THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF SOUTHLAND.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 6, 14 June 1864, Page 3

THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF SOUTHLAND.

{From the Otago Daily Tinies.) ; The Invercargill Times,,tka issffe of which was stopped after the fire which destroyed its olfice, has again resumed publication, under tlio more ;. comprehensive title of the Southland Times. The ; first task to winch our contemporary has: set him- ■ self is the dispelling of the mystery in which a ( scheming Government, aided by a subservient journal, has managed to envelope the financial affairs \ of the Province, Unlike its local '< contemporary, the SoutJiland Times disdains tlie pdicy of con-j ceahnent, and accordingly, for the first time, tho I real financial position of the neighboring Provinco is made knowiiY Tlie Daily N~eivs had managed, by a netrwork of sophistries, to .tlirow a, lot- of dust in people's eyes, through which it was difficult to arrivo at any conclusion' It alternately denied; and) acknowledged the existericc of difficulties, then alleged the difficulties were riot so great as in other Provinces, then that other Provinces had set bad examples, and : finally seemed to convince itself, if no one else, that because of its plausible arguments, the financial; entanglement: did not. exist, although every resident in the Province was acutely cognisant of" it. After three articles devoted to elucidating the exact position of affairs, the Southland Times thus shatters the cobwebs of its contemporary: — "We have had secresy enough in the conduct of officers on tlie part of the. Government. It is tho duty of the Press to do. all in its power to counteract the evil; effects of such a system, ' and give every publicity to tho : facts, such as they are. The public creditor cannot bo deceived by newspaper articles plausibly arguing that the Provinces of Canterbury and Otago are in fhe same position as ourselves, nor are the neighboring Provinces possessing a community of interests jwith ourselves in . New Zealand as a wholo likely to rest contented on being told that the " shin-plaster " was a whim of the moment, never intended to be acted on ; the present financial crisis a trumpery and transient difficulty ; and that Sir George Grey's disallowance of the loan of £120,000, was a liighly reprehensible act." And so our contemporary discloses the truo state ofthe whole case; and if it cannot be said that the aflairs as he describes them are very satisfactory, ho at any rate allows people to know the worst, and not fancy that matters are blacker than they are. He also shows this, that Southland is not indebted for its difficulties, to any deincienoy in its own resources, but to shameful, we are almost entitled to say, criminal mismanagement. It appears that tho General Government sanctioned within thirteen months three loans, amounting in all to £290,000 for railway purposes. The Ordinances expressly limited the use of the money to this object. But it appears that, instead, of employing the money as directed, a portion of it has been devoted to making up deficicnees in the ordinary revevue. It is not clearly stated how much has been absolutely expended on the railways; but as we will show directly, we think we can arrive pretty nearly at the snm. ln the meanwhile, it is sufficient' to say that the Southland Times asserts that, had the money been devoted to its legitimate objects, it would have sufficed for the purposes it was intended to fulfil. The railways, therefore, have not been to Southland the cause of the embarassment in which it finds itself placed. It may be questioned whether the undertakings were prudent, or likely to be reproductive; but, in any case, the means of trying the experiment wero provided. Loans to a suflicient amount were authorised, and although not absolutely negotiated, the banks supplied this link iv the chain by making full advances agabist them. The railways have not brought Southland into difficulties. The amounts necessary to meet the sinking fund and interest might have pressed hardly on the inhabitants for a few years, supposing the undertakings uot to have answered expectation, but this was the extent of the evil of which the railways would have been productive. The cause of tho stoppage of payment, ttie contemplated '"shin-plasters," and- the embassies to other Provinces, is to be looked for in the fact that the Government has deliberate') - appropriated part of the money confided to it to expend on the railways to the purposes of ordinary revenue. '" The Province of Southland," says our contemporary, " commenced the financial year of 1863 under brighter auspices than any other Province in New Zealand. * * * Wo had a balance*'' to our credit of £15,551 Ss. od." At flic end of September that year, it had run into debt on revenue account to the amount of £1*7,788 13s. 7d. Once commenced it did not pause in its course of indebtedness. The ne.\t quarter it had increased its debt by £37,519 6s. lid. ; tho next month by £9,150 7s. 10d., and tho next one again by £9,509 os. sd. This brings it down to tho end of Marh of this year with " a total overdraft exclusive of railways, of £101-,567 Ss. 9d. As we have said, this is not all alleged to have como out of the railway loans, but a portion of it did — our contemporary docs not seem to kuow how much. We believed that of the total sums advanced by the banks, some fifty thousand pounds are unsecured by debentures, and have to be repaid out of the revenue. The remainder of the revenue debt — some fifty-four thousand pounds — has probrably been abstracted from tho loans legally usable only for railways. The idea that naturally arises after a perusal of these . statements is, — arc there no means of making a Government guilty of such proceedings answerable for its misdeeds ? The private trustee who misappropriates funds confided to his charge for particidar purposes, can be brought within reach of tlu vengeance of the law. It is true that political dishonesty is not regarded iv the samo light as personal dishonesty. The man who commits the most flagrant political misdeeds may hi the private relations of life be honesty itself. Still there should be some code of political virtue. Retirement from ofiice is not a sufficient expiation of political offences which, if commited privately, woidd shut out the offender from society. If all that our contemporary states is true, some example ought to be made of those who have reduced Soutnland to the perdicament in whicli most unnecessarily it is placed. Either expiation must be insisted on, or it goes forth that public men may run to riot the powers thoy possess, with no other penalty to dread than the loss of ofiice. No doubt personal liability might bo fixed on those who have suffered the railway funds to be mis-used, and it should be a question with the General Government whether to some extent thia should not be enforced. Witliout pressing seriously on the offenders, some items might be picked out sufficient in amount to make them smart whilst not ruining them. In the Otago Provincial Council, the other day, a resolution was passed by which it was very clearly affirmed that a -Government expending money without authority, would make itself personally liable. We venture to think that after this resolution j unauthorised expenditure will bo a luxury very sparingly indulged in by an Otago Government. We reprint the articles . from the Southland Times, for they are not without a moral to other Provinces in New Zealand. Our contemporary very fairly traces the causes* that have* led to Southland's difficulties, and in doing so points out the rocks, wliich other Provinces may with advantage avoid: The comparison which he draws between Southland, arid Canterbury and Otago is also impartial. . We. believe he is quite con-cot in regarding Canterbury's difficulties as trilling. Indeed, if we mistake not, they are already disposed of by a few Large land sales which during tlie last month or two, it has been fortunate in making. Otago has not tho advantages, of., possessing such excellent land- regulations as Canterbury. On the ' btlier hand" its difficulties onlyjarose-frpm a temporary hitch in the. sale of it^.debentures. It was fortunate enough get authority. to borrow for general purposes, and all it did was to spend the money ih anticipation of the negotiation of its loans. . Southland, without tho authority to borrbwfor general purposes,' got intoYdeb t,C partly, by 'spending money sacred to other objects, partly by anticipating its revenue. For the rest, Otago's liabilities, compared with its population, are comparatively .trifling ;' about six pounds a head would cover them. Southland's

debt is over thirty pounds a head, although on the other hand it has to be remembered that its railways ; aro moro substantial works than those covered by the Otago. loans. „ But its. hundred thousand pouuds debt for nary revenue purposes, alone represents a liability . of *.dßlo ahead of. its population.: : ".Comparisons; .are'Qdiousy'.'iandit.is well not to make them. *..'■'