The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, OCTOBER, 30, 1874.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 258, 30 October 1874, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, OCTOBER, 30, 1874.

Elsewhere will be found a portion of the memorial addressed by bir George Grey fo 'the Governor of New Zealand, protesting against (he proposed alteration in the constitution. The document is tod lope to' publish in extenso, but we have extracted that particular portion in which the petitioner advances what be, hhS; Jo say in favor of provincial institutions. In bis affection for the ebjjd oft hie r early manhood, Sir George Grey appears to have overlooked tlm fk'eiiihat provincialism ia not what it vsap. He seems to forget that tbo •^eoVrfef 1 Government has, year by year, and Hfale by little,; taken to itself the powers, osy, the very revenues that, oa&^be'K&ged (o the Provincial Govern'Qjfen't^. He ionorea the fact that. r «hk^be ; exception, of . Otago ami "Canterbury, the, .proyinced of- Kdw Zealaod are reduced to a state bordering uopn beggary. The only way )n whjqb toucan carry on their functions a; laiFaatiefaotoriiy ia by means of borrowed moaey, and thej are fo;biddeo

Jo borniw^ Tfiey; are simply living upon jwhas ftheyf eaiK get from the General (^overntjj^jit, ao< j those who give ihiainpney! stipulate that they ahaliv4irfect Jipw f{ jjs.jtGL.be spent. Wa are tdtd tbaY' **thV provincial system baa been perfectly successful in,, this country." Looking af the que^ion^ from a local point of view, we would ask, does this statement apply to Nelson? Is it not a fact that nine tenths of the population of this province are looking forward with eagerness to the time-when they ehall I bid farewell to its tiuy Parliament I which usually devotes some five or six | weeks to the passing of two or three little new '■ Acts," and' the repeal of others which it has passed in previous sessions? Is there not a general cense of weariness of things as they are, and a longing for some new form of Government with less pretensions, but a greater probability of being useful and more satisfactory in its working ? t And yet we are told that the provincial system is perfectly successful. Bound together as the colony now is^bj. that great centralising agent, the4elegraph, which extends from the far north. to. the. extreme south; with steamers running every three or four days between the 7 various ports; with the prospect of inland communication being speedily j effected ...throughout the country by means or railroads; what need have we ofnineParliameots, and as many separate Governments, when U«e work can be equally well done by ope. That legislation on this matter must not be hurried, we quite »gree with Sir I George Grey. The people should have time to ponder the matter carefully over, and we would go further, and say that they should have the opportunity of learning what is to be substituted for the present form of Government. If they then decide in favor of\ maintaining the existing state of things, we may depend upon it that (he reason | will be that there is something faulty I in the new proposale, and not that they are enamoured of provincial institutions. The Olago Daily Times has an article upon this memorial, the following extract' from which we commend to the notice of our readers : To every one who dispassionately considers Sir George -a; petition in < the light of the present condition of affairsin New Zealand, tbe circumsttnctß which have caused him j to approach its perusal with an exceptional feeling of interest will only prove to he cumulative reasons for disappointment. For the document it.- elf his a twofold character. As a mere pr-.teat against hasty "legislation it will carry wih it the sympathy of every man. But as a" manifesto against the long foreseen and now rapidly approaching abolition of the provincial system of .government, it is but ihe plaintive whine of art inventor, who sees his ingenious devices about to be superseded by more practically -useful improvements, the value of which ' has been dtterrained not by theory, but by the hard logic of experience. The burden of the argu- i ment, which lies lmlf-buried in thia rambling I p&tition, is that the General Assembly of New i Zealand does not represent its people; that the Provincial Councils and tbe Superintendents do, and that therefore It will be dangerous to our liberties if the superior Legislature should be permitted to' alter the status, character, or functions of the inferior. Like,a'great;many;other arguments,- this one is unaseailable if we do but grant the premises. We are not prepared to do anything of the sort in this case. No.onecan read this petition without coming to the conclusion that Sir George Grey is lamentably, wanting in acquaintancejwith th©, present condition of affairs in this colony. Half-a-dozen years of constant and rapid change have rendered his knowledge, of the, circumstances and requirements of the people of New Zealand and his theories on the subject of their good government, alike ( obsolete; That he does not perceive this fact is a thing that may well be forgiven him, so long as he lives in obscure retirement at Kawau. rNot so when he undertakes to define a line of conduct for the Governor of the colony, when he lends the weight of his name and fame to statements about our affairs which are very wide of the truth, when he brings to bear all the influence, naturally and properly accruing from a long and distinguished career in the public service, to Ihwattihe cherish -d desires of the great bulk of the people of New Zealand. He makes one statement in the document before us, which, if he could establish it aJs a fact; .would render { all. the reatof the petition a waste of words. He asserts without qualification, and evidently with a childlike faith in the truthof his belief, that " the provincial or federal system has been perfectly successful In this country." Whyi the only argument that ever was advanced in favor of the abolition of that system has been that It has In the past been only partially successful, and is at the present time, in many cases an u.tjer failure.