New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1875.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4404, 1 May 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1875.

The twenty-eighth session of the Wellington Provincial Council was opened yesterday by his Honor the Superintendent. His speech, with accompanying documents, appear in a supplement to this day's issue of our paper. The speech is a long one. It is not the less interesting, however. Mr. Fitzherbert has a way of putting things, so entirely his own, that one would altogether fail to appreciate the point of his argument were it placed naked and bare before his auditors. On the present occasion, Mr. Fitzherbert had a good deal to say, and he said it; he had complaints to make, and he made them ; he had achievements to boast of ;—but he did not boast. His recital of the works accomplished by the Provincial Government during the past year was the one part of his address that was couched in the simplest language. The subject was dismissed with the briefest notice, but it was, nevertheless, his strongest point. Herein, however, he displayed the greatest art. There is one part of the Superintendent's speech, however, which we desire to notice in this place. We refer to his complaint that public works in this province have not been pushed forward with the same vigour as in other provinces. We think this complaint is well founded. It is not for us to suggest a reason, as Mr. Fitzherbert does. We have to do with facts, and these speak for themselves, and justify the severe terms in which the Superintendent of Wellington spoke. There can be no possible excuse for the delay in completing the road from Masterton to the Manawatu Gorge, where it joins the metalled road to Napier, and we think the General Government should strain a point to have the metalling done before the rainy season sets in. With regard to railway construction, we have more than once before expressed a very strong opinion regarding the slow rate of progress of the works in this province. The argument in support of Provincial administration, drawn from the favorable report, by Major Palmer, on the Wellington and Otago surveys, was certainly a little far-fetched. Indeed, we are surprised that a gentleman of Mr. Fitzherbert's acute intellect should have ventured upon it. If Major Palmer's report proves anything at all, it proves the total failure of-provincial administration of the waste lands. Even on the SuDerintendent's own showing, the balance" of evidence is four to one against him; and it simply resolves itself to this, that Wellington has been peculiarly fortunate in securing the services of Mr. Jackson, as Chief Surveyor, just as Otago was fortunate in employing Mr. Thompson. But to attempt to bolster provincial administration on the fact that two scientific gentlemen happened to be employed in the provincial service, is so utterly absurd as not to deserve serious consideration. What becomes of the army of incapables, who have already squandered £600,000 in bungling surveys, requiring a further expenditure of from £300,000 to £400,000 to rectify them? Provincial administration is responsible for these, yet Mr. Fitzherbert quietly ignored their existence. In point of fact, Major Palmer, during a cursory examination of the provincial survey records of the colony, discovered an absolute money waste of about one million sterling ; and we venture to think that before the errors are rectified and boundaries adjusted, the direct and indirect loss to the public will equal the war loan of three million pounds. So much for " the success that has attended provin- " cial administration," as deduced from Major Palmer's report. The utmost that can be said is that Wellington lias been exceedingly lucky in its Chief Surveyor. It is satisfactory to learn that a sum of £IB,OOO will be available for primary education during the current year. As we are not altogether satisfied that the estimated revenue will be realised, we trust that this is not one of the votes on which a saving is anticipated. The province will be ill supplied with schools, teachers' residences, and school requisites, after the £IB,OOO in question has been expended in the most judicious manner. This is a branch of the public service in which parsimony is a crime. The reference by his Honor to the projected sale of a portion of the foreshore of Wellington Harbor to the City Council, requires a word of comment from us. We protested against this transaction when it was first proposed ; we protest against its completion, now that the Superintendent has recommended its ratification to the Provincial Council. We do not take this course from any spirit of opposition to the Provincial Government, but simply becauso we think it would be injurious to the province as well as to thb city. For a temporary object, it is proposed to tie "a financial millstone " round the neck of the city, to quote a phrase of Mr. Fitzherbert's own, which will prevent it embarking on any • extensive improvement works for many years to come. How is it possible for the city, burdened with such a debt in addition to its present liability, to undertake a comprehensive scheme of drainage and harbor improvement works ? The idea of its having capability to do so is simply absurd. The Dunedin Harbor Board starts with a valuable endowment and free of debt; Auckland city and harbor each have -very valuable endowments, and the Provincial Council liberally expunged their debts ; but Wellington, weighted with heavy liabilities, and forced to purchaso the foreshore of the harbor from the Provincial Government, cannot hope to be in a financial position for many years to carry ou£ efficiently even the limited works of street formation, lighting, and cloansing. We offer no opinion now regarding the legality of such a transaction. When " the case" submitted to tho legal gentlemen consulted by the Provincial Government has been printed, we ehall be bettor able to form a correct idea of the value of their opinions. Moamvhilo, thoy satisfy his Honor and his Executive. Our objection is solely on public grounds, for if the city bo crippled, the country districts which depend upon it for an outlet and supplies, must suffer proportionately. Reference is made in the speech to the absorption of ...immigrants on arrival. This is indeed one of the most remarkable facts connected with tho Immigration and Public Works policy. It ia beyond

question that this province could find profitable employment, during 1875, for double the number of people that arrived in 1874. We hope no lukewarmedness may be displayed in this matter by any authority, provincial or colonial. Our own opinion is that the supply of labor in Wellington is not by any means equal to the demand, which is steadily increasing. It is therefore essential to the progress of the community to introduce population at a more rapid rate than heretofore. Many of the immigrants who have arrived since 1871 are employers of labor, and their number is always being added to. The Commissioner for Immigration should take note of this fact, and make provision for an increased bupply.' In the South, immigrants have been poured into the country during the depth of winter, when, owing to the severity of the climate, employment was difficult to obtain; but no such drawback exists in this province, the mildness of its climate being proverbial. This, and the opening of large areas of land for settlement, as suggested by the Superintendent, would accelerate colonization and stimulate .trade and industries of all kinds. There is one paragraph in his Honor's speech which we cannot pass without an approving word. We refer to his reference to a proposed appropriation for exploring the wooded ranges and broken country between the' Wairarapa plains and the West Coast. No more judicious expenditure of money could be made than in the thorough exploration of this country. That these ranges are charged with minerals cannot be doubted ; but everything will depend upon the character of the explorers. Unless they are experienced prospectors, who do their work conscientiously, the money may be wasted ; but there are men to be found who would honestly perform the work they undertook to do. What Wellington wants, in addition to its extensive grass plains and wooded ranges, is an available coalfield, and if gold, copper, or iron exists beside it, so much the better. But this will never be known unless the country is thoroughly prospected, wherefore we cordially approve of the proposal to place a sum of money on the Estimates for that purpose. Our space does not permit us to refer to other points of interest in the Superintendent's speech, neither can we do justice to the departmental reports, at the tail end of an article like this. Suffice it, that we think the public will approve generally of the contemplated disposition of the revenue, and that they will also join with us in hoping that the Provincial Government may get it.