The Invercargill Times TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 68, 30 June 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1863.

When the Bluff and Invercargill Railway Loan Ordinance was passed by the Provincial Council, much care was taken to secure the sanction of the General Government, or rather that nothing should be inserted to which exception , could possibly be taken. The Government, to secure an unanimous assent on the part of the Council, waived the construction of the line further than the Mokomoko until another sitting should sanction its extension, so that the plea that it was not the unanimous wish of the Council could not bo urged against its sanction. The purpose for which the money was required, the nature of the work on which it was to be expended, was clearly specified ; nay, further, to ensure the payment of the interest, it was specified that the annual amount should be paid to the Colonial Treasurer, or some one appointed by the Superintendent with his approval. Under these circumstances, it was not wonderful that the Bill received the assent of the Governor. This Province, if not one of the largest, has, without doubt, the greatest amount of available agricultural land within its area in proportion to its size, or, we may say, out of proportion to its size ; for, looking back to the estimate of its agricultural land, as compared with that of Otago, based on the report of Mr. J. T. Thompson, the Chief Surveyor of that Province, it would appear that we have as much unsold as our larger neighbor. Thus, we had good security to offer, as to the payment of the interest on this loan, and repayment of the principal when it became due. But, independent of our land fund, the Province was even then progressing so rapidly commercially speaking, that the Customs revenue formed an additional security, while the works on which the money was to be expended might justly be considered reproductive ones. Doubtless, taking all these things into consideration, His Excellency was pleased to assent to the Bill. In striking contrast to this cautious mode of procedure on the part of Southland, we have the half million loan of the Auckland Provincial Council, to which His Excellency has also been pleased to assen f . There is no specific purpose mentioned for which this money is required — on which it is to he expended — further than the vague statement that it is for the improvement of the city of Auckland, It is nofc-even considered necessary to pass any ordinance appropriate | ing any part of the money for any specific purpose. The was to get , tha loan sanctioned first, and then to

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devise some means of spending it afterwards. This desirable object was accomplished — no hesitation vtas displayed, no questions asked. It was a large sum, but what then— the Province of Auckland had a large number of members in the General Assembly ; a sufficient number, indeed, to retain or oust a Ministry, should they hold together amongst themselves. They had the sense to do this, and reaped their reward — a grateful Ministry sanctioned their loan. The security they had to offer nnght appear doubtful ; there is no land fund in the Province or likely to be. The inhabitants of Auckland have always indignantly objected to be taxed. There is no such thing as town rates there. How, then, is the interest and principal of this large sum to be paid ? We presume out of the land fund of the Middle Island. The liberality of the Ministry is the more apparent when we find that having got this money, the Provincial Council of Auckland does not know what to do with it. It has appropriated only one hundred and twenty thousand out of the five hundred thousand pounds, but has wisely determined to secure the plunder by at once negotiating the whole loanselling it to the Bank of New Zealand at pai. As to the method of negotiation, about which the Auckland papers seem to have fallen foul of one another, we have nothing to do. It is sufficient for us to know that we shall ultimately have the felicity of payiug the piper. To pay for one's own little follies and weaknesses is bad enough — to pay for those of others is worse. We do not even realise the old proverb, that " fools give feasts and wise men go and eat them." We are not allowed the satisfaction of doing the honors, or the more substantial one of partaking of the dainties — we have merely to pay the little bill. As the young gentleman in Punch tells his grandpapa, " you find money, I'll find brains." We are burthenin<j posterity sufficiently with our own debts, without having the incumbrances of others to add to them. In Southland, if we want to improve the town, we are rated for that purpose, the Aucklanders wisely refuse, preferring that we should pay. In all this we see the necessity of Southland being better represented in the General Assembly. The rapid strides we have made within the last few months, the undeniable prospects we have before us, would surely warrant ua in applying for ;j fair representation in the Assembly. Indeed, the question at present is, whether we are representel at all? The County of Wallace returns two memb. rs, of each of which we have the honor to possess half, for the boundaries of the county includes net only Southland, but a good part of Otago. Both our members are .northern men, who, though possessing a slight interest in the shape of a fe>v town sections in fnvercargill, arc, from a life long association, more iutimately connected with the North than with us. When the present Ministry came into power, and both our members had seats in the Cabinet, great was the joy in Southland. Surely her interests would now be attended to, her claims acknowledged, and her progress advanced by representatives. We have called the two members our members, because, although virtually representing a part of Otago, they were in reality returned by Southland electors solely. The place of nomination was Invercarijill, and we do not believe a single elector from the other side of the Mataura was present. How have our hopes been realised ? Setting aside the arbitration of the debt between Otago and Southland, in which so much was anticipated from Mr. Bell's exertions on our behalf, and so little, so miserably little, resulted, we will point to more recent necessities and to more recent neglect. We long wanted a Registrar of Deeds aid Registrar of the Supreme Court. We would have thought the appointment might have been made at once, but it appears it was a matter which required considerable deJibera tion. At last, the Gordian knot was cut, and a live Registrar caught and ' appointed. He came down, and all looked forward to registering their deeds at once, a matter of a little consequence, considering that since Separation no deed could be legally registered in Dunedin. Many imagined that at last they would have the satisfaction of obtaining sums due to them above twenty pounds, without having, by going to Dunedin, to incur double the expense of the money due — in fact, obtain redress in their <wn court. But, alas I " the wisest schemes of mice and men turn oft agee." If it required great deliberation to catch and appoint a Registrar, it seems to have required greater still to gazette his appointment. No blame attaches in this matter to the Provincial authorities, as we believe every effort was made to induce the speedy appointment of that officer. Our representative, the Minister for Native Affairs, was, however, too busy writing despatches to Maori Chiefs to attend to such tiifling matters. " Hang Southland ; let us hear what William Thompson's idea about a general war is." Melancholy as it may be to relate, we question much whether Tom Smith would not have preferred to have had the power to make John Brown pay him the £4.0 he has owed him for the last nine months, to ascertaining Mr. Thompson's opinion as to the war ; whether he would not say, "Hang tJ:e Maories ; let our representative attend to our wants, or give place to men who will." When, however, it is too late to obtain writs at this sitting of the Supreme Court, the appointment is gazetted, and we have to wait six months longer before vre cafe »et i-ediress. So much foe the advau- j

tage of having a representative who iV a minister. We have loner wanted the "Resident Magistrates' Jurisdiction Extension Act, 1862," brought into operation here, but no notice has been taken of the many applications made by our Government. Our other representative soon retired from the Cabinet, and, as far as we are concerned, seems to have retired into himself. During the meeting of the Assembly, we cannot see that we were particularly benefitted by the exertions of either. Neither gave very enthusiastic support to the extension of the boundary, and judging from the Estimates, neither thought that Southland General Government officers were to be put on a par with those not only in the larger provinces, but in the bankrupt settlements of Marlborough and Hawkes' Bay ; while, as to the number of clerks to be employed either at the Customs or Post Office, it was evident they must be cut down to the smallest fraction. There can be no doubt that both Mr. Bell and Mr. Mantell are both able men. As regards the former, it would, we believe, be difficult for any government to do without him; he is a hard-working man and a fluent speaker. The latter is also known as an able man, though a little too indolent to trouble himself about managing the affairs of the country. We, have, therefore the satisfaction of having clever representatives, men whose names are household words in New Zealand — vuxet praeterea nihil, as far as we are concerned. Doubtless, it ought to be a source of satisfaction to us that Mr. Bell is thoroughly posted on the Maori question, it might, however, be more beneficial as regards our interests if we had some one who is thoroughly posted on the wants of Southland. It is gratifying to think that in Mr. Mantell we have a member who is celebrated for his researches after the Dinornis Mantdli; perhaps it would be better had we some one who would take an interest in searching out and attending to the wants and requirements of the Province. Until we get such men, and our just proportion of them, Southland will always be at a disadvantage with the other Provinces. The General Assembly, it is anticipated, will shortly be called together ; this, then, is the time to secure a fairer representation in the Assembly. We would advise that a memorial to this effect, signed as numerously as possible, be forwarded to Messrs. Bell and Mantell, requesting them to use their best endeavors to obtain a fairer representation for us. Otago obtained a considerable addition at the last session of the Assembly, owing to the increase of population ; surely we are entitled also to the same justice. We would strongly urge on the Government the advisability of borrowing as largely as possible for reproductive works. All the Provinces in the North Islond are determined to secure all they can, not excepting Napier, which will ultimately come out ot the land fund of the South. If it is to be a case of " grab," let us grab also. .In doing so we, at any rate, take ouly what is our own, not pick the pockets of our neighbors. Nay, in self-defence, we must do so, unless we would wish to see our land fund appropriated to beautify the City of Auckland, and make roads for settlers in the Provinces of We lington and Hawkes' Bay.