The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1885. LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1295, 27 January 1885, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1885. LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

The question of local government was the one above all others on which people expected to learn something from the Premier’s speech at Dunedin, This has been a leading question tor some time past. Frequent attempts have been made since the abolition of the provinces to give the colony a perfect system of local government, but, as Stephen Blackpool would say, “ its all a muddle.” When Sir Julius Vogel reappeared the other day he made this a leading feature of the policy he enunciated; candidates during last election had a great deal to say on it ; the Government kept it well before the public in Parliament last session; and so the curiosity of the people was excited, and they looked with interest to what the Premier had to say on the subject. Those who expected a clear exposition of the intentions of the Government on .this head, however, were doomed to disappointment. Local government is not a greater “ muddle ” than that portion of Mr Stout’s speech referring lo it was. As plain Robert Stout, ho used to be as precise about facts and figures as Mr Gradgrind, but Mr Gradgrind’s amiable wife was not more undecided or vague in her ideas than Mr Stout has been since ho became Premier. He commenced his dissertation upon local government by affirming that the abolition of the provinces was a huge mistake, and that those who abolished i thioii w»tk sot true statesmen. That was one for Si >• Julius Vogel, who was the prime mover in abolishing them. He said this calmly, after having attempted to draft a local government bill. He does not say whether be failed in the attempt or not, but we may conclude he did from the fact that he gives us no further information. Probably as an excuse for having failed, he instances that local government is puzzling the brains of all European statesmen, and that none of them can succeed in perfecting a scheme ; and then he tells us how many Road Boards, Counties, Town Boards, Harbor Boards, Boroughs, School Committees, etc,, we have. He then asks himself, “ What shall my proposals be ?” and answers “ that there shall be no rude carving and cutting of existing institutions, tut that we shall utilise these institutions. I would not disturb Road Districts, Counties and Boroughs.” The only alteration, ho suggests is to “ make the Ridings, the Counties and Road Districts co-terminus, if possible.” But it is not possible, and to talk like this shows that the Premier does not understand his subject. How could he make the Road Districts in South Canterbury co-terminus with the Counties ? Then he says he would give each district whatever suited it—.that is, if one district preferred having a County it could have it, and if another wished to have a Road Board he would be quite agreeable. Very good of Mr Stout to be so accommodating, but did it ever occur to him that we enjoy these privileges under existing laws ? We can abolish Road Boards and substitute County Councils, or vice versa, now, if we like, and since this is the case what was the necessity for Mr Stout proclaiming his adherence to it. Now, all this appears to be as much as a to say ; I have tried to draft a scheme, and I have failed to see that existing institutions can be improved upon.” That is the sum and substance of Mr Stout’s speech, and yet he says “ our present system cannot be continued. It was said when we got abolition that the Counties were to do everything ; that there was to be no such thing as a road or bridge heard of in the General Assembly. We found, however, that of the million and a-half £620,000 went for roads and bridges, whlie only £700,000 went for railways.” Now, here is a specimen of the Premier’s logic. He would not touch a hair on the head of the Counties, and yet he says they have failed and cannot go on, because the General Government has to borrow money to carry them on. According to this “ it’s all a muddle,” and Mr (Stout finds himself sunk to the neck in it without the slightest hope of solving the problem. So far as we can gather from 1 him, existing institutions are right enough, only that the Government has to find money to enable them to pay their way. How to devise means by which they may be able to pay their own way appears to us to be the problem that is puzzling the brain of the Premier. If we thought the Premier would take a hint from so humble a source we could point out to him one way of doing this. First of all we should like to know lion much has been raised from the property tax, land sales, etc., and whether this is equal to the £620,000 that he says they bad to ipeadonroadg and bridges We are.

rather inclined to think that if all the money raised in this way were put together it would amount to more than the £<520,000. As things are managed ; now, money raised say in this district is sent sent up to Wellington, and after going through the “ circumlocution office” there it is sent back again to the local bodies. Now if the local bodies were empowered to raise tin's money the trouble of sending it to Wellington and hringingitbsck would be avoided, and the “circumlocution office” would be relieved of a good deal of work. The local bodies would thus be-selfoupporting ; no Government assistance would be necessary, and the problem which is disturbing the peace of mind of the Hon. Robert Stout would be solved. However, we do not sav this is the best phn, we only wish to point it out as a plan for doing what Mr Stout wants done, while, at the same time, we believe that existing institutions are capable of improvements,even though the Premier has failed in drafting a measure of that kind. The conviction is forcing itself upon us that after all there are as clever men as Mr Stout to be found, and that it would not be very hard to find them too. We should not bo surprised to find him getting tired and throwing up his position before long, in the same way that he did when he was a colleague of Sir George Grey. There is a wearied, exhausted, dissatisfied something about his utterances that leads us to conclude that he would be just as well pleased if some one else were in his position, and it would not surprise us to learn that be had packed up and cleared out some morning before long.