PROVINCIALISM.

Southland Times, Issue 596, 26 November 1866, Page 2

PROVINCIALISM.

"We make the fbllowing"extract.from a speech delivered by Mr O. Curtis, M.H.R., to his constituents at Nelson, on Friday last, as reported in the Colonist : — THE PBOYINCES AlfD CESTBALISnTG-. One word as to what would take place on the meeting of Parliament next year. Just before the close of the session Dr ITeatherston made a very strong speech. He said that now the questions of the removal of the Seat, of G-overnment, and of the opening of the Panama line had been set at rest, there would he believed, be a fight next year between the Provinces and the G-eneral Government ; and he was prepared to lend his aid on behalf of the Provinces. It was evident, said Mr Curtis, that while the present state of affairs continued, the question of the relative powers of the Provincial and G-eneral Governments would now and then crop up . (Hear, hear, fro in Mr Oliver. ) It was a fact that members of the diferent provinces went up to the Assembly with very little notion of general policy; Otago generally looks at nearly every question in the light of how will it affect Otago. It was not the same with all the Otago members, but at least one half the members took that view ; and when, the I-

Subjeefc of the Itavkftei Wng in Aefefe to the General Government came up, and it was shown that Otago owed £61,000, their did not attempt to deny that they owed the money, hut said it was a rascally Bhame that they did owe it, (Laughter.) When "Nelson, for instance, owed only about £2000 ; and they complained that Otago should he made to owe two-thirds of the whole sum of £90,000 due hy the Provinces to the General Government. They would not allow any arguments on the suhject. On the previous year, Otago had got an Act passed giving Corporotions ; and in it was a provision that all fines and fees in the Magistrate's Court should go to the Coxy poration. This was considered unjust to the rest of the colony, as in all other places these fees and fines were paid to the General G-overament. The Government introduced a hill this year to remedy this, and to mate Otago | the same as the. resir of the colony ; and when the memhers got home, those who had assented to this hill, or had not opposed it, were greeted with hoots and groans, and other disagreeable music. (Laughter.) As long as this was the general opinion among any of the provinces, the work of the country cannot proceed, and the business of the House would be much impeded. (Hear, hear, from Mr Oliver.) If the members for any two provinces combined for any particular purpose — say Auckland with its fifteen members, and Otago with its fifteen — they could carry all before them, because there were always the votes of a few stragglers from other provinces who were ready to be picked up, and in this way they could completely stop business. This sort of thing could not last, otherwise the provinces would injure the government of the country. This was seen some years ago by some clearheaded and far-sighted men, who believed that some change was required ; and it was then sought that the evil could be remedied by augmenting the number of the provinces, and so having smaller and more numerous provinces to deal with, so as to render such combinations more difficult. The New Provinces Act was introduced partly with this view, and partly to give to outlying districts the advantages of local self-government. The New Provinces Act was passed, bufc it had not worked well— had in fact been afailure.andhadsincebeenrepealed. There was now a strong feeling growing up in favor of the municipal principle of Go~ vernment. The Government, in replying to the speech of Dr. Featherston, stated! that attention would be given during therecess to the best method of framing a 1 bill for the introduction of municipal law. - The scheme would be to divide the Provinces into counties, giving boards to the' various districts, with certain local powers, these boards being subject to a • certain amount of control by the Provincial Councils. At the same time, he thought that in the course of years tlieProvincial Councils would be done away with altogether, and municipalities and counties substituted for them. It was ; different now from what it was in the* early days of the Constitution, whencommunication with the Provinces and' the General Government took nearly a month's time. Now, with/ a steamer at' 1 least every ten days, and the telegraph, speedy correspondence could be 'earned" on with, ease and frequency, and made the management of the Provinces ; much more simple. He hoped in^ course of time to see the same kind of management existing all over New Zealand as now existed in England. One thing seemed to him as being the generalfeeling, and that was that the power of the provinces should not be increased, but that the tendency of legislation should be in a different direction. The hon. I member then referred to the reports of the Committee on the Civil Service, one of which showed that there were 1,602 officials in the employment of the General .Government, whose salaries amounted in the aggregate, to £193,000 a year. He had seen a return of the Provincial salaries ;he did not know the number of the officials in the Provincial Governments, but the sum for salaries was £127,000 a year. There was a greater number of officers in the General Government than in the. Provincial Governments, for the former included all Customs officers, Post-office officials, Resident Magistrates, Registrars of Births and Marriages, Registrars of Deeds, Native officers called Assessors, the whole of the country Postmasters, and all General officials throughout the colony, and yet there was paid £127,000 for Provincial officers. He could not help thinking that if we had a • single instead of a double government, there would be a great reduction in the cost of management. He would look forward, it may be twenty years, to the time when there would be but one government carried on at a much less expense than is necessary for the maintenance of two Governments, No doubt next session it would be seen, which side would prevail, whether the tendency would be to reduce Provincial Governments to something like municipalities, and strengthen the hands and powers of the General Government, or to strengthen and increase the power of the provinces, and reduce the General - Government to a mere cypher, as was the wish of some ; or whether we should do away with the Provincial Governments altogether. Something would be done on this subject at another meeting of Parliament.