THE PREMIER at WANGANUI.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 368, 25 March 1876, Page 2

THE PREMIER at WANGANUI.

We make no attempt to reproduce the report of l>ir Julius Voxel's speech. It is too long and detailed to inteiest the general reader. The verbatim report furnished by the ' Daily Times ' places the speech in our hands. Jt is very unsatisfactory, and is also not so honest as it should be. If Sir Julius bad been in the Colony he would not have been guilty of making the exploded false statement to prove departmental economy by means of ,consolidation, while ignoring the expense of Local Boards. This is the more glaring, as he talks of paid Chairmen. The Goldfields. as usual, are ignored, or rather, consideration is postponed. The Premier said : With respect to the Goldfields, I am not prepared to go into it thoroughly to-night. 1 will only say that we do n»t recognise that miners constitute a distinct class, and that mining districts are entitled to ths distinctive treatment which many Goldfields members advocate; but we do recognise that-min-ing districts are as much entitled to local control in determining whatis necessary for their local iuteiests as agriuiltural or jural districts are. I hope that ve shall he aide to devise a system which wil give Ihe mining districts much larger local ontrol than they have yet bad, and I believ that by such a system we shall do more tcobviate dissatisfaction than can be done by any svstem based upon the theory tha the miners are different beings from the ret of the community.

There is of course noliing more in these few sentences tan has been preached by every Goldelds jourr.i-1 in i*s sensib-e moods, -'lie fact that lhe_Government have crated the speciality complained of isorgotten. A. bait is offered to Audand in the shape of the abolition of':He education tiis, and an educational bl is promised. Tins means the Sout must find the money without locay t.tsiDg the •North. The locaKsntioibththe residue of the land fund < spoken of. This is utterly valueless because, although th'e centralisatioi.of all revetnie is detes mined upon lothinjj whatever is said about the stributon of the present Provincial nponsibilities. If it-is necessary that tire should be a forced communism, 1< the fact be Btated barely. JNothin was siid nt Wansranui that could n< be said with regard to a proposal to .-nsolidate into one Empire and Tasury every Country and State in E,-ope. Sir Julius showed his weaknev perhaps his indifference, by a futil snapping at Superintendents. Piobay the \Yaneanui speech has sealei temporarily the fate of the Vogel Mitfry. - . >