The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1885.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5133, 30 June 1885, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1885.

The proposals of the Government in the direction of extending the powers of local bodies, increasing their jurisdiction and responsibility, and promising (o provide them with the sinews of war to carry out the enlarged duties which would necessarily devolve on them, is, looking at the question from a broad point of view a very wholesome" departure from the cribbed, cabined, and confined condition in which certain colonial local bodies now find themselves placed. Since the abolition pf provinces, serious difficulty has been experienced in relation to the internal Government of the colony, and various attempts liave from time to time been made to place it on a satisfactory footing, yet every session [there- appears to be found a certain something wanting, and piecemeal sort of legislation is introduced in attempts to satisfy the deficiency The measures now before the House are in principle much more likely to produce beneficial results than any of their predecessors during the last ten years, and with the judicious amendments in Committee, which they are almost certain to meet with, they should prove at any rate worthy of a fair consideration. The chief virtue in them presenting itself is a tendency to enlarge rather than lessen the areas of counties; to amalgamate in preference to dividing, districts which should have their fortunes in common; and to encourage the communion, sooner than the disintegration, of people who cannot even in matters of local govern* ment have aught but a common interest. The principle involved in this work is one which tends towards the spirit of the old form of Provincial Government, and although it by no means goes so far as even to justify the idea that it is even the insertion of the thin end of the wedge in restoring Provincial institutions, the movement made points out that Provincial sympathies prompted the drafting of the measures concerned. The old system of government was, it must be admitted, too cumbrous and expensive for the present age, and a substitution for it was looked for and certainly expected. It came in the form of centralisations and this same substitution has been much cavilled at. It has been pointed out times out of number that other colonies prospered with the system of Government we now absolutely labor under, but as in many other cases—more particularly where connected with politics —tho cases quoted have not been compared in all their bearings with ours, and conclusions have been arrived at, and issues deducted, without any attempt beiDg made to consider whether our circumstances and those quoted bore the least analogy. It certainly is a question of some magnitude—this matter of Central Government —when it has arrayed in all their force, all the arguments that can be brought to bearagainstit, but oneofthe. chief sources of strength it possesses is the fact that no satisfactory—or, at least accepted—substitute for it has been discovered in this colony. Insular separation cannot be advocated, although the various interests—from a domestic point of view— of the two islands are somewhat dissimilar, yet by no means antagonistic; still in many instances separate legislation is necessary when dealing with them. Taking all these things into consideration, the near* est approach that can be of practical use and benefit is to make the bodies in each island, whose duty it is to attend to local wants, as large as possible, without giving them legislative powers. As has been proposed by Government, it would ■erm desirable that they, while having extended areas of jurisdiction, should also have increased responsibility, and not

only hare it impressed on them that their duties do not begin and end at the expenditure of money, but that a part of their functions will be to see to the receipt of revenue sufficient for their wants over and above certain defined subsidies. These proposals are more nearly approaching what local self government should be than any that have yet been made, and with certain modifications in matters of detail, which will doubtless be made should the bills connected with them get into Committee in the House, they should be—at least—worthy of a i trial.