The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1351, 23 December 1870, Page 2

The Southland Times. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1870.

Independent ■ altogether : : of the £nain question at issue between the hon.. the Colonial Treasurer and' r the Provincial Secretary of Gtago, there can belittle doubt as to_ wbich_9.L J;hese gentlemen lias secured the Tear, of., this, district. They recently figured; i prominently- in our affairs, and while'the one succeeded in making himseif primarily responsible for an act amounting to the^pen violation of a solemn league and covenant,' the other has kindly lent his aid to make what amends the circumstances admitted of. "We allude to the bo undary question, and the effort to get Southland proclaimed

an independent district under the Land Transfer Act. The treacherous manner in which the first-named object was defeated called forth well-merited odium upon the heads of that section of the representation which gave its vote and interest in furtherance of the device. Still that does not improve the aspect of the question as | between the district and Mr Dowald ; Reld. He was well acquainted with the terms of the Union Act, and in. the face of a recorded statement that these terms were repeatedly thrust on his notice, he brought forward the obnoxious amendment. It is further alleged that the fealty- of our four contumacious members was in the first instance tampered with by dragging them within the pale of those party meetings which are unfortunately too prevalent during Sessions of Council. Probably the perversion was not effected by Mr Reid in person, but it is well known that he encourages a herd . of whippers-in about him — men whose political powers are only expanded when they are in the lobbies of the. Council Chamber. That these members were first corrupted and afterwards made tools of for a nefarious design, is the only charitable view that can be put upon their conduct, and on that assumption Mr Reid and his select party fall to be rated as Southland's traducers. If such men are still to be encouraged, the abuse perpetrated in name of the boundary question is merely a beginning of-the evil. -- It is of- great importance that these facts should be clearly understood, as it is asserted Mr Reid. is about to offer himself as a candidate for the Superintendence Whatever political sins of omission or commission we have been guilty of in the past, such a result as the election of Mr Donald Reid, would put them all in the shade. "We should be reducing our administrative functions to a capacity whose ideas of progress are as slow as the old stage-coach of a byegone generation, and whose principles of good government admit of no higher precedent than a vestry conclave. However good these things "may have been, the day for their useful adaptation has gone past, and unless prepared to try the experiment of becoming a political resurrectionist, Otago will allow Mr Donald Reid's candidature to pass in review 3 along with them. ' The counterpart, of the subject is that relating to the efforts made ; for the establishment of a registration office under the provisions of the Land Transfer Act. ■We observe in a local publication an attempt to defend the action of the Government in the boundary question, on the plea that it was not only just, but even generous. . The " generous" part of the business is stated as follows : — " The Union Act contained no provision for an extended registration district, yet the authorities have not only displayed no desire to avail themselves of this omission, but they have readily yielded to the representations jnade by the Chamber- ©£~ Commerce, and endorsed its request for the constitution of a Southland district (with extended boundaries) for the transaction of business under the Land Transfer Act of 1870. Their conduct in this matter affords the best possible proof of ao earnest desire to secure to the people of €ke province all- the benefits that were expected to accrue from reunion." The weak point- in this argument is that it forms a tissue of misrepresentations, but considering , the . awkward predicament into which the whole subject launches a Ted-hot reunion advocate, it is probably the best vault "that could be made out of an «mbarrassiag position. The assertion about the authorities yielding to the representations of the Chamber of Commerce is .altogether erroneous. Mr Macxnijbew was asked, iiot as Superintendent, but as a member , of the House of Representatives, to support the application, and as such he promised to give it his assistance. Had the Union Act been adopted by the Council in its entirety, Southland, as extended, would have become ipso facto a' registration district, under the ; present Act. . The Union Act L provided for the enlargement of the district, with all the rights and privileges appertaining to it in. its more circumscribed form, and' it was only by defeating, that . Act and substituting a Provincial Council resolution that the special provision became necessary. Mr Reid foresaw this when he included registration^ as a provisional part of his amendment, and no doubt he reasoned that if it were omitted the subterfuge would become too transparent for even the native simplicity of that portion of our representation he had been successful in hoodwinking. But that does not affect, the question of the Land Transfer Act. Its operations are not left to be defined by the applications of the -Act already in force.. Provision is made for an entirely new yenue for itself, and there is reason to suppose the original intention was not to bring it into operation in districts— like - Southland. No sooner, however, were the facts of the case submitted to Mr Yogel than he pledged himself to use his best endeavors to give effect to our proposal. Whether the boon be granted or. not^ we .are bound to entertain a grateful sense of Mr Voxel's ready response to the application-. ; With; no direct political tie bind- : ing him to Southland, and alive, moreover, to the fact that the request was one to me extent at variance with the views of the Government of which he is a member, ; he' nevertheless agreed to forward the i object to the best of ' his' ability.