THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1873.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 216, 18 April 1873, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1873.

" Let -the Superintendent be in a posi- " tion similar to the manager of a bank " directly responsible to the direc- " tory—then we see no'reason why the " offices of Provincial Secretary,'-Pro- " vincial Treasurer, and Secretary of " Laud and Works should not be done "away with, and a simple Board of " Directory, to meet once a month, be ■" substituted for the present Executive " system." If our worthy con-tempo-rary had said, responsible to the electorate of the Province, we would gladly have uttered " Amen " to his aspiration. Mr. Macau drew himself pointed out the useless expense of these cumbersome Provincial Governments that, from their very constitution, are bound: to exhaust half theirtime aud'strength in miserable personalities, so often called party questions. He drew",the comparison, which has been borrowed unacknowledged by the' Bruce Herald,' between the departmental business of the Province and the minutiae of a mercantile house. His words (we quote from memory) were—" That no " more business was undertaken by the " Provincial Government than was put " through, day after day, by the mana- " ger of any large mercantile house " with its. proper complement of clerks •" and assistants."

Public opinion has been steadily coining round of late years towards doing away with the Provincial Councils. The only check that has kept this opinion from being very strongly expressed, has been the dread of great centralisation of Government, while the communications of the country are still necessarily tortuous and dilatory; The 'Assembly has pretty well absorbed all real power that formerly was exercised by the Provinces, .and, the delegated powers that are from time to time necessary would be administered with more speed and efficiency by an Executive Officer such as the Superintendent would be without the Council, than now, when he always

is able —generally with reason—to attribute delays and mismanagement to his Executive. The difficulty is, as to how the Provincial Council shall die decently. It is hardly to be expected that it will vote its own final dissolution ; aud failing that, it would tall to the Assembly to deal with the question ; an 1 for this body to take it up effectively, action would have to be initialed by the Government. Probably, as parties are balanced «it preseut, neither a Ministry led by Mr. Yogel or by Mr. Stafford, would be strong enough to venture the initiation of a | measure that should be of a sufficiently destructive nature, and yet, at the same time, would create a direct subadministrative system. ' 'lhe. benefit to the Goldfields of an Elective Officer in Dunediu, directly responsible to. the General Government, would be very great. Instead of every little matter having to perform a peripatetic round in the Dunedin Government offices, it would "be at once considered and decided upon — the responsibility of assent or refusal being clearly attachable to an- individual. The deciding power, too, -would be brought into more direct communication with the wants of the Goldlie: ds. It would be a poor thing,'in our opinion, to say that the Electorate is not to be trusted with the choice of an administrative Executive Officer, but' only with the appointment of a Board of Directors, who should elect the Superintendent or Chairman. The practical effect of the latter plan would be, that the officer would always be liable to be guided in his actious by a desire to please and satisfy the leading mind, or minds, on the Board that he was responsible to. Besides which, an officer elected by a Board, if the office requires a man of energy and original talent, would always be apt to be a middle-course, please-all dummy, for Boards are very fond of getting out of a personal election by choosing the third-best man. it is, above all things, necessary that tlie highest power inthe Province should be directly responsible to the .public, that in his actions he should look to nothing else than satis 7 fying theirreqnirements—nota Board's fancies. An indirect advautasje might also be gained by such a mode of Provincial Government—that the Superintendent, being subject to the Assembly though not chosen by if, the electors generally might concentrate their interest, and bring to bear an enlightened public opinion upon the proceedings of that body—and much more, the election of suitable members. At present, what public opinion there is is lost in its division between the two forms of Government.