Wanganui Chronicle. AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1887

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 11634, 5 November 1887, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle. AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1887

It is contended, on behalf of Mr Balr iance. tbat he is justified in setting at naught the will of the Harbour Board, i as expressed by resolution at a special meeting called for the purpose, on the ground that he afterwards " privately consulted mosfc of the members," and obtained their consent to his intended course of action. We were not aware that Mr Ballance had consulted any of the members of the board other than his own particular friends, and merely repeat the, above statement on the aathority of Mr Ballance's orgau. But granting that he did consult most of the members, is that a sufficient warrant for setting aside a special resolution of the board, deliberately come to, which has not been re* soihded, and no notice of the intention to resoind whioh has been given ? If, through a private interview, a majority 0! the board became converted to Mr Ballance's way of thinking, they should not have been above letting the public know of their change of front. 4 If they have done as the Herald says they have done, they have been guilty either of a grossly careless, or a treacherous, disregard of the trust reposed in them by the public. If the Herald's accusation be true, then certain members of the Harbour Roard have been guilty of hoodwinking the public by passing an important resolution publicly, and then practically rescinding it privately. We hare a strong conviction, that the object whioh so many of us have in heart will never be gained by trickery or injustioe. We say unhesitatingly that Mr Ballanoe and his friends have played a trick upon the community by agreeing to further reduce the harbour district: without gaving the ratepayers an opportunity of expressing an opinion on the subject. Our objection to the alteration of the district is not new We stated it most emphatically immediately we heard that a proposal to that effect was lifcely to be brought before the board. After oar article had appeared, the board met, and passed a resolution to adhere to the original Turaklna boundary. We—and doubtless the public also—then thought the queston was disposed of But no : Mr Ballanoe and two or three of his friends meant differently, and arrogated to themselves the right to subvert the decision of the board, and decided to tell the public nothing about it, but to spring a surprise upon them when they would have little or no opportunity to protest. We hold that the end gained is bad in itself, and that the means taken to gain it are worse. Mr Ballanoe has offered to surrender the por» tion of the rating district between the Wangaehu and Turakina rivers, and of course it will be struck out. .But with what result? Why, that he inflicts a glaring injustice upon all the rest of the sating district, and goes the right way about to extend and intensify the bitter* ness of the oppo itiontotfae ha-hour propsoals. With a one-sided harbour district, the boundaries of which set at defiance il principles of fairness and justice, the present promoters of the bill are cutting the very ground from under their own feet, even ehould the' measure Bticoaed in finally escaping the annual slaughter of the Parliamentary innocents.

For Major Atkinson to receive warm praise from the Evening Post is some • thine worth making a special note of. In an article which strongly approves of the Budget speech, our Wellington oontemporary says: -"In the Financial Statement we recognise a brave and honest attempt to face the difficulties of the position in which the colony stands. It affords a remarkably clear and able exposition of the condition of affairs, and the difficulties which have to be met. There is no sign of any desire to either gloss over or exaggerate anything, either for party purposes or in an alarmist spirit. Major Atkinson appears to have stated the ease with scrupulous fairness, and has rigidly obeyed Othello's injunction to ''nothing extenuate nor set downaught in malice." In doing so he has undoubtedly " done the State some service." "We fully re« cognise this, and can moft honestly congratulate Major Atkinson and his col" leagues on the general character of the proposals embodied in their budget. There are, of course, many points in it with which we do not agree, and many on which a wide difference of opinion will naturally prevail, but, as a whole, the policy is an infinitely better one thaa could resonably have been expected to be submitted. If the House is really in earnest in its professions of desire for thorough financial reform, they will in the main adopt the proposals now offered for their acceptance. Major Atkinson has shown them how substan* tial retrenchment can be effected, and how many of the most vicious features of our present financial system may be reformed- Selt«Bacrifice is demanded on every side, and it remains to bo seen whether members are prepared to submit to this, or whether their economical aspirations are not more or less a sham." The article concludes by declaring that the " Budget speech was one of the most able and straight-, forward statements of the kind ever delivered in this colony, and one which must greatly enhance Major Atkinson's credit as a financier and a statesman."