THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1875.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 352, 3 December 1875, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1875.

The tone assumed by candidates towards the Legislative .Council during the electoral campaign may be a useful index, indirectly showing what form they would really wish the Government of the Country to assume. "We 'were prepared to find that the extreme Abolitionistß,. and thsir supporters in the press, would be 'the sternest denouncers of the Legislative Council. It is worth while: to' measure and weigh the denunciations of the unpopular House, when coming from so strange a quarter. Are they worth the energy expended in giving them ,. ; -'. ~ ■'__■■ v JNotwithstaiidiiig; arguments that have been used by some-pf the Opposition leaders} "that the Assembly would be as justified in abolishing the Legislative Councils as in liahihg the Provincial Councils, it ib easily made tpp treat that the two acts would be on an entirely different footing. Both Earl (prey and Sir John Takington pointed, out, at the first issue of the Constitution, and its after alteration, that, gradually, Provincial Councils would merge into bodies with powers and functions, of a more strictly municipal character, ; In fact, Provincial Governments were started as a form of local central administration which commended itself to the framers of the Constitution for initiatory purposes, but which could be always regulated or altered by the people themselves, according to the circumstances which might arise in the Colony as it grew. The elasticity which was thus'given to: tlie purely popular pi Zealand Constitution does not for; amoment justify its arbitrary abolition J by a worn out Parliament ;■'■ but it jus l ' | tified the Governor to a certain extent in'assenting to what* the Hoiise of Bepresentatives thought fit to -pass as not.; being contradictory : .tor the views'held by the English Colonial | Ministers of the present arid of the] past. Leaving out of consideration the 'real unrepresentative nature of the Assembly, now in its fifth year of de-; cadence; the Governor Was amply jus: tified in leaving the House to dealwith the regulation of the" parish business" of the Colony as it thought fit. " "VV ere the Legislative Cpuncil threatened in any shape it Would be a different matter. The Council is a of the Legislature, which, from its very nature, must be unpopular. No Governor would take it upon himself to assent, on behalf of the Queen, to any alteration in the Upper House without first submitting the. proposed, alteration to the Colonial 'Office. While.no doubt, in the end, the clearly express sed will of the people. would have its course, yet any-such expression could not be given effect to in a ; hurry, or without.at least a year or more's delay. In the meantime the present difficulty will be re-arrariged,'andthe alteration of the Upper "House may or may not exercise an appreciable influence in the future. .

The Centralists of the day—who, while mocking the people with a proffer of fictitious local government, would hand them over bound hand and foot to the landowners oT the counties to be created - x who would centre all land legislation in and all land administration in Wellington nomioees ,—are not unwisiefin' tKeir : generation. "Tnder a popular cry of Legislative Council reform they- endeavor to tide over and lull ■ to sleep the now awakened public intelligence of the Colony. What the Centralists of Otago, are really ddirigis to assist in an effort to take away the, people every shred regulate their own .affairs they now possess in ; order to place it in the hands and under the control of the Legislative Council,

■which;■■/for'their own ends, they denounce and pretend to wish to see reformed.

It were a thousand times wiser to get at the Council in another way. If each Province or Island resumes what it was originally granted the regulation of its own business,—-and the Houses of Assembly are confined to certain well-defined federal functions, the present Upper-House could do but, little harm. If possible, in any case by all means, make the Upper House elective. It would be the greatest of pities to fall into the Centralists' trap, and waste, the popular energy on a struggle that for some time could result in nothing. If we do we may tie sure that under cp.ver.of the smoke we shall allow our privileges of local goyernment. to be swept ; away into the gulf at Wellington. ;

Mb. Cuthbebtson, the brilliant member for Invercargill, has been performing a task for. which he appears particularly :well fitted. The Hon. "VV. H. Reynolds, Commissioner of Customs, &c, is singularly happy in his well-fit-ting garment of Ministerial innocence which he elects to wear. He is always ready to allow his colleagues to bear any obloquy arising from time to time against the Government. In the Ministerial masque all he asks is to be allowed in season and out of season to be allowed to play the part of Government coiißcience-keeper. Mr. Cuthbertson, who daring last session proved the most devoted of Ministerial tools, was willing to oblige the great Southern Minister, and show him off to advantage. A fitting opportunity occurred at Invercargill. A ; deputation waited upon him, headed by Sir John Richardson, to ask to be allowed to bring under his notice a technical piecejof local business. Good eaßy-gping folk at Invercargill have long since foregone the silly notion that they are able to do anything for themselves except quarrel. They accordingly delight in the rare chance of catching a big man to weary with their lighter trifles. The business was transacted —at any Tate it was well talked about. The occasion bid fair to be lost. Mr. Cuthbertson, however proved equal to the tremendous emergency. The great man's time should not be sacrified for nothing. He himself would put a little question, the answer to which should utterly rout the unappreciative men of Invercargill. He would show to. them what the Opposition had lost for them, and what he (Cuthbertson) had nearly gained; The question was accordingly put, and in reply came the carefully treasured words of wisdom—" Under the system " of government to be substituted for " Provincialism, Road Boards would be "subsidised at the rateof £2 for every "j6l of jrates collected hy them v,but "that in the meantime they wo'uld 're- - • ceive only l3sv 4fa! foi* each £l col- " lected. This was owing to the Gene"ral Government, baying to take over " the provincial finanaes';'.' but if the " new-system had begun on the Ist of " October, as intended, the subsidy of " £2. would have been made retrospec- " tive, Now it would not come into "operation till the Act -was! in force:" See, said the great man, the sweet mor--1 sel prepared for you. You would have had throughput the Colony £2 to every £1 collected as rates, but now you will only getl3s.,4d. Instead of raising only £1 from yourselves we would have allowed you to raise £3 from yourselves. No wonder the' Provincialists of Invercargill went away to mourn in secret, and that the Minister and his leader sang a noble poeon of victory. Sir John Richardspn's want of discern-; mfent pf genius was rudely made ap'pa-: rent. he -withdreWioiandVhoped -Mr. -Reynolds •would not regard it as coming from the" deputation of Which he (Sir John) was a member. . ■:■■■•■■:■,•::