The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1877.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 181, 3 January 1877, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1877.

To-Morrow, the first meeting of the first County Council of Patea is announced, and will be held at the Courthouse. It will bo of more than usual interest, for a variety of reasons. As has been generally known for some time, thanks to the exertions of the Auckland and Otago members, it was made to a certain extent permissive, the eleventh section providing that a portion contained in the 3rd Schedule, should not be brought into operation, if the Council vetoed it. Should the Council be silent on the subject, the whole Act will take effect, as a matter of course. The singular part, as far as the Patea Council is concerned, is that some persons, of what may be fairly presumed an idiotic tendency, have announced their desire that those clauses should not be brought into operation. It is even said, though we cannot believe the libel, that soma of the newly-elected Waverleys have been silly enough to join in this idea. We think better of the members for Waverley riding, than to hold theifl capable of first fighting a battle to achieve local Self-Government, and then being so singularly silly as to throw away the privileges so hardly earned. All must remember that there is no Province to fall back on now,' that neither Wellington nor Taranaki are longer wet or dry nurses, and that the County of Patea has to realise the fact that it must depend upon itself in future, for its future prosperity. An old English phrase says that every .tub must stand upon Its own bottom, every county throughout the colony must do the sanie, and only lunatics would desire to clip the Wings of the fledging new creations, and cause their collapse at the outset. We may possibly ,give a more lucid idea as to what would be the effects of such action >y referring to what may be termed the permissive clauses. The first that may not be brought into operation are from 21 to 24. These are pretty simple, for they merely provide councils to apportion liabilities, for pro- * perties awarded to vest in the new county and for the interests of creditors to be preserved. On these points, as there are neither liabilities nor creditors, there is

hardly likely to be any difference of af . of opinion. The next clauses, 82 to 34, * have as little interest, simply relating to boundaries. The next clauses coming under this head permit the alteration of ridings, of merging Road districts into

the Count //, ami here is where the sore point comes, ami of altering the voting malifications. The 57th clause, which i; also permissive, allows the Council to pay the Chairman a salary. Tie following ones have reference to holding meetings, and extraordinary or general business proceedings. The next claust'S, 85 and 86. only have reference to public offices, and 99 only has connection with . the appointment of officers. The next, 102 to 105, inclusive, merely have reference to fines and other monies, but the next, from 107 to 201 inclusive, have special action on rating generally. All the objeciions that can be made will he on Road Board grounds, but, as we have already said, we cannot think that a majority of members will so far stultify themselves as to first secure seats in the new Council, and then deliberately vote its abrogation. We cannot imagine such a convocation, and dismiss the idea as absurd. One of the first, and one of the most important duties of the Council, will be to elect a Chairman, and this is one that Councillors will have to perform to-morrow. We would not presume to suggest, even to members, as to whom their choice should fall on, but we would point out that on the good working of the new system the appointment of Chairman will largely depend. On this officer, whoever he may be, all the chief early administration, and almost all the direction will rest, and we cannot impress too strongly on the Council the necessity for judgment in the choice of their chief. Verb, sat. sap. If tney go astray, on their own shoulders will fall the chief responsibility, Altogether, the meeting of to-morrow is fraught with interest of no small moment, let us hope that the newly-elected Council will show its good sense in its first proceedings.