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New Zealand Times. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1875.

The Provincial Council of Westland is again in session, and in his opening speech, his Honor the Superintendent invites the members to give an expression of opinion as “to tho desirability or ‘ ‘ otherwise of' continuing to maintain “ provincial institutions in their present “ form,” and proceeds to say:—“My ‘ ‘ own views oh the question have been “on so many public occasions freely ex- “ pressed, that I feel it unnecessary to “ say more than that tho longer experi- “ enco I have of the conduct of public “ affairs in New Zealand, tho more “ firmly is the conviction established in “ my mind that the time has now arrived “ when tho system of double government “ of the colony should cease, and New “ Zealand should bo united under one “ Government instead of being sub- “ divided into nine sections, each mak- “ ing its own laws, and carrying on “ a system of government indopen- “ dently of tho General Legislature. ‘ ‘ Tho construction of the lines of telo- “ graph throughout every part of tho “ colony, and the facilities which already “exist for communication by sea and “ land, remove the obstacles which may “ have rendered tho plan of provinces a “ desirable one while Now Zealand was

“ in its infancy, and I can see no reason • 1 why this colony cannot he governed hy “ one Legislature supported by Local “ Road Boards and Shire Councils, such “as the experience of neighboring and “ larger colonies have proved to be suffi- “ cient.” ; This is plain speaking from a Superintendent, and is supported by a of statements which must carry conviction that, at all events, so, far as Westland is concerned, Provincialism is an encumbrance. Despite any opposition that may be attempted, the Westland Provincial Council are almost certain to record an unanimous opinion in accord with those of the Superintendent. His Honor proceeds further to say :—“ Looking at the posi- “ tion in which Westland is now placed, “ I would ask, is it for the advantage of ‘ ‘ the colony that this important division “of it should have to be dependent on “ the General Government for assisting “ from year to year to enable, it to carry “ on the bare necessities of government, “ and be called on to pay annually “ £17,605 for interest and sinking fund “on debts incurred by a neighboring “ province of which we once formed a “part, while at the same time that pro- “ vince is in receipt of a revenue of about " £7OOO per annum ; is it consistent with “ good government that our children 1 ‘ should have been growing up for years “ without the means of even the elements * ‘ of education being afforded them, in many “ partsof thecountryfromthewantof suffi- ■“ cient means to provide it, while money “is being lavished on expensive build- “ ings oh the other side of the. ranges; “ would this state of things.have been “-allowed to continue for the time it has “ under a purely colonial system of government! I think there can be but “ one reply, and so long as the present “ provincial system exists so long will the “ weaker subdivisions of the colony con- “ tinue to suffer.” This deliberate statement of fact shows the true financial position of the province of Westland, and the chief causes of it, namely, the heavy legacy of debt imposed on it by Canterbury, and the want of a land fund; while it is, as stated, dependent on the Colonial Government for the maintenance of its departments. During the past year the colony has helped this weakling with a loan of £50,000, and a special grant of £IO,OOO, but with all its assets realised it is still in debt; —unable to assist its Road Boards or to establish a system of education. It is true that £IB,OOO of Provincial revenue have been expended on works during the past year ; but the ridiculous inadequacy of such an amount will be seen when it is considered that Westland is a strip of densely-timbered country 200 miles long, intersected by rivers about every five miles. That this country, which the Provincial authorities are unable to utilise, is extremely valuable, is shown by the facts—that from Greymouth there is an export of 12,000 tons of coal per annum ; from Hokitika, 5,000,000 feet of timber ; and from the whole province, 77,446 ounces of gold. And that these exports can all be indefinitely enlarged and others added there is abundant proof. The country is auriferous throughout, and needs only to be made accessible. Of the timber supply, his Honor says, in speaking of the special settlement recently established at Jackson’s Bay:—“The general favor with “ which the settlement has been regarded “ by the residents on the Coast promises “ well for its future. There are alrea'dy “ several parties preparing to establish “ saw-mills in the locality, attracted ‘ 1 mainly by the good port, excellent “ timber, and easy terms afforded for “ acquiring land, and I look for a most “ prosperous and important export trade “ being established there before long.” With regard to coal supply it may be said that the whole of Westland is a coalfield of the finest quality. As yet, however, it is only worked at Greymouth, and there it is brought down the river through enormous difficulties, • but when the railway and harbor works are completed, that port and Westport will probably preclude the necessity for importing coal. Superintendent Bon ah shows that with the £60,000 already mentioned, with the maintenance of the Christchurch road taken off its hands, with the Road Boards subsidised, and with its land fund augmented by special settlements, the province is still financially helpless ; but the farce of a Superintendent and Executive Council is maintained, with the result of a periodical talk over some vestry business, and an attempt to legislate on matters it has not power to carry out, such as the Education Ordinance, which the Central Board decline to put in force until a subsidy is provided. But even on those subjects -which are now brought forward for legislation, to wit, Road Boards, public houses, fencing and impounding, and a penal ordinance against the evasion of ferry tolls, there seems to be no sufficient reason why colonial legislation could not provide for them.

It appears that the colony does not gain much by provincialism in that large district called Westland, but if it decides to continue it, we learn what to expect. His Honor the Superintendent proceeds to say that the ‘ 1 estimated receipts and expenditura most clearly show that we must “ rely on further assistance from the “ Colonial Government to enable us satisfaotorily to carry on the Government of “ the province. That this will be forth- “ coming in some form or another, I have “ but little doubt, as it has now been re- “ cognised by the General Assembly that “ those provinces of New Zealand who “ have not got a sufficient available land “ fund to enable them to carry on the “ administration of their government, “ cannot be left with credit to the colony “ to struggle on, getting deeper into debt, “ while other provinces are abounding in “ wealth.” We are less confident than his Honor as to suchhelp beingforthcoming in some form or another, and have some recollection of a feeling, if not an expression, by Parliament, that the funds raised by one body should not be expended by another, and that an altogether irresponsible one ; but time will show. We should not like our remarks to convoy an impression that Westland is unprosperous, because its local government is sadly in want of hard cash. Such is far from being the case. The district, as wo have shown, has enormous sources of wealth, and these are being gradually made available by extensive public works carried out by the Colonial Government, A railway and harbor at Greymouth, a railway from Westport to Hokitika; three large water-races for the supply of the goldfields ; a special settlement at Jackson’s Bay ; and a large extent of roads, are amongst these enterprises. These works, when completed, will make a large area of land, at present idle, available for the maintenance of a numerous population.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18750215.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4339, 15 February 1875, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,339

New Zealand Times. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1875. New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4339, 15 February 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1875. New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4339, 15 February 1875, Page 2

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