Tuapeka Times AND GOLOFIELDS REPORTER & ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1872. "MEASURES, NOT MEN."

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 222, 2 May 1872, Page 4

Tuapeka Times AND GOLOFIELDS REPORTER & ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1872. "MEASURES, NOT MEN."

It is extremely unfortunate that official laches should have deprived the Lavnence Town Council of opportunit} 7 to express its views on the' Mayor of Dunedin's circular letter, the more so as it prevents t^B Mayoro'f Lsvjre|ice from appear-, fti|j at £he, (jonfere,nce as the accredited mouthpiece of the body over which he presides. The letter itself (a copy of which appears in our report of the Town Council) opens up a question of great magnitude, and one which demands, earnest consideration. There' can be no doubt that the wi thdra xval of the subsidy from the municipalities will h ave the effect of circu inscribing thensphere of usefulness,and in many cases seriously hampering their operations, if not altogether depriving them 'of the power of beneficially exercising their functions. The project pi" giving them endowments is not a new one ; it has been frequently discussed and the advisability of doing so freely conceded, but the.description of endowment best suited to their requirements and the means of the province, has always remained a moot point. Mr. Fish's scheme, expounded by him at the Conference, is that the Provincial Council should endow the municipalities with the local taxes which are raised within their boundaries, i.e., publicans' licenses, night licenses, bottle licenses, and wholesale spirit licenses ; watermen's and auctioneer's licenses ; dog and goat taxes. It certainly possesses the merits of ingenuity and simplicity, and at first sight appears well calculated to. meet the^exigencies of the case of the municipalities, and fair to the province; but closer examination reveals, that like " most of the schemes for the benefit of the country emanating from, Dunedin, the lion's share of the advantages accruing from its being carried into effect would fall to that city, and in proportion as that city gained, so would the country lose. The benefit derived by country municipalities would be more than counterbalanced by the injuries sustained by the districts in which they are situated, through the abstraction of such a large sum as would form Dunedin's perquisites from th~e provincial revenues as thereby there would' be 'so much less to expend in the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, &c. The reply framed by Mr. Bastings to Mr. Fish's communication, (a copy of which also appears in the report of the " Town Council meeting,) contains some very sensible vu j ws on #ie subject, \n which we heartily

concur, and it is a great pity that the .laches above referred to, should have deprived them of the weight they are entitled to. Considering the state of the provincial finances, it would be would be impolitic and unjust to further burden them at present. There are many works requiring attention far more necessary to the well-being of the country than the adornment of Dunedin, or the improvement of other towns, and to which all available moneys should be Inter-communication between many districts is threatened, owing to the roads being out of repair, and until fear of all such misfortunes is averted, it would almost amount to malversation of the provincial funds to spend them in the manner suggested by Mr. Fish. That the municipalities do deserve some consideration, we do not deny, but when the whole country is suffering from'the financial difficulties of the Provincial Government, is not the timet^®- press their claims. Thay canriof expect • that the couiitry district's are to be further neglected for their benefit. . As Mr. Bastings says in his letter, the case of Dunedin is different from that of upcountry towns. It has always been treated with liberality, and has sources of revenue which ought to be amply sufficient for its requirements, and we think it is not all in consonance with good taste, that when the whole province is crying out about the im passable state of roads, that that city should endeavour to cripple the means of the Provincial Government. Besides, seeing the extreme probability of organic charges in the constitution of the country, which will probably affect municipalities, taking place shortly, it would be unwise on the part of the Provincial Government to enter into any fresh engagements. It might occur to the General Assembly to upset them, in which contingency most disastrous results might ensue. Municipalities might, on the faith of the endowments voted by the Provincial Government, launch put into the construction of works, and find, when they were well under way, the- supplies.suddenly stopped, which would mean utter destruction to their utilit}'. Further, in the event of the shire system being introduced,.; it is not improbable that some country municipalities might ' cease to exist, and mergethemselves into portions of the shires. TheendowmentofshireSjshould they WfcreaEed, iu J the inamw Mr. Fish proposes to endow the municipalities, would be something more reasonable. So far as the Conference is concerned, it may lead to good results. The various Mayors meeting to- | gether, will have an opportunity of j comparing notes and experiences, and perhaps, valuable suggestions as to municipal government may be thrown out. They may -also devise some means of procuring endowments, less objectionable than in the manner proposed by the Mayor of Dunedin. We hope that the attractive appearance of Mr. Fish's propositions will not deceive the members of the Conference, and that they will feel it their duty to the towns they represent to decline to endorse them. In the event of the Mayoral Conference adopting the views of Mr. Fish, we trust that the Provincial Council will see that they are opposed to the. true interests of the country, and act accordingly. We cannot conclude without .again expressing our regret that the Lawrence Town Council was deprived of opportunity to express its views upon a question of such importance, as that opened up in Mr. Fish's circular.