New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 1875.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4473, 21 July 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 1875.

The speech with which the Governor opened the fifth session of the fifth Parliament yesterday, will be found in our report of the proceedings. It has been skilfully drawn, and discloses just enough of the Ministerial policy to make it interesting. Expectation was on tiptoe, and speculations of an extravagant character were life up to the last moment; but the general tenor of the measures to be proposed, as indicated in the speech, are not calculated to excite surprise or raise apprehension of a serious collision between the opposing sections of the House. The following is the paragraph which refers to the proposed abolition of Provincial Government : " In accordance with the resolutions " adopted by the House of Representa- " tives in the last session, the necessary " measures for the abolition of the pro- " vincial form of government and for " the establishment of a more thorough " form of local government in this the " North Island have been prepared, and " will be immediately laid before you. " You will be invited to decide whether, " taking the circumstances of the colony " into consideration, as well as the pre- " sent financial condition and future "prospects of some of the Provincial " Governments in the Middle Island, the " operation of the proposed measures " may not at once, with general advan- " tage, be so extended as to include the " whole of the provinces."

The abolition Bill lias not been circulated, but from the foregoing it will be seeu that, as drafted, it applies only to the North Island. So far, it keeps strictly •within the scope of the resolutions of last session, and. to that extent at least conforms to the expressed will of the Legislature; but the question has long since passed beyond that stage, and we think the Government would have done well if it had had the courage of its opinions and made the Bill general in its application. It is true the Assembly is to be invited to consider whether the circumstances of the colony are not favorable to the total abolition of the provincial form of government, and this proposal, in effect, raises the whole question ; but we cannot avoid thinking that the more direct way would also have been the more prudent. The country has pretty well made up its mind on the question. There is no need now to feel one's way, or to grope about for support. From North to South the people, as distinguished from the provincial authorities and their allies in the provinces, have pronounced in favor of total abolition of Provincial Government. The Government should lead the House, and not affect to follow it, especially on such a grave constitutional question as this. And the evil we anticipate from the plan of operation outlined in the Speech is not a small one. It will have a disintegrating effect upon public opinion, which had matured in favor of provincial abolition, by raising a doubt as to whether a partial or a general measure would be carried. And of necessity it will protract the discussion, by raising the question in at least two entirely different forms. We j shall have a most unseemly struggle about the land fund, and in all probability a false issue will be placed before the country at the next general election. If a change of Constitution is to bo made it should be general. It will bo impossible to govern the colony, with any hope of administrative success, if the provincial form of government be abolished in one island and continued in .the other. As an expression of political thought, roughly outlining a colonial policy, the resolutions of last session were well enough in their way ; but they were not considered final by any of the parties to them. Indeed, the resolutions were not exhaustively discussed ; and now that they come up for final revision, we should have preferred to have had the whole debate taken upon the second reading of one Bill. This, however, is not to be; and the next best' thing to be done is to extend the measure to both islands.

The Bills affecting the franchise, and the distribution of seats, will engage a largo measure of .attention. The electoral laws are very far from satisfactory, and we trust the Assembly will contrive to arrive at something like finality in the promised measures. Of course, < it is premature to discuss the principles of these Bills until they are before the Legislature, but we may remark in passing, that should the franchise be extended, new electoral rolls should be compiled before the next general election, for it would be a mockery of the electorate to alter the qualification of electors and elect a new Parliament for five years On the old franchise roll. The consolidation of the laws relating to stamp duties is greatly needed. Not a little loss and inconvenience have arisen

from fugitive enactments relating to the payment of stamp duty. Simplicity and brevity in laws are above all other things desirable, but these are precisely the points on which New Zealand law fails. There are more amending Acts on the New Zealand Statute Book, and more evidence of hasty drafting, than can be found in the statute book of any other British colony. Moreover, the Assembly has delegated its legislative functions, to a most alarming extent, to the Governor in Council. Half the operative statute law of New Zealand is embodied in Orders in Council, and must be hunted for in the Gazette. This is not creditable to the Legislature, and it places very dangerous powers in the hands of any Ministry. Let us hope, therefore, that the promised Bills on Insolvency and Stamp Duty may prove an exception to the general rule. We feel constrained to extract another paragraph from the speech, namely, that relating to Native affairs, because it bears testimony to the remarkable success of Sir Donald McLean's administration. It would be a public calamity to disturb, in any way, the continuity of that policy. His Excellency said : '' Our relations with that section of the " native people of the colony which has " been so long estranged from us continue "to improve. The recent meeting of '' Tawhiao with the Native Minister—a " meeting sought for and arranged by " Tawhiao himself—gives promise that " the isolation in which the immediate '' adherents of the Maori King have '' hitherto held themselves is about to " terminate. The renewed desire of the " natives to provide an English educa- " tion for their children, as shown by the '' large increase in the number of schools " in native districts, and the general re- " sumption of industrial pursuits, give " assurance of the maintenance of peace, "and of a desire on their part to partici- " pate with the European colonist in the " general prosperity." The remaining paragraphs do not require special comment. They deal with matters familiar to our readers. The mail and telegraph contracts, the negotiation of the four million loan, the progress made in the construction of public works and of settlement, and the hearty reception everywhere accorded to his Excellency, are topics which should be alluded to in the opening Speech, but which possess no fresh interest. Of more consequence, however, is the assurance that "the public revenue '' continues to increase, and that "the actual receipts for the past finan- " cial year have been considerably in " excess of the official estimate." This is satisfactory, no doubt, but it is not surprising considering the large increase of population by immigration, and the flourishing state of the country through the high price of colonial produce, and the large expenditure on public works. The estimates, as usual, are '' framed so " as to secure the utmost economy found "to be consistent with the complete " efficiency of the several departments." This paragraph, or something like unto it, is embodied in every Speech at the opening of a session, and is simply a polite way of telling the country that retrenchment is impossible. And experience amply proves the truth of this assurance. The member who attempts to reduce the Estimates may as well ran a tilt against a wind-mill for all the good he can do. Once get the Estimates into committee and they are safe.