Nelson Evening Mails. MONDAY, JULY 18, 1881.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 169, 18 July 1881, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mails. MONDAY, JULY 18, 1881.

Bt a little Bill of 30 Clauses Sir George Grey prrp.-jst-s to efftct the most, sweeping changer, i:! the Gev- -rtUHf-nt of the colony. A comprehensive sunnmry of the Bill was ■eh-grf.pi-.ed !o •••- c:\ Fri'.iy tost, bu : , wo hfve now thr lull text of ibis iiirigidficaiit looking measure which is to work go great :•. revolution, &■■■■:', although there is not the MiiaiJest cl*.:'i> cc of its pissing she second rea:''ing— tier do we belli. ye tbat its author ever i--te;*ded that it should, for it is one of the crr.d-st and most ir.complete mea-ures it Ia possible to conceive — still there is in i:s proposals po much that is novel and ssnsa:ion»l that for that reason alone it is quite :ftk.-!y to ].ToVi> attrnctivo to many, especially if br. light v- der the notice of the electors by Sir G,.-v>rge Grey in person »*;d clothed witb ■ he rosc-coiorei-J tir.ts with wr ich his bsilliaut jrat-rici! yov ■era v.iil cD;.ble him to invest if, i'u* iooked at i-.- ; er- !y a3 a Bill of so many ■^■r.is: s, ai*,d v.ith a view to esci rtaining how, if pitss-d into law,ii is likely to work, we fail *o Fee how it enu secure many admirers, The old Prr.vineial syshm worked well for mar.y yeas, ani mid hi have- lastrd p.s many '»;-.!<! ;al it been judiciously administered, for it tun simply the weight tbat it was made •■> c-.ny that ii:;ima*eiy hrok;-. it down. The became litt'e kiogp, and the Provincial Councils learned to enter:ai.i so *-*x**eg'r,*!ed on idea of their own importance hat the country w;;s not big enough to permit of tluir co-existence with a General Government. And as each Province grew in •yea.Hi and impott.ar:ce there arose between •he little Stages bitter jja^eujies which have not ytt died out, and to wbich are to be attributed many of ihe diffichies in which he cpior.y has be?n involved, one of the chief evils for which they are resposiide being »li;» prevention of the carrying out of ihw public woiks schema as originally intended, and corse qutntiy the ct.ly partial, insteui of the complete, success which might been foitly -xpcßied to attend upon hat. policy. The proposal now is !o resusciate these institutions under a new name and with enlarged powers. I* steed of Provinces we are to have " local districts " ; the Superintendent ia to make way for ho President, and ihe Council is to be. -horn of the distinctive prefix " Provincial." The new bo-Mes when created are not to he allowed to pa=s " Acts," but tbey may, subject to certain restrictions, make any number cf by-laws This is a distinction, certainly-, but tbe difference, unless we are very much nnstaken, would prove so slight, as to he inappreciable. The provinces were umbered by units, but the liew districts are to be counted by tens. Tie nine Superintendents, with the influence thy could bring to bear, were fonnd to form an undesirably formidable phalanx iv the House of Representatives. If there was any justice or show of reason- as, we thtok, thek' certainly was— in this objection against the working of Provincialism, to what extent will it exist when tho nine Superintendents have given way to. say, a score of Presidents, each bent eti his own "aggrandisement, wbich •s to be attained by the achieVehient of the one object that the twenty will have in common— the increase of the powers vested in the district holies of which they are the respective heads ? On other subjects they will not be «o much in accord, for all the old local greed and jealousies will be enhanced ai:d multiplier!, and with our twenty years' experience of the working of Provincial institutions, we know full well what wi 1 be the resu t— the larger, wealthier, and more I powerful districts wi 1 grab— or perhaps that is too harsh a term to use. so we will substitute " will find themselves in possession of "—the lion's share ; win c the smaller ones will go to the wall. One of the novelties mtr. duced is the power to the distuct bodies to create their own trlbhna s of judicature. This is with (lie professed view of preventing any display of political partizanship in the appointees. A Well ngton paper states that, in the course of bis speech on this subject, Sir George Grey sought to prove the existence of this partizanship in the Bench, as it at present exists, by quoting a remark m de by one of the Judges, who, when a case broke down, owing &■> one of the Provincial Governments having neglected to issue a cerain proclamation, said that this was probably a result of having a " double Government." This reflection on the Provincial Governments was more than their - reator could hear, and he detected in it an evidence of party feeling in tho Judge who uttered it that ought to he checked atTonce ; so, in order to do away with any possibility of political partisanship, lie proposes that the districts shall appoint their own judicial officer*. Does he really believe this would achieve the end he professes to have in view ? Suppose there are two candidates for the appointment % the or,c a quiet, unassuming man, well up to the work, and in every way fitted for the post ; the other a noisy, bouncing fellow, with a certain amount of superficial knowledge and some ability as a stump orator. The one, at the election of Pi*f sideut and Councillors, remains quiet, and does not enter into the party strife ; the other .makes himself exceedingly useful in securing the clectif h of the President, and possibly one or more of the Councillors. Of the two, which is the more likely to be appointed to tic judicial bench ? Would it be the better fitted and the more desirable in the public interest ? But the districts aro not only to appoint the ; r judicial tribunals, but each may have its littfte army, and the Volunteers are to be made a sub-divided and strictly local force. Having no common head and owning allegiance to n nc hut the district body, wbich is to supply the funds, it would be folly to expect from them any national feeling or patriotic spirit, and it i-. difficult to understand any reason for their existence, unless it be to protect one " district " against the other. We havo not touched ou the question of the expense involved in the proposed new system, but there can be no doubt that it would prove very costly in working The Presidents, as we" know from our experience of Superintendents, would require a handsome* salary ; the Chairmen of the Councils wou'd not unreasonably, and most assuredly not in vain, expect to bf liberally remunerated, and the members of the Councils, coming, as some of thun would, from long distances, would have a fair c'aim to their " boncrciriura.' 1 But, probably, expense would lie no objsct, for we are to be pursed in the lap of luxury, it being provided io the last clause of this extraordinary Bill that the Governor shall grant to the said districts endowments of waste lands "of such area and valun as may yield sufficient funds to provide for each district all requisites for the trade and commerce thereof, and for securing its welfare, and the comfort, health, and advancement in knowledge of the people ; such endowments to be from time to time applied a* far a 9 possible iv lieu of, and to avoid the imposition of rate 3, and taxes." The original Constitution granted to New Zealand which embodied the Provincial system w«s the scheme of a statesman, and its worth wa3 proved by it, continuing in operation for so long, but that before us now, though coming from the same hand, is wild, visiorary, acd dangerous, and as unlike and inferior to the original conception as is Sir George Grey, tbe representative of the Thames in 1881, to Sir George Grey the representative of Her ftMej- ; sty in 1854 Since tbe foregoing was written tbis kaleidoscopic' question of Local Government has assumed another aspect. Probably there were few who read it, who attached much importance to tbe item which appeared in our Parliamentary telegrams on | Saturday stating that Mr Sheehan h i d given notice of a Bill to repeal the abolition of the Provinces, but our correspondent, who i is well informed on what is going on at tbe ! seat of government, wires to us to-day that this new move is finding favor with many of tbe members, and tbat the division on the motion is likely to be a very close one indeed. It is pretty clenr now" from the great diversity of opinion . that exists among tbe representatives on this question, tbat there is no probability cf its being dealt with this session with any degree of finality. It will be debated from every possible point of view, and will then be relegated to the electors for their decision on the respective merits of the schemes pieced before them.

butts on Frilsy last, when, as will be seen by the scores. P: ivate R. Fowler made the best shooting, Pritate Wratt, who was the winDer on the previous occasion, being eloso on his heels. Money prizys ranging from 5s to 10a as well as a pair of boots presented by Sergt. Arnold were also fired for. In the evening there was v bail io ;he Choral Hall at which about 150 vTtrs present, ar.d daac'mg, varied hy mu^ic and sinaiug waa krpt up with grea spirit uutil n.u rariy hour in the morning. Tbe follt.wing are all scores of 55 aid upwaids made ia the competition for the Cup: — •:oo 300 400 500

The RlarUiormttjh Express of Thursday list cays:— The body found in the Waihopai River tn Sunday aiternron hss been identifi'd as ihit cf Chmles Fiemir-gj Mr Kichol-sc-n'i heal s'r,ej-.hfr.>. who resided seventeen mile -i irom the station, and was seen only occasionally there. It would appear that about ten days ago he tode sefche oiitarce on a pack-horfe, in company with another per son, who separated from bim on the Waihrpii River-bed. It is supposed that afterwards Fleming attempted to ctoss the stream aod Was drowned. Mr Gee's failure to recogr.ise him wv.a due to the facf. ibat the features were disfigured. The first susj icion as to the idemity of the loly was supplied by the finding of Mr Fumiag's pack-horse* wi li the saddle stiil on, on ths river-bed, rev < ral n-.iU-s higher up the.fctre&iu. Ths dtcca;ed'ri {.identity was subsequently estab-lish.-d beyond all doubt by the ree ignition of hisci'.t es, wa'ch, knifes &t\ Mr Charles Fleming was a native of Waimea Wtut and his father was for a long time overseer to the lat:i Sir David Monro ou his farm at Bea r croft.

yds yd 3. yds yds. Tl. Pvt. K. Fowler .. 17 15 17 17 66 Pvt. Rickotts ... 17 15 15 17 64 Pvt. T. F^vier ...1:3 17 20 14 04 Pvt. 11. Wratt ».. 18 16 i 6 13 C 3 Pyt. Newtii i 8 \ 2 15 15 60 I.itut Coleman ... 17 15 16 12" GO Pvt- Bird 19 14 14 9 56 Pvt G. Ri..;kett3 ... 17 15 12 12 56 Pvt. II Bo.lilicjrtoa ... 16 15 11 13 55 Sergt. Tomi!r.f6a . ... 15 14 15 11 55 liu^c-r Ar old ... 16 14 14 11 55