The Tuapeka Time THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1871. " Measures, not Men."

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 189, 21 September 1871, Page 6

The Tuapeka Time THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1871. " Measures, not Men."

A general outline of the Colonial Treasurer's Financial Statement is now before the public. It fall's very much short of his statement of last year, no doubt* from *he fact of the financial scheme having lost many of the charms of novelty which it then possessed. Other causes may have Lecu nl work to hinder Mi. Yogel from exercising his usual skill in placing an attractive Budget before the House ; and one of the principal of these, 'we imagine, must be that he is in the position of a horse over-driven. He had initiated a oi<rantic scheme, which.

in endeavouring to carry out, he was obliged to' saddle himself with months of ceaseless toil. Whatever may be the result of his mission to England and America, it must be acknowledged that he made good use of his time. He has laid before the Assembly elaborate papers and correspondence upon almost every subject which is likely to occupy the attention of our legislators for gome years to come. We give him every credit for the indomitable energy he has brought to boar upon his mission, and congratulate him upon the comparative success which has attended it. ' After so many months of hard work, he could scarcely be expected to come to the House with all the freshness of one who had been enjoying a holiday trip, and deliver one of his clever ■speeches. There are, however, embraced in the Financial Statement subjects of paramount importance to the country as a whole, and to the provinces in particular — subjects withal dewrtndirjor the serious thought of every colonist. First of all, there is a failing revenue — £82,000 less than last year, and £116,000 less than was estimated. What a falling off was there ; — as nearly as possible one-eighth of the estimated revenue deficient. Surely the wonderful powers of calculation attributed to Mr. Yogel do not shine very brightly when such results as these force themselves upon the public. This large deficit is partially accounted for, but certainly only partially. Still, the Treasurer meets the difficulty straight in the face, and at once proposes certain changes and reductions, which, if adopted, will, without adding' any objectionable taxation, .reduce the expenditure, and, he estimates, give a surplus of some £7000. He wishes his Budget to be known as the Retrenchment Budget ; and undoubtedly, if his proposals are carried into effect, there will be considerable retrenchment. " The Government," he says, '' pelieved the time had

arrived when provincial institutions should be made less costly." This belief of the General Government is one which has been growing upon the public of Otago for some years past, and any reasonable means of reducing the costliness of the provincial system, as worked in Otago, will be hailed

with delight. The .proposal of the Government to make Superintendents ex-officio members of their respective Councils, and to reduce the number of members, is a very wise and practicable one. The doom of provincialism is written. The system is to be shorn of all its pomp and ceremony. The number of our Council is to be reduced, and its powers limited ; the management of immigration is to be taken out of its hands ; railways, too, are to be under the management of a Colonial Boaad, to be elected for the purpose. With the small powers remaining in the hands of Provincial Councils, and the small modicum of work required of them, the expenses must be greatly reduced ; the departments will be relieved of a large amount of work, and the salaries of both Superintendent and Executive may then well be curtailed. When provinces cannot exercise their functions, it is proposer] that the General Government should take the management of them. But while the General Government is taking so much into its own hands, we should like to know what we are to obtain in return. It is true the Government propose doubling the amount of subsidy to Road Boards given last year ; but what is the benefit where no Road Boards exist, and where the population is so scattered that the subsidy would be so trilling it would be of no avail for the purposes required ? Road Boards arc excellent where there is a large population; but in the interior of the country, where di&tricfc roads are little used, the great want is a good main road to open up communication with other centres of population, and we think some portion of the loan might be wisely appropriated to the completion of some of these roads commenced by the Provincial Government, but which it was unable to carry on for the want of funds. The road from Manuka Creek to Havelock is one of those which, above all others, would well repay the expenditure of £10,000 to complete it. Jn order that Tuapeka may derive the bonetit to be obtained from the subsidy to Road Boards — a most important one — we strongly recommend the inhabitants to form themselves into such Boards, and thus gat a portion of the £100,000 set apart for the purpose of subsidising these bodies. "There are several other matters arising out of the Treasurer's Budget to which we must draw attentiou in a future issue.