PUBLIC MEETING AT THE WAIHOPAI.

Southland Times, Issue 618, 14 January 1867, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING AT THE WAIHOPAI.

Pursuant to announcement in the local papers, Messrß Johnston and Swale, representatives for the Eastern Districts in the Provincial Council, met their constituents yesterday afternoon, at the Bridgf Inn, Waihopai. The want of punctuality, so often observable on occasions of public meetings in Southland, was once more evident, neither representative puiting in an appearance for something over an hour after the time appointed. The attendance of electors was large, and the speakers were listened tothrough- : out with marked attention. ! Mr 8. Beaven having been called to ! the chair briefly introduced the business of the meeting and called on Mr Johnston, who after apologising for his delay in coming forward, said that two years had elapsed since he had the honor to be returned to represent the interests of the constituency of Eoslyn in the Provincial Council. He met them that evening to ratify the covenant he then entered into with them, which still existed, and he thought it would be well for constituencies if the practice of occasionally j meeting their representatives were more generally followed. He thought while it was the duty of a repre°entative to wa;tch the discussion of all public questions, and pay a due respect to public opinion, yet it did not always follow that he should be guided by the hasty resolution of a public meeting, but rather calmly weigh the arguments applying to the question, and rest convinced that the right would eventually assert its place in the minds of the people. Still, if when a question had been fully and fairly ventilated, and public opinion had been distinctly pronounced upon it, a representative felt that he could not defer to it, he ought to resign. These were the views he held. He would then go on to notice some of the subjects that would occupy the attention of the Council. Instead of first aiming at a wide reform he thought they should first occupy themselves on the subjects coming within the scope of provincial legislation. The most prominent was Retrenchment. (Mr Johnston here went into an analysis of the published statements of Provincial expenditure during the past year, arriving at the estimate that inclusive of unauthorised expenditure amounting to about ,£SOOO or £6000 the total expenditure of the province amounted to about £30000.) Considering the position of the Province and its sparse population amounting to only some 7000 souls he thought there was room for reducing the departmental expenditure. It should be rembered that the collection of the Provincial Eevenue involved no trouble or cost, it was handed into the treasury and went chiefly to pay salaries. First there was the Superintendent at £500 per annum. Were his duties heavy ? If in in the state of health he was known to have been during the past twelve months the Superintendent discharged them they could not be very onerous. Once, he (Mr J.) had proposed to reduce the salary of the Superintendent to £400 per annum t)ut was checked by Mr Calder who thought that no province should exist if it were unable to give less than £500 When asked his reason for proposing t.he reduction, he (Mr J.) said that it was because of the pressing necessity for the prosecution of public works, but he met with no support, and allowed himself to be snubbed out of pushing the matter Matters were even worse at a late session when Messrs Hay, Wilson, Swale, and other members had resolved to go in for reductions. After Mr Lumsden had commenced by moving that £25 be struck off the Superintendent's salary, and had shown pretty good reasons, he withdrew his resolution on Mi Blacklock saying that after salaries were paid there would be £5000 or .£6OOO left for public works. He (Mr J.) reproached himself for his conduct on that occasion, and admitted that he ought to have pushed that resolution. He felt in that instance that he had not done his duty. Then there was the clerk to the Superintendent, £300 per annum ; was that a fair salary ? Then there was an assistant clerk and messenger. In the Provincial Government " Gazette " he observed the appointment of the clerk to the Superintendent as Eegistrar of Brands and Cemetery Clerk. If he had enough time to perform those additional duties he might dispense with an assistant clerk. With regard to his salary of £300 per annum, it was more than the province could afford, or the duties of a clerk justify. £200 would be a fair salary, and was not exceeded by the incomes of schoolmasters in Otago — gentlemen specially tiained and qualified for their work. Ministers even in this colony received but little over £200 per annum — overtures 4iad recently been made that the allowance from the sustentation fund should not exceed £200 per annum. If a minister could live here comfortably on that sum, why could not a clerk to the Superintendent ? Then there was in the Provincial Council department a sum of £75 voted for the Speaker's salary. was perhaps justifiable — few were willing and able to perform the duties. He re-

membered last year there waa great difficulty in indncing a gentleman to actmembers objected because as speaker they could only address the house in committee and the views they advocated had thus a less chance of becoming known to their constituents. Then there was Clerk to the Council £50. That was, he supposed, necessary. Then there were printing and contingencies. The unathorised expenditure for these was so far in excess that he was at a loss whether .to believe it a misprint — the " Gazettes " were full of misprints— or not. He would like to take the charitable view— that it was a misprint, but he feared not. He came then to the Provincial Treasurer £350, he remembered the £50 was added not long ago to make the head of the department in advance of the clerk. If he (Mr J.) lived in town he believed he could perform the duties of Treasurer (from 10 to 4), and make £100 a year by bush clearing, (a laugh.) There was an accountant at £300. He (Mr J.) was not clear whether under the existing system he could be dispensed with, but if Mr BLicklock ke >t office he should be able to manage his department with occasional clerical astiitauce — at least until busier times There was the Provincial Auditor .£l5O per unnurn — £50 might -be struck off that. An Inspect- r of "roads at £250, and something more r~r travelling expeuses was not wanted when there were no public works to look after. The gaol was set down on the estimates to cost £1694 per annum, he was nor, prepared to say that was too much. The w trders were getting 9s 6d per day and some time since threatened to leave unless they had an increased pay. The amount expended on the polico and gaol departments — some .£4OOO per annum was too much at the present time among a settled agricultural population. _ There was really almost as little to do now for the police as some years ago when Mr Eraser had sole charge at the wooden shanty. It was true that the service was in a very efficient state, but it was very expensive, and it would be a ruinous policy to keep even a good thing if it were not required, and its cost could not be afforded. As to the New River department, seeing that when the Bluff line was fairly at work a chain might as well be drawn across the river at once, he did not think there would be anything voted for that. At the Bluff Harbor, some of the items of expenditure might be a little too much, but he thought it would be bad policy to cut down the pilots and boatmens salaries — the service in a place of so much importance as the Bluff, ought to be kept in a thoroughly efficient state. In the Kailway department, £980 hail been voted, and £1200 expended. The salary of the Commissioner of Police, £400 per annum, might be reduced considerably, and if it were absolutely necessary to retain his services, he might be appointed Provincial Auditor and Warden of the Goldfields. £100 might even then be struck off his salary. Any of the sergeants were quite fit to discharge the duties of the Commissioner of Police. Then there was the Southland steamer. There appeared no reason to be bothered with her any longer — £1500 was charged against her for insurance and coals, whether the latter were to enable her to go on a voyage of discovery he did not know, at any rate with the closing of the New River the sooner she was got rid of the better. There was the purchase of the Masonic Hall for £625 — he found he had mislaid the Gazette containing the amount voted. After going over all the items — not including sums spent in excess of votes, he had no doubt that from £7000 to £8000 might be saved for public works, and he did not see any reason why this object could not be accomplished if the members for the country districts only did their duty. It could not be expected that townspeople should care so much about retrenchment, but the country settlers felt the urgent necessity for roads — without them their property was of no value and their labor of no avail. These were all the items of expenditure that occurred to him at the moment. The next subject the Council would have to turn to after correcting the local abuses of the system would be to endeavor to effect some needful constitutional reform. In the next place they would have to obtain the repeal of some obnoxious ordinances — although he believed it was an almost imprecedented thing to repeal an act without providing one to replace it. The Eoads Ordinance, it had been found, would not work— although it was in operation no district residents had offered to avail themselves of provisions (Mr Perkins " the Otarevva.") The principle of its assessment was at -variance with the circumstances of- the province. The "annual value to let," implied that a rental could be obtained, but what use was it to talk of rental, in a country where the letting of land was almost unknown and where it would not bring a shilling an acre. It was also wrong to tax improvements. A number of years must necessarily elapse before the farmer obtained a return from fencing and improvements — the greatest objection being that it was an obstruction to such improvement when the tax-gatherer came round and said, " I must levy upon you in proportion." He thought a light acreage rate would be better as doing away with the valuation, although by and by valuation might be better when the qualities of the land were better knov\ n. For instance a man whose land returned 50 bushels of wheat to the acre would be better able to pay a higher rate than the one whose land only returned 25. All rating on valuations was open to the objection of costliness of collection, although he knew that acreage rates were not in accordance with the principles of taxation which obtained in Btitain. In this matter lie would how-, ever be guided to some extent by the views of other members acting with them _to the best of his ability, for the public benefit. It was clear that

something should be done. H< wll sorry to see that some objected to * totd rate altogether. It ought nut he thought to be regarded as a tax but rather a* ft combination of settlers to increase the value of their land. There was Governor Browne who had some 1000 acres thereabouts, no one doubted his ability to pay something towards roads. Now if it were desired to raise £3 it would be better for tbree persons to pay £1 each than two to pay 30s each the benefit to be derived being equal. It was truly said that people would never take a proper interest in public expenditure until they felt the pressure of direct taxation. That was the reason why the frightful waste of money on the Bluff Railway was permitted, yet when the Education rate was levied what an outcry was raised about the money being thrown away. Given a little sprinkling of direct taxation and people would look out to get value for their money. Next came the Education Ordinance. He (Mr J.) was informed that in the nexV session it would be proposed to place .£IOOO on the estimates, so as not to have to enforce it. Education to be useful should be popular— in this respe;t he had been informed that what was known as John M'Glashan's (Otago) bill was the simplest and best. Under it the teacher wa3 allowed a grant by the government in addition to house-room, laad and school fees. It became necessary however to put a cbeck in consequence of the rapidity with which school districts increased. ' Once direct taxation was impose! the people surprisingly soon objected that the schoolmaster was living on them and tbis feeling even extended to the children and diminished the use- [ fulness of the schools. All the other provinces of New Zealand had provided in other ways than by government grants for the support of education deeming the customs revenue too fluctuating to be depended on. In the meantime he thought it might be well to set aside the present Ordinance. The next matter for the consideration of the Council would be the relations existing between the Provincial and General Governments. They were aware that the land was impounded by the latter— did that warrant its absorbing all the revenue derived from rents, &c.? The Customs revenue was an uncertain source of income, and if it had to be depended on alone it might be better to wipe out the province altogether. He thought tbe next session should not be allowed to pass without a full expression of the wants of tbe province, and if the Council passed resolutions, backed by public opinion, they would have due effect, With regard to Separation, there were two or three parties ; one in Otago was for insular separation, another wanted only a financial division, while another was in favor of more decided centralisation. The Otago party wanted only what they had always wished for— they wanted Otago, they were proud of the name, and were afraid it would be lost in that of New Zealand. He (Mr J.). thought separation would be a bad policy — a federation leading, from all experience, to evil results. (Want of space precludes our giving at length Mr Johnstone's views on this subject.) The power of Britain could never have reached its present height but for the union under one Government of England, Ireland and Scotland. No federation could have resisted foreign foes as it had done, or have so largely advanced commerce, manufactures, and colonisation. In reply to Mr Pbbkins, Mr Johnston" said he was in favor of renewed immigration. There was room in the province for two or three shiploads every year, and more especially for those who came with a real intention to buy land and settle on it. [Owing to the late hour at which the meeting terminated we are compelled to hold over the remainder of this report.]