THE STANDARD. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1872.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume 1, Issue 9, 30 November 1872, Page 2

THE STANDARD.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1872.

“ We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shall deny to no man justice or right: We shall defer to no man justice or right.”

The Superintendent of Auckland has opened, probably the last session of the Provincial Council, with a speech which greatly disappoints us, and is remarkable only in that his Honor does not bestow one single word, probably not one thought, upon this district; it is a speech conspicuous only in what it does not say. It is painful to wait here in this unnecessarily isolated township for the proper measure of our rights being accorded to us by the Government, and when the opportunity of all others occurs for a public recognition of us as an unjustly despised community, for the head of that Government to pass us over without notice or remark.

Nothing can be more emphatic; no language could speak plainer than this dead silence on those subjects, the fostering of which is essential to our well-being. The fact of the matter is,' Mt. Gillies is Superintendent of the city of Auckland, and the surrounding settlements that have the advantage of a ready remedy in bringing him to book. The Province of Auckland, plenarily considered, has had little to thank his Honor, individually for,since his election; and until the shaking-hand time comes round again, we shall get nothing which cannot, we had almost said, be wrested from him. Had Mr. Gillies the slightest desire to aid us in our struggles ; did he wish to lighten the darkness of. that ignorance on local matters which he says is the prime sin of councillors ; had he any interest in us at all, he would have taken advantage of the opportunity his presence in Wellington afforded him, and after obtaining from the General Government a substantive promise on the subject of the Telegraph, Postal Service, Immigra-

tion, Port of Entry and many others, would have taken a special pleasure in returning by this coast to tell us of his success, and /Aenhave given it a worthy prominence in his speech. His Honor, properly enough, congratulates the Council on many points of interest, but they are bounded by the Thames goldfield on one side, and the Waikato and the Kaipara waters on the other. He rejoices at the prospect of railway communication with the interior, but he says nothing as to the intentions of his Government to subsidize steamers for this coast. He hopes “greater “energy” will be displayed by the Genera] Government in spending “ £15,000 a year for four years” on roads North of Auckland, but he evinces no anxiety as to how those lines are getting on, which are to connect this district with Opotiki and Tauranga, Taupo and Napier; nor whether the £3OO or £4OO laid out by our Highway Board in making part of the trunk line to Ormond has been refunded by the General Government, which by every principle of right it should be. His Honor expects that “ the harbour authorities, “ having been placed in a sound finan- “ cial position, will, doubtless, be ‘‘ enabled to keep pace by their igiprove- “ ments with the rapidly-increasing re- “ quirements of the port of Auckland,” but he is silent on the harbour question of Gisborne, now a Port, and does not consider this fact any acquisition to the political records of his province. He laments the falling revenue, but considers not that the indifference of his Government is the most effectual means for diverting the present trade from this to other ports than Auckland. We warn the Provincial Government in time. They should know that the trade between this and Auckland is worth the keeping, and that with Customs’ conveniences at hand, our imports and exports which help to swell the sum total of Auckland’s commerce will come and go in a far more direct and firsthand manner than now. His Honor has “ much pleasure” in drawing attention to the Grahamstown water supply, and to the Tararu tramway, both worth their cost, doubtless, but not a word as to the “pleasure” he should feel in the patriotism of our politically ostracised settlers who, through all the drawbacks of fire and sword, murder and sudden death, have aided successfully in. saving from dishonor one of the brightest (though it be the smallest) gems 111 the Colonial Diadem. He has caused a bill to be prepared to localise representation in the Council, but he says nil as to the expressed wish of the inhabitants of this district to be included in that representation. It occurs to us that His Honor should readily have proclaimed the fact that the settlers in our important district in his territory are to be enfranchised through the thoughtfulness and care of his Government. He says nothing about alterations required in the Fencing . Act; the necessity for Sheep and Scab inspection in this district being more amply provided for; the location of Immigrants here, —all of which have been promised to us. Taking the Financial Statement'(save the mark !) the Treasurer does at least “ Damn the place by faint praise.” He says, “ The sum of £1,500 for steam “ services ’is, in Jiis opinion, inadequate “ for the purpose, and he would desire “ better communication with such places “as Poverty Pay, where the settlers “ were becoming aware that Auckland “ was the best market for their pro- “ duce.” So that's the reason, from a Seed Saleman’s-cum-Treasurer’s point of view, why we are to have any steam

subsidy at ail. A truly statesmanlike view ! In the Estimates of expenditure we find “Improvements in small harbours “£100,” of which, Gisborne is, of course, one, but a perfect reticence is kept on the question of boatmen, lights, beacons, buoys, &c., for this port, which are the natural consequences of, and necessary appendages to, the Customs department, and which the province must provide sooner or later. His Honor is generally not behind hand in condemning any and every Colonial Government of which he is not a member, but we would have found a niche for him in our forgiveness if he had pushed the point of telegraphic communication to Poverty Bay, to a definite understanding, while at the seat of Government. This is serious indeed, from more phases than one, as we are shut out not only from hourly communication with the rest of the colony, but from an almost daily communication with the whole world. We pay precisely the same taxes towards loan expenditure as large communities do ; we have the same responsibilities as they, without the benefits which are supposed to be derived from them; and, as matters stand now, we cannot but blame His Honor in the superlative degree for his palpable want of interest in the progress of this district.