THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1872.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 147, 29 March 1872, Page 2

THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. FRIDAY , MARCH 29, 1872.

The Thames is not at the present time very fortunately situated as regards its Parliamentary representatives. Of its members in the Provincial Council Mr Mackay alone may be said to be usually on the spot looking after the interests of the place. Dr Sam has not done much for us, and was hardly ever at his post during the last session. Mr Beveridge lives in Auckland, and his business avocations and interests are there also. Mr Mitchell is a resident at Ohinemuri, and so far as his Thames constituents are concerned, might as well be in Australia, where our only representative in the House of Assembly has now gone, or is about to go. We suppose Mr O’Neill intends to come back, but as he certainly has not given us much of his presence since his return from Wellington, might, we think, before his departure for Melbourne,have found time to redeem his promise of meeting his constituents, and giving them an account of his stewardship. When he was elected, great things were expected of him, and his engineering experience would, it was thought, be very beneficial in initiating a comprehensive scheme of water supply and goldfield works on a large scale. The water supply we have, although far better than none at all, is a very poor affair, and totally inadequate to the wants of the locality. The rest of the public works are on a miserably small scale also. Considering the large amount of revenue which the Thames contributes, wc certainly think the amount of expenditure in the district is out of all proportion in respect of its exceeding smallness. We hear of railways in course of construction or in contemplation in bush districts where there is scarcely any population, nor is there likely to be for years to come, and therefore no chance whatever of a return for the outlay ; whereas here we have at hand a gold field which is proved to be a very rich one, and would soon repay any reasonable amount expended on an adequate water supply ami other works calculated to promote and increase the goldfields business and traffic. We do not say Mr O’Neill is to blame for the paucity of the expenditure here; on the contrary, wc believe that both by his voice and vote he endeavoured to do justice to the interests of his constituents in his place in the House, but we do think there is ground for the complaint that since the House rose Mr O’Neill has only paid one or two flying visits, and has never met his constituents according to his word. And now he has gone to Melbourne on his own business, we presume, without saying good-bye or telling us when he will be back. Considering that the Thames has only one member in the General Assembly, it is not too much to expect that any gentleman holding that position should be as much as possible on the spot—should live in the neighbourhood, and without expecting that he would or could give up the practice of his business or profession, whatever that might be, it is not too much to ask that he should carry that business on as much as possible in our midst, and be accessible at all reasonable times to his constituents. It is not a very satisfactory reflection that, out of our four members in the Provincial Council, and our solitary one in the House of Representatives, that there is only one—Mr Mackay—who may be said to be a really useful representative. The district is far too large to he represented by only one member at Wellington. There ought to be at least two in the Lower House for the Thames proper and one for Coromandel, and if one or two members of the Upper House having an interest in this goldfield could be added, this important district would have no more than a just and proper weight in the representation of the country. Unless the “ representatives ” we have pointed out, with Mr O’Neill at their head, are prepared to devote a little of their time and attention to the duties they have taken upon themselves, we think they should be called upon to resign their seats and let others fill their places who live here and manifest an interest in what is going on from day to day amongst us. The Thames is practically almost disfranchised at the present time, with the one honourable exception we have pointed out. This is a subject of really no little importance, and it is for the people themselves to take the matter up, and bring their defaulting representatives to account, if they deem it necessary, of which we think there can be scarcely any doubt whatever.