OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND UNION BILL.

Southland Times, Issue 1298, 26 August 1870, Page 3

OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND UNION BILL.

(Hansard.) Mr Mervyn regretted rery much that he was unable to support the Bill in its present shape. Hia reason fop coming to that conclusion was that one portion of the. community who were chiefly interested in the matter had not been consulted. It could not be denied, because all parties conversant with the facts knew that the people of Otago had not been consulted. He thought that a measure of that kind should be referred to the people of the proTince before an organic change like the present was brought about. He was not surprised that the honorable member for Invercargill, and other honorable members representing that part of the country, should go in for reunion, because they could not possibly lose anything, and must be gainers by the transaction. But in endeavouring to prove the advantage to Southland to be derived from re-union, the honorable member proved a little too much, because by showing the exact position of affairs, he proved that if the union was carried out, the inhabitants of the present Province of Otago would be called upon to pay a very large sum of money annually to kjsep up road? and other works in that part of the, colony. He invited those honorable gentlemen who came from his .own province, and, were termed unionists, to go down through that province and see the deplorable state of the roads, and no connecting links in the shape of bridges: they had roads leading nowhere, and they were not connected. He thought ...that the honorable gentlemen who administered the, afiaira of the province of Otago should first learn to administer well what they had already before they asked for farther power. The province of Otago was not

in a position to assume the debts of Southland, but he thought it would well become that House and the Government to entertain a proposition to give relief to Southland, because a large proportion of the indebtedness of that province had been incurred in constructing those arterial works — works of a kind which the Government now proposed should be undertaken by the colony. The honorable gentlemen, the member for Invercargill, had very properly told them that the chief inducement that caused the people of Southland to go in for re-union was the threat held out to them by the' Government last session, that if they did not. come in and join the Province of Otago they would get no further assistance from them. As it was probable, from the temper of the House, that the Bill would be read a second time, he hoped that a clause would be introduced i into the Bill, giving power to the people ' of Otago to veto the whole transaction if J they should deem it desirable to do so. ' He held that this union should not be consummated until the people had had an opportunity of being consulted. If a clause of that kind was inserted in the Bill, and it was made permissive, instead of being compulsory, his objection to it would in a great measure be removed. If the honorable member for Wallace should press the question to a division, he would be found voting with him against the Bill. Mr Macandrew said he should support the second reading of the Bill. He did so not so much on provincial considerations as on colonial considerations. As one who desired to see the number of the provinces gradually reduced — as one who desired to see them gradually merging into each other, so that ultimately they might have one great and united province in each island- — he was inclined to look with very great favor upon the proposition which was now made on behalf of the people of Otago and Southland. He looked upon this proposal as a step in the right direction ; and he looked upon it as the first step towards further and more important amalgamations. He had always looked upon it as an evil day for Southland, and an evil day for Otago, and he would say an evil day for the colony, when the Province of Southland parted from the parent stem. When they reflected that the Province of Southland, although it contained about one-fifth of the area, and one eighth of the population of Otago, yet, notwithstanding that, had been permitted to incur a debt very nearly equal to the whole debt of Otago —being about £100,000 less— the House must come to the same conclusion. He thought the debt of Southland was about half a million, while that of Otago was a little over £600,000. With these prospects and resources, the province of Southland had incurred this large amount of debt, and there was little to show for it. What had they been doing in the neighboring province of Ofcago ? They had for years past been endeavoring to make roads and bridges over the whole length and breadth of the province— they bad been building schools, and .estabJLßiling^ach£^oJTL masters throughout the province, subsidizing road boards, and many other things too numerous to mention. In the province of Southland, at the present time, there were, comparatively speaking, none of those things ; while he believed that if the province of Southland had not been severed from the province of Otago, its material progress at this moment would have been infinitely greater than it actually was. On the other hand, if there had been no separation, the province of Otago would have saved many thousands of pounds which had been expended in making roads'into those portions of its territory, the natural inlet to which was through the province of Southland. Notwithstanding the highly colored picture which the honorable member for Wallace had drawn on the subject the other night, he maintained that his (!Mr Macandrew's) assertions were indisputable ; the stern logic of facts proved that such was the case, and any one who travelled through the two provinces must admit it. Those who were acquainted with the relative geographical positions of the two provinces could not fail to see the utter absurdity of having two sets of governmental machinery, with all its paraphernalia, where one was quite sufficient. The Government of Otago was now administering a territory twice as remote from the seat of Government as any portion of Southland would be if the Bill were passed. In fact, their colonising operations at the present time might almost be said to surround Southland, and any one who had the slightest acquaintance with the practical operations of Government, could not fail to see that the existence in the midst of a territory of a comparatively effete and independent Government must seriously impede the progress of both provinces. He would allude, for example, to immigration. It frequently happened that the Provincial Government of Otago received money from Bettlers in the Province of Southland for the purpose of bringing out their friends under the assisted immigration. He need not say that the money had to be returned, pending the re-union, which every man in the province was anxiously awaiting. He might allude also to the construction of railways. There was not the slightest doubt that one of the most profitable railways which could be constructed in the colony at the present time, would be a line from Dunedin to Kingston, which would pass through a considerable portion of the Province of Southland ; but it was clear that such an undertaking could not be carried out under the existing political organisation. With reference to what had fallen from the honorable • member for Manuherikia, he would at once admit that for some time the re-union would be rather expensive than otherwise to the Province of Otago, but he believed that would be merely temporary. He quite agreed with the honorable member for Wallace, that the resources of the province of Southland would ultimately jbe ample to meet all its liabilities. What j were the immediate benefits which would i

result to Southland from this re-union ? In exchange for its govermental machinery, its Superintendent, its Provincial Council, and its various heads of departments, it would at once participate, for example, in the Ofcago education scheme — a scheme under which a schoolhouse and schoolmaster were provided in every part of the province^ 'where "there—was-a-sufficient number of educable children. That of itself would be a very great boon to the province of Southland. Besides, it would participate in the grants-in-aid to district road boards and municipalities ' and outlying districts. It would also participate in the immigration scheme, and share in the benefits arising from the hospitals, and the lunatic, asylum, and the industrial schools, in the province of Otago. There would -also be a great saving in the police expenditure. The gentleman who was now at the head of j the Otago police was formerly Commis- ' «oner of Police in the province of Southland, and he had no doubt that, from the local knowledge possessed by that gentleman, the police of the two provinces might be amalgamated without much extra expense. The only member who j had really spoken against the proposal j was the honorable member for Wallace, and others would probably follow on the same side by saying that if the measure w r ere passed it would be aggrandising the province of Otago. He wanted to know" what was meant by aggrandising the province of Otago ? He would be very glad if the honorable member for Wallace would give some explanation on the point. If it were meant that enabling the united province to conduct its government more economically, and enabling it to open up the country more successfully, : was aggrandising the province of Otago, he would appeal to the common sense of honorable members not to allow themselves to be led away by such claotrap. It had been 3aid that if the proposal were adopted it would give Otago greater influence in that House. He confessed that he could not understand what was meant by th*t. He did not see what influence the province of Otago^ had in that House, beyond that exercised by any other province. If they were to judge of those things by the fact that within the last twelve years the colony had mulcted that province of over a million of money, they must see that its influence was very small indeed. There had been a great deal of nonsence talked in that House for years past, about Superintendents and their tails exercising an undue influence there, but so far as the Superintendent of Otago was concerned, he did not believe that he bad as much influence in that House as many private members. He was there simply in his position as representative for the Clutha district. He had often lost all patience with that absurd rhodomontade about Superintendents and their tails coming up to the Assembly and carrying important measures. The fact of the matter was that, perhaps from advantageous circumstances, Otago had: been^jnor-e— _»ucceaa£ul — than — any other province, in the work of colonisation, but instead of the province of Otago being a fair object of rivalry on that account, he was sorry to say that it had too often been the object of narrow-minded jealousy, and he believed that that feeling would be at the root of any successful oppo3ition to the proposal now before the House. He trusted that the House would rise superior to any such considerations, and that it would give effect to the almost unanimous wish of the people of Otago and Southland. There was hot the slightest doubt that the hustings cry at the last elections in Southland was this question of re-union, and, with the exception of the town of Invercargill, where objections were but natural, the country constituencies, the bone and sinew of the province, were bent upon there-union. He received letters by every mail expressing aspirations in that direction. The honorable member for Manuherikia had said that the people of Otago had given no expression of opinion. The Provincial Council, which must certainly be supposed to represent the people of the province, had, during two or more sessions, given unmistakeable evidence of its desire to accomplish the union. As far as he was concerned, he could say that whence had the honor of contesting the election for the Superintendency a few years ago, the question of re-union was one of the main subjects brought forward, and he had then declared that he hoped it would be accomplished during his term of office, and that expression of opinion met a very hearty response throughout the country. He did not think that he need occupy the time of the House by going further into the matter. He looked upon the question, not on the narrow grounds of provincialism, but on broad, comprehensive grounds, and looking to the interest of the future, he sincerely hoped that the second reading of the Bill would be carried.