The Southland Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1872.

Southland Times, Issue 1571, 30 April 1872, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1872.

The Provincial Council meets to-day at noon. The session is expected to be a short one, but whether tbat expectation will be fulfilled is another matter. Mr Dokaxd Beid, who ought to know, has expressed his opinion that ten days should be quite sufficient to do all the business likely to be brought forward, either by the Government or by private members. We have no doubt he is perfectly correct ; and for our own part we should be inclined to assign a much shorter period as sufficient, say two days, * or even one. Many of our readers, we know, will go much further, and say that they cannot see any good reason why the Council should- meet at all. The provisions of the Constitution Act, we suppose, must be complied with till they are formally repealed ; but beyond that, it would be difficult to give a satisfactory reason for tße existence and deliberations of .that august body. The most ardent supporter of Provincial institutions would he .puzzled to point out a single useful purpose it serves, that could not be attained equally well without it, even by A : -the use ' of^ the existing political ma"i, finery .of municipalities, road, boards, £oJW_u'G&tjoa hoards, and harbor trusts.: A few days "ago we pointed out ) one advantage which the existence of a ---■'^tQ^ici^\Qp^evnment confers on the ''" : ;';imm'e'^te'')oWaiity'.in which it sits, the 7,power,;_tßmely, of bringing pressure to '■ -Dear on thp Geiieral Government fof the furtherance of 'ldeal ends. This we'held

to be a good i-eason why we should not have parted with. our own provincial machinery so long as provincial institutions remain a part of the political system of the Colony. There was nothing to be gained for the general good by simply transferring that power to Dunedin, while there was a loss to ourselves. But, rightly considered, this effect of provincial institutions is one of the strongest arguments for their aboli- I tion. No government can administer the affairs of the Colony in the best way for the general good, and at the same time satisfy" the demands of nine subordinate governments, with purely local ends in view. This aspect of the question maybe expected to be very clearly appredated in Southland, now that even the local advantages are gone. But the Council will sit as usual, whether it is of any use or not to the country ; and the probabilities are, that instead of a session ! of ten days, there will be one of a month or six weeks. The explanation of this phenomenon is to be sought for in the undoubted fact that, whether useful or not to the public, the Council ia very useful to some of the members. So long as thre honorarium continues to be paid in direct proportion to the time that is wasted in talk, it will be in vain to look for a speedy dispatch of business. The discreditable manner in which this question was dealt with last session has not been forgotten, and it is possible that a similar manoeuvre may be repeated on this occasion. The question, we think, might be considered with advantage before any other business is entered upon, and a clear understanding arrived at in the beginning of the session. Some recompense J for the time spent and the expense incurred by members in the service of the public, we hold to be no more than fair. But when we see forty days spent in doing what might be better done in four, one is tempted to ask whether the system of piece-work might not be introduced with advantage, even in remunerating the services of a body so dignified and patriotic as the Provincial Council of Otago. Suppose, for instance, a sum of twenty-five pounds were agreed on as the price to be paid to each member for the session, be it long or short. Suppose, further, this amount were banded over at once to the members at the beginning of tbe session, instead of at the end. The result we think would be excellent. Those who with difficulty spare tbe time tbey devote to politics are generally the best representatives, and their interests would be consulted by any arrangement that tended to promote dispatch of business. Then again, though payment of work in advance is not generally a good plan, the peculiar features of this case might make it an exception. Some no doubt would go away as soon as they decently could, but they would be exactly those whose absence would be I desirable, and the rest would get on better without them. The plan appears to us well worthy of serious consideraI tion, and we hope some member will be ' frm nd with sufficient oourage to bring it forward. Of the subjects which will engage the attention' of the Council, the foremost and most interesting will be the question of ways and means. Provision will no doubt be made by some means or other for carrying on what Mr Bell called " the farce of playing at responsible government" for another year. But from all that has transpired, we fear that this subject will prove to be beset with difficulties hitherto comparatively unknown in Otago, " the model province," though familiar enough to ourselves in past days. Then the inevitable land question will come in for its- share,- more particularly as the resolutions passed last session failed to receive the assent of the Legislative Council. The question of public educations-denominational v. national — will doubtless be hotly debated, and the more so that it possesses an interest of -a tangible kind, from the; valuable educational endowments of which the province still retains the control. We hope that there will be Some" enquiry into the extraordinary action of the late Executive in abrogating the Oreti Railway contract, and substituting another, which has cost the country about a third more. It may not be too late to remedy the evil, if not altogether, at least in part. The , land has still to be set aside, or the money provided, to satisfy the contractors' additional claim under the award, and the question' will have to be discussed. The discussion, most probably, will end in nothing, but it will satisfy public curiosity if the actual perpetrators pf this audacious act can be discovered, and the reasons for it made public. It. is, we believe, a mere coincidence that it was done exactly a day before the Superintendent's election, but it is a coincidence which ;t may be thought prudent very fully to explain.