HOW WE ARE GOVERNED.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 84, 20 June 1879, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. FRIDAY. JUNE 20, 1879. HOW WE ARE GOVERNED.

♦ In the Assessment Court at Wanganui, on Monday last, Mr Hardcastle, the. Judge, read Mr Hobarfc Pharazyn and a few other gentlemen rather a severe lesson upon the duties of public bodies, and the actions of those who undertake to administer them. It appears from the report that Mr Pharazyn (who was Chairman of the Wanganui-Waitotara Highway Board) and three other members of that body resigned their positions in March last, leaving only one member — a Mr Dymock — upon the Board. Mr Pharazyn resigned " because he did not feel sure of his legal position." In cross-examina-tion, however, he admitted that he " did not think that any one could be returned to act on the Hoard when he resigned." Having taken this first step towards bursting up the" Board, Mr Robert Pharazyn was surprised to find that the one member who remained in office, and the Secretary were sufficient to preserve the Board from utter extinction, and the usual valuation was made. He and two of his fellow-patriots therefore appeared before the Assessment Court, and objected to tbe whole valuation, on the ground that there was no Board in existence, This, however, was overruled by Mr Hardcastle, the Governor having issued an order in Council which obviated the difficulty. He said : — Without saying that there is yob room here for argument, I think I should lean strongly to the construction which carries out the Act, and against the technicality which would defeat it, and that there is enough here, apart from the other contentions raised for the Board, to cause n,e to overrule the objection. The remaining technical objections seem to be fully met in the Order in Council which hus been put in. They are overruled. I wish the matter called for no further romark, but the one thing evident from these proceedings is that sorae of the former members of the Board whose duty it was to provide a valuation list, have tried so to use the valuation law as to prevent the formation of a valuation list. The attempt to do this through tbe instrumentality of the Court compels mt> to allude to it, but I don't wish to say anything that candid reflection will not repeat, to the gentlemen concerned. The means used were, an attempt by resignations to dissolve the Board, and refusal to appoint a place for the inspection of the list when called upon to do so, and the setting up of these deficiencies, and their consequences amongst other things, as invalidating the list. If this attempt succeeded- the result would be that the district roads could not be repaired during the winter, und the main road traversing the district, if repaired at all, must have been repaired with money taken from another district. Any public body entrusted with important public duties has necessarily the power, if it ohooses, to inflict on its constituents serious public iv j ury . In th b case tbe injury is contended to be, by an accident of the law, irremediable. It was surely bythe most unfortunate of mistakes that such an opportunity was made use of. It seems a more persistent error to attempt now to sue down upon the heads of the ratepayers, whose representatives they were, the supposed consequences of acts that they themselves have done or have omitted to do, when those consequence! are palpably disastrous. Such actjon here challenges consideration. I will only say that it is an example whioa

I hope no other citizens in the district will be found to follow when they have sought and have accepted public ti-uata. However unpleasant the criticism of Mr Havdcaatle may have been to Mr Eobert Pharazyn and his coadjutors, we think the outside public will cordially endorse tho remarks we have quoted. Upon the face of it there is not a redeeming feature about the whole affair, which appears to have been a disgraceful attempt to burst up a public body, and disorganise the local gpvernment of a district. We do not know anything of the local politics of Waitotara, and beneath the surface there may be mitigating circumstances; but whilst we can perfectly understand a number of gentlemen feeling compelled upon grounds of principle to retire from a body possessing a bad constitution and a lack of financial vitality, or which was unable to perform the work laid upon it. we cannot conceive of any circumstances which would warrant the majority of a political body in endeavouring to strangle the institution they were elected to administer. The fact that Mv Pharazyn relied upon the law as the rope to hang the Board does noi improve matters, for the reason tha' it was his own action, and that of his fellow objectors, which placed the Board in ics false position. Anj^ such effort on the part of members of a Board was probably never contem • plated by the framers of the Act, and common sense accords with the decision of the Judge in leaoiag " to the construction which carries out the Act, and against the technicality which would defeat it." Where a political insiitution is imperfect, surely the more manly and honorable course is to endeavour to improve it, rather than to attempt to burst it up by such conduct as that of Mr Phrarazyn and the other members of the Waitotara Board. If such a system were allowed to prevail, local government would speedily become a farce and a delucion. Large districts might be left entirely unprovided for, and political anarchy result within their boundaries. A great many persons are apt to look with contempt upon the duties and operations of Local Boards, Highway Boards, and such bodies but at present they hold an important place amongst our institutions. We certainly are overgoverned, but whilst these bodies exist and admiuister public funds, the ratepayers should see that men are elected to them, who will honestly administer public funds for the greatest good of the greatest number.