SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.

Southland Times, Issue 951, 15 May 1868, Page 6

SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.

(From the « Lyttelton Times," AprU 30.)

It has been proposed that the General Government should retain the whole of the Customs duties and other general taxes, such as stamps, undertaking the control and expense of all departments which are supported out of these revenues. "Whatever decision may be come to, it is of importance that the public mind should be carefully prepared for the con', sideration of the question. Considerable j changes are certain to be introduced J during the next session of the General ! Assembly, and they will probably .be in the direction of the financial relations between the provinces and the Central Government. One principle is likely to be established— the. power which levies a tax shall expend its proceeds.. The Customs duties are raised by the General Government, and ought, therefore to be exclusively spent by it. But behind this comes the question — How are the harbors, hospitals, gaols, and police, the expenses of which are defrayed out of the Provincial share of the Customs, to be maintained when this share is withdrawn. If they are still to be maintained out of the Customs duties, they must pass under the control of the General Government. If, on the contrary, they are to remain strictly Provincial, or local institutions, they must be maintained by local taxes. It is obvious that these alternatives haye nothing to do with the question of maintaining the Provinces as they, are. Were the Provinces to be abolished to-morrow, it would merely alter a verbal expression, not actual institutions. "We should still have to enquire whether it was desirable to make gaols, hospitals, and harbors, local, municipal, or county institutions, or to hand them over to the General Government. The question of imposing direct taxes, for the support of these institutions, has to be faced without regard to any views tending towards Centralism or Provincialism. The Provinces might cease to exist, while these direct, assessed taxes continued to be levied. And the Provinces might remain unaffected aa to name, boundaries, and land fund, although every one of the institutions named was supported by the General Government, and superintended by its officers. ♦ Something may be gained towards a dispassionate and impartial discussion of the matier, if it is seen to be entirely disconnected with the great party question of the colony, as between centralists and provincialists. Whatever local authorities are to exercise power, whether provinces, counties, shires, Road Boards, or Municipalities, this topic still survives for discussion — Shall these bodies control and maintain the gaols, hospitals, and harbors, or shall the General Government do so ? An opinion on this subject will be more safely formed when the general effect of any change has been ascertained. Basing our calculations upon the returns for the last six months of 1867, we find that the Provincial share of the consolidated fund amounts to four hundred and ninety-five thousand pounds. On the other hand the expenditure of the provinces, upon sinking fund and interests for loans, departmental charges, hospitals, gaols, harbours, and police, amounts to fire-hundred and eleven thousand pounds. That is to say, the total expenditure of the provinces, which ought to be defrayed out of the provincial half of the Consolidated Eund, exceeds it by about sixteen thousand pounds. : This is not a very great deficiency, but it ought not to exist. Unfortunately, it is likely to increase, and a more minute examination as to how it is produced will compell us to regard it with growing dissatisfaction. But, if, these departments are handed over to the General Government and the sinking funds upon the several Provincial loans thereby saved, the dificiency is at once met. The annual amount of these sinking funds is thirty-two thousand pounds, and hence there would be a balance in favour of the Colony of sixteen thousand pounds. Such an advantage is not to be despised. It is possible, too, that it might be still further augmented by placing the various Provincial . services under the charge of .one departmental chief. This is one of the strongest pleas likely to be urged in favour of the concentration of all these departments under the General Government.

The department of gaols and police may be selected, as a fair and accessible example of the varities of system, and differences in expense, between the several Provincial services. The annual cost of gaols and police in Auckland is seven thousand pounds, in Wellington eight thousand, in Canterbury eleven thousand, in Nelson fifteen thousand, in Westland nearly seventeen thousand, and in Otago thirty-five thousand. Comparing the. two islands, we find tbat the police and gaol expenses in the North are a trifle under twenty thousand, and in the Middle Island a trifle over eighty-three thousand pounds. Probably one-half the difference is accounted for by the existence of the goldfields in tha Middle Island, aud the maintenance of a constabulary force by the General Government in the North. Still the fact remains — that very considerable reductions must be possible in these services in some ofthe pro-, vinces, .and that an impartial consideration of the advantages ofthe several systems would probably lead to extensive improvements throughout the colony. It remains to be seen, however, whether these improvements are practicable only in the event of the transference of these services to the charge of the General Government.