The Southland Times. TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1864.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 12, 28 June 1864, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1864.

Though a meeting of the Provincial Council may appear to some a matter of little moment in the present state of affairs, it is in reality an imperative necessity. It is true that, financially, it can accomplish nothing ; with the Land Eund impressed, probably for months, there is little iise in passing an Appropriation Ordinance. The three-eighths of the Customs' Eevenue, unless the Oreti Railway is quickly opened, will be found barely sufficient, together with what ordinary revenue may accrue, to pay our large staff of officials ; yet the work before this, the last session of the Provincial Council, is by no means unimportant. No official statement of the exact position of our financial affairs has yet appeared; the public has, never been made officially acquainted with the mysterious disappearance of two hundred and ninety thousand pounds worth of Railway Debentures, without the object for which they were issued being accomplished. In- previous issues, we have explained the financial position of the Province as far as it can be gathered from published accounts ; but very much more requires elucidation before the public will be in a position to master our situation. This information cannot be obtained in any other way than through the Provincial Council. It is due not only to that body, but its successor, that it should be made thoroughly acquainted with the past; that it should learn what has been done, what might have been done, and what there remains to do ; so that when the new Council meets, instead of having its time occupied with exhuming the dried — and we fear we may call them rotten — bones of the past, it can, with experience gained, however bitter it may be, turn its attention to the future, and, with its predecessor as a warning, grapple with the _ subjects brought under its consideration with an energy and attention which .will ensure the public against the mis-govern-ment of any Superintendent, however despotically inclined; < or Ministry, however incompetent. In looking over the past political history .of Southland, we cannot but confess, that the Provincial Council and the earlier. Executives are somewhat to blame for the present : Btate of affairs. If His Honor has been the active agent for evil, the Council has passively permitted it; though ,it must be said in its defence, that no sooner had the Province got into difficulties; ' than the Superintendent's speeches ceased to convey a true state ;of rthfe: monetary affairs. The financial statements of rthe Treasurer were worded : in r tlie ' usual ambiguous manner, when it -is found necessary to showithat proposed loans are equivalent to money in hand.; and. that a Province on the verge of seripus embarrassments is in «a very prosperous condition. Of this we have lately had> an, example 3n the neighboring Province, pf Otago, , r The I financial statement of the Dice: Ministry was a masterpiece of this; description, and Iso plausible did it appear,, tha^ doubtless lit would have succeeded' in misleading the ?Provincial Council,, had it not been foi jthe bold and able, exposition ; of its fallacy l/by our contemporary^ ifoe' Otajo Daily \Thneg. { ;,iQur;Prpyincial sGpuncil models grave mistake in not taking alarm at the 'first intimation by 'the Superintendenl 'that titer Provincial 1 account ;was; i;overjdrawn.'' instead/pf calling .for explanaItions as <to how^h'is'had- occurred, careIfully ascertairim^>«vhali" : tlie- r outstanding [liabilities, inH;he - shape- of "incomplete '[contracts werej, retrenching the eixpendijture as ' much' as possible, to meet those ' inabilities;/: it wa^KconteittDft^^take-v/fo^ jgranted the assurance that the Province Iwas in a f Highly condition, and • jmadly passed *iri ApprdpriaWri Act which carried disallowance. jim the face of it. It is true that since then His Honor .has, 1 beeh'lsolely^td^lamef'W taken ad^temined'Stafldon'thUtbc^sion, 'and demanded a fuE-^and sa^sfactory ' explanf tipnj gur/ pre§entanpsiti®i(K<3uld have oeeii differen^.. J)ur^g the autici-

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Daijlfi^eaSiiqii \J^&^m^M^^[§f calmly^ ji_jMdisp^s,*lioriaL.t^ jos^nvinlall -vits/ a^^;iwjple, on the me| jharidij to waste siin-l tin squalling '^pvei^Jhf^ast ; on ;he*%hPiC it Bhould\i^are~ii% pains in making itself perfectly acqijaiiited with Dur present position, and thoroughly dear iway the^cobwebs^of •' tb^past;* IW^ffiake"1 W^ffiake" Foomrfor a brigKt future,,^3£ext ; in^imw portance to elucidating < « our' -firiaficiaP position, jsjto tions o^T* r yfeVv* o '.^!^*.§d a^^ * aw ' m ° re in accordances^ * ne Act passed for us at the>s,t session of the. aener*^ Assembly. } At its session^ succeeding the- p-assing; of rt^-_vc^^^.Pro-vincial, Gouncn^ 'jwhile^ prating that \it would 'be: disallowed," passed a resolutibriJ condemnatory pi the action of the Asseinbly^which was rupt-!,- only^imp^litiCi but unjus^T "liiei^ssemblyihad' nothirigltp do with the. matter, further than endorse the' Act brought forward bjr our own repreBeritative,^ MrJ Bell^ vritb the concurrence of His Honor sthe 5 the Superintendent. To haverefusea'to.pjass, Ih'e Act^woiild^haye Deen^an'inyr^encl/with' thV'ihternal economy ■- ofithe JPrpvinee, -which is v con? teary-to the^policy ofthe Assembly-.- It cannot be '^blamed for: not! knowing that thP'seC-puiporting ; to represent <iis fwere acting in to our wishes. _j_ It is bur business, to see that we are better represented: ; '" To' condemn the ( Assembly for its Action, is/simply to bring on ourselves its' "'' contempt.' The new Act, fraught, we fear, with disastrous consequences to ourselves, will be -in~operatiqn in about two months' time, unless the Q-eneral Government can be indueed to suspend it, pending the meeting of the Assembly. To take upon itself this serious responsibility, there requires something else to be done, besides passing protests and condemnatory resolutions." At the same time that we repudiate what has been done, we must be prepared to say what we require done. It is just within the bounds of possibility that the General G-overnment would recommend ; His Excellency, on receiving the Imperial assent to the Act, to withold for the present the proclamation bringing it into operation, were such resolutions submitted to * it, on which to base an Aet which would ineet with the acceptance of the Assembly. This is a delicate work, which would require all the care and attention of the Council ; it is most necessary^ and requires immediate : attention. It is far easier to obtain the suspension of an Act than its alteration^fep . it has once come into operation*^*^'*'" ' JJ, 'i, ... j With furtlletlegislation, this Council, on on the eve of ita? dissolution will have little to do. It wouldybe unfair to trammel its successor, particularly when that successor will represent an enlarged constituency, under circumstances, entirely different from those which were, in operation when the majority of the present Council was elected. It would be well to pass a local Slaughtering-house Ordinance, such as we suggested in our last .issue; for present circumstances render it imperative that no time should be: lost in providing against the too great /probability of our market being glutted with diseased meat. Anything further would be a work of superero*; gation. It is sufficiently evident that much alteration in our local legislation is necessary, but the new Council can best undertake the work. It is significant, though not unnatural, that the present Council, on the eve of its political death, is fully alive to the necessity of altering all the more important Acts of its young existence. Totally inexperienced in the difficult task of legislating for the wants of a young and rapidly progressing community — not possessing a superabundance of information which could be brought to bear upon the subject— it is not surprising that, at the close of its career, it should discover that the greater part of what it had accomplished was worse that fruitless. That, so far from assisting the progress and welfare of the commonwealth which had entrusted to it a labor more onerous and difficult of execution for a country in' its youth than in its older and more settled stage, it had unwittingly beeri an impediment. Many Ordinances want amending and repealing. If, however, the amendments are to be permanent and satisfactory, they had better be accomplished by the present Council's successor. That we have too much taxation is a fact whict must be patent to aIL The besi means of reducing it, without depriving the public -of any of those intended benefits for which they are at preseni taxed, requires more time, patient and dispassionate ' investigation to -discover than can well be expected" to" be found during a hurried sitting of the Council. The Education Ordinance, for instance, requires remodelling, it is' too complex: the taxation under it too oppressive. One of themost i difficult subjects oh which to legislate is providing education forihe ; masses. 1 1 Almost every Province of New ! Zealand has its crop; of/Education Ordi--1 nance ___mend__ei_t Ordinances, - and-^yel \we question whether the * harvest is ripe, |ln t the home country; with all ; the: illtgH^ lof the" ablest men^brough^ to bear_ on Itf. lit is a knotty point iwhich has notf §ret reIceived its solution.^ lii:the:ineighboring | Coloniesof- Australia, it is^he watch^Pr*3 Ifor pa^>s_r_fe.- :*WTiiB&- wonder,' lour'-Education Ordinancehas not airis^erefj iexpectations i* : F ; ThelJ6^ requires amendment, f ;Wp would suggest jfcp the preseiat O^ mission,"consisting of the ablest and best 'educated men in the Province, whether in ■the Council or out" of it,:;;^io prepare reports ;ori the best arid^mos^feasible means p£^ep.^gM^i^Y°^ 'OrSxiaxL^s, <witli ■fc__ .^J^ppf si#S@ tp it}he .'peculiai F bircumstancesi iand u requirements of the Province, such repbrts : td be submitted tc thenew-Gouncilatrits first -sittings "Such k commission would^hayp moro time, tc devote to subjects of^si^ importance tc the public, and paving no inducement tc '' mak#p^iti*s*l^c^it*il out of would giye aiair and unbiassed; decision.;, $fttli dMx Sports:, before themj } the: jDaunciJ t i would %e which wpulaV . giye* satisf actioriialid rstaiid

'tite testi of ti^'thaH if they'te£sla?J|m ' f th_ hurry ancl heat ,of an ] ordinary "wfesion. ,*i ; ' : \ j «! ~^/ Wehave before stated, that the/regent Edition's to' the »~are^lii^'to prove' 'beneficial. ■"'With dne^exception, they are new"and"-iintried men ; but their education and social^ 'fuarlnteelihaFtirey will not disgrace their i constituency! | The on£;excepson is Mv. his has a past political; career, 'jjand*^thal^s™n^ Electeia •meniber bf th.^Erovincial Coun- / cii in the early days of the Province, head the Jrst: aml-s^onges^ 'vernment which the Province has yet had, Mr. Peaeson hadt^Le* power of controlling within legitimate "bounds th^powe^ of the Superintendent, InSMe f^^v |p^3ppcise thltf pwterT" While tegralp^^ of ; -ppw;er^w:as? ? yet fgeble^B-fore^His fionor Vas^ ljaughib by a section ; ofithe ■- PressTtb ,cbn¥de_ 7 hiiriself J the Jotjtofem of all power, patronage, and hokoff tWfask of restraining him-withm ordinary limits was easy. <,i_ta/i]_fr3©BAE^?^^e(B^do, and,r%v h^vt^ . .mniistered J;b~the lm_id-diseasedv*-»_?huB, ; - d^e.etjy,;:?h^| ir m't'somemeasjire indirectly, to ,blame^gr i the evils which have resulted ' froin Me ''Superintendent's obstinate self-reliance. It is true that he took a stand -on the Escort questiQni^but he blight to have taken . it .^earlier and more determmedly; His" "resignation was too late ~to effect jj any good. • iWe trig|£ that, learning exp'er^nQe^from the pdSgs**'-he. will re-ent^tHe; picfitieal arena with a deeper sense|^-_h^|*|spon--sibiliti'es'of tie position— a more earnest resolve to acquit himself Satisfactorily.