New Zealand Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1874.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4137, 24 June 1874, Page 2

New Zealand Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1874.

The plan of governing Provinces by popularly elected Superintendents, associated with Executives who are what is called “responsible” to Provincial Councils, and through them to “ the people,” is now being tried for the first time in the comparatively old Province of Nelson, and in the very now Province of Westland. The system is not a new one ; it has, in fact, prevailed in the Provinces which take a primary position in I the Colony ; but the experiment of its introduction in Nelson and Westland is treated as a novelty, and, new as it is to a majority of the population of each of those Provinces, it is interesting to observe how the practice of other Provinces is being imitated. If a judgment may be formed from the proceedings in the Councils in these two Provinces as they are reported, it must be that the precedents of other Provinces are being imitated, not wisely, but too well. In the case of Westland, there has been a readiness to pronounce an expression of “no confidence” in the first-formed Executive which is altogether exceptional, and this extreme readiness provokes the fear that, under the new form of government which Westland possesses, its affairs are not likely to be conducted with any more success than they were when the district was designated a County, and when the sole subject of discussion in connection with administration was the appointment of a Chairman from among the small body of elected Councillors. In the first-formed Executive there were sufficiently competent men for the duties devolving upon them as Treasurer, Solicitor, and Secretary for Goldfields, although the latter office might without injury to anyone have been omitted ; but, simply because the absence of the Treasurer was necessary for several weeks in the year, through the fact of his being also a member of the House of Representatives, the Executive of whom lie formed the head and front was, sans cereinonie, ousted, and another was all too speedily elected in its place. From men who almost achieved the sublime in their enthusiasm in the interests of the Province, the Council retreated in their selection to others who, without any disrespect to the individuals, may bo said to approach the ridiculous as occupants of office connected with Provincial administration. Possibly because there was no alternative, but still, unfortunately for the future of the Province, they selected two gentlemen who_ are the merest novices as representatives, and infinitely more so as administrators, and thus for the first year of its history under its new constitution, Westland is left to the management of men who are without experience as politicians, and without any previous pretensions to the management of any but matters of the humblest and most personal interest. Fortunately both enjoy the reputation of being of a practical turn and straightforward in their private transactions, and in that circumstance there may be much merit, though it is not more than their temporary predecessors could claim. In Nelson, the experiment of introducing responsible government is less of a novelty, but only until now was it permitted to be developed. Its propriety had previously been much discussed : hut conservative feeling prevented its accomplishment, except in such a form that it was much more a name than a reality. Now that it has been introduced practically ns ■well as nominally, it is a pity that there were few higher pretensions made as reasons for a change in the personality of the Executive than that some men were ready to accept somewhat smaller salaries than others, and that they were prepared to proceed with retrenchment by the removal of Resident Magistrates and other officials whose presence, it was well-known to those best acquainted with the circumstances, could not possibty be dispensed with. With loud assertions as to their desire and determination to economise, the action of the Executive in that direction has degenerated into insinuations as to the utility of Wardens who have been specifically mentioned, and as to the manner in which they might better discharge their official work, and it is impossible to resist the impression that personal antipathies may have to some extent become mixed with a probably sincere and avowedly high sense of public duty. The numerous meetings which have been held on the goldfields of the Province, admitting them to have boon incited by no action on the part of officials, are sufficient indication of the feeling that there is anything but perfect sympathy with a policy of retrenchment, when that policy implies additional cost and trouble upon the part of the community generally ; and there is a strong probability that the new Nelson Executive will be no more able to realise the popular conception of an efficient Executive than did their predecessors. The one saving feature in their creation and existence is their responsibility to the Council, and upon the character of the Council, of course, depends the verdict to be pronounced next session, as to whether they have faithfully discharged theirdutiesand theirpromisos. Theyaroso far different from the Westland Executive that they have had more experience in matters political, and, with that advantage, they should be asked to render at the next mooting of the Council a more complete and satisfactory account of their proceedings than their contemporary novices in the sister Province.