DISINTEGRATION OF THE PROVINCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 126, 28 May 1872, Page 2

DISINTEGRATION OF THE PROVINCE.

On Thursday last Mr. O'Conor moved " That, ia the opinion of this Council, it is advisable to place the Nelson Southwest Goldfields under a local form of government, so as to promote the material prosperity of that district, by securing to ifc a more equitable public expenditure, and a more advantageous disposal of the waste lands of the Crown." He argued that, although the goldfields contributed by far the larger portion of the revenue, they were not sufficiently represented in the Council, where nearly all the power rested with the members of the settled districts who were entirely ignorant of the wants and necessities of a mining community. The Executive too, actedentirely upon hearsay in matters connected with the West Coast, being guided by the representations of tbe heads of departments who never consulted the public on any single question. He could not understand why the goldfields should be denied the same privileges that were accorded to other parts of tbe community, or what was to prevent their having some local form of administration that should have the power of carrying on the public works that at present were so grossly mismanaged. The contrast between the roads on the Nelson and Westland sides of the Grey river was most marked,* on the former they were a laughingstock to the visitor, on the latter a credit to them who undertook tbem. A glance at the Estimates showed that matters were growing worse, as there Was not enough set down on them to maintain the wretched roads already existing, not to say anything of making new ones. The administration of the Waste Lands was a complete failure, as the system of agricultural leases, aa it was carried out, simply gave rise to speculation, and did not tend to the extension of agricultural pursuits. He did not believe this mismanagement was wilful on the part of the Government, but simply the result of ignorance, and that a far different state of things would exist were I the Executive resident on the Coast. It I must be seen that if matters were to go on as they were going on now, the province must be ruined and the goldfields deserted, aud to remedy this a totally different kind of government must be adopted. The resolution having ; been seconded by Mr. Kynnerslet, the debate was adjourned until last night, when it was resumed by. Mr. Guinness, who believed that the whole of tbe goldfields in New Zealand] required some distinct and exceptional form of Government. There were scarcely any main roads on the Nelson South-west Goldfields, and those portions that wereimade were rendered useless by the rest being left unfinished. Main roads suqh,as ,w.ere being ; undertaken by the General were absolutely essential to the prosperity of . tjh,e district, jas it was by "them a 6iitf ttiU the large

tracts of agricultural land would be developed. He felt perfectly justified in saying that while the Government had frittered away large sums of money on by-tracks, they had neglected to make the main trunk lines. He wished to see the management of local affaira placed in the bands of those who possessed a personal knowledge of the localities to be dealt with. The : Provincial Treasurer protested against, the complaint that the Council was not, willing to do all in its power for 'he goldfields, and showed that in the Highways Act every alteration suggested by the West Coast members' was. willingly adopted. He objected to breaking up the country into smaller divisions each with its own -government, but would rather reduce tbe number of provinces already existing. The roads on the Nelson 1 side had been contrasted with those in Westland as showing the advantage of local government, but, he would ask, how.many of those roads had been made by the county itself ? Almost every bridge, too, was erected by private enterprise and protected. The system of agricultural leases had been found fault with both inside end outside tbe Council, but.be contended that it was a great boon to the settlei s, and offered advantages that had been struggled for in vain elsewhere. To show how it worked as contrasted with Hie system pursued in the i County of Westland, which was said to be so far superior, he would quote a few figures. According to the last returns, the number of holdings in the Buller and Grey districts, cot including the extensive valley of the Upper Buller was 142 ; in Westland, 184. Of laud broken up but not under crop ■ there were in Nelson 174 acres, in "Westland, 215 ; in oats for hay, Nelson, 721, Westland, 280 acres; in oats for grain, Nelson 223, Westland, 7 acres ; in barley, Nelson 11 t acres, Westland one; in grass bay, Nelson B'7, Westland 119 acres; in permanent artificial grass, Nelson 1352, Westland 1336 acres; in potatoes, Nelsou 256, Westland 218 acres. The total under crop in the goldfields on the Nelson si c, in the province that had so neglected its duties by ;not providing facilities for settlers to go on to the lands, was 2644 seres, while in the model County of Westland it was only 1938 acres. Nor must it be forgotten that the population of the respective districts were, Nelson 8466, Westland 15,357. It must be remembered, too, that the above figures did not include a single acre in that important district between the Lyeli and Rotoroa the whole of which was included in the Waimea electoral district. Mr. O'Conor complained that the evils arising from the government of the West Coast were entirely owiug to the Executive being wholly on this side. He (Mr. Shepherd) so far agreed with him that he thought it was a great mistake not having a member of the Executive resident on he Coast, as had been provided for two years ago. If at any time errors had been made by the Government,, they were cow earnestly desirous of remedying tbem, and were most anxious to see the country well governed, opened up in every direction, and made as prosperous as the means at their command would permit of. Mr. Kynnersley would dispose of Mr. Shephard's agricultural statistics in a few words by saying tbat on tbe Nelson side there was a large tract of clear land on Totara Flat such as did not exist in Westland. This accounted for the difference in the amount of land under cultivation. He believed that a very general dissatisfaction with tho existing state of things existed on the West Coast, arising entirely from the mismauagment of the present Government, and the fact that revenue to the amount of at least £7000 contributed by the goldfields was spent ou the settled districts. He should vote 'for ' the resolution by way of expressing his ' deliberate opinion that the goldfields would be far better managed by some system of , local government than by an Executive residing in Nelson^, Mr. Collins would ' oppose the motion, first, iv deference to the opinion of his constituents, who, be was sure, would not approve of the disintegration of the province, secondly, be- , cause by voting for it he should be » endorsing, the accusations against the Go- i vernment, which he believed to be nn- ' founded and ; unfair, and thirdly, because „ ha did not think it would be wise to ( attempt to anticipate in that Council the - time he looked forward to when the whole ■< of New Zealand would be enjoying local self-government. , This was a change, however, tbat could not be brought about _ by a Provincial Council. Mr. Reid felt sure that the ; greatest dissatisfaction pre- f vailed throughout the West Coast, r occasioned by the constitution of the \ Nelson Government, and the : manner y in which' it" was -carried n on, which he looked upon, as the bane of the"; goldfields, but he did not think the present resolution was the' correct antidote. :Ifc ■ , contained ijayidiofls comparisons and rcfe | flections that were not likely to tie ,

swallowed by a body of men such as those of which thetlouncil waß composed. He had another objection to it, namely, tbat the locality to which it referred was not yet prepared for self-government. They had no Road Boards, and the country was uot sufficiently populated or advanced in public works for the people to take upon themselves at once tbe task and responsibility of self-government. Still there were great grounds for discontent with regard io the inequality of both representation and expenditure. He would propose as an amendment, ■' That this Council recognises the desire of the inhabitants of the West Coast Goldfields to possess, according to revenue and population, a fair and equitable share in the administration of the public estate and expenditure; and, with a view to that object, recommends that such measures should be taken as may be deemed best calculated to secure uniformity in the goverment of the Goldfields, and full participation by the inhabitants in the advantages of popular representation of local interests and requirements, as contemplated by the constitution of the Colony." Mr. F. Kelling and Mr. Gibbs having hotb spoken against the resolution, the debate was, on the motion of Mr. Baigent, adjourned until this evening.