West Coast Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 328, 11 October 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1866.

Thr Municipal Council must continue to apply itself steadily to its work. When it has settled down into a certain routine course of action, its duties will be comparatively easy. But before it can do this it has to create a machinery, and to bring- it into proj>er workingord'er; to establish institutions altogether alien to the system of local administration that has hitherto prevailed in the town, and to provide generally for an entirely altered state of circumstances. The matters so far brought by Councillors under its consideration are, no doubt, of pressing moment. To make provision for the formation of an assessment roll is one of the first duties to be discharged. Tc- appoint the pro- ' per officers to do the work of the Corporation is a necessary step to be taken at the outset. To make early application for a grant of a site for a Town Hall, is a prudent course at a time when it is olearly the policy of the Grovernm«nt to put the uusold portions of the town into the market. -But we commend to its very careful consideration the necessity of losing no time in the endeavor to secure such a reform 1 in the Municipal Ordinance itself as will render it practically workable — which at this. moment it undoubtedly is not. The Ordinance- has not - succeeded very well, .elsewhere where it ha v s been brought into operation. In Christchurch, the struggle between the Council and the ratepayers has been waged with a fury that has almost superseded the interest of general politics. To the peculiar circumstances of this district it is altogether unsuited. A more clumsy piece of legislation was never perpetrated. We question much if any of the recent proceedings can be justified by the letter, or the fair interpretation, of the lmv. The two declarations, of the x poll — the second materially differing from tbej first, and. made not at the place where/ the poll wiw tftfce.i! j the repetition of

the election for one seat not filled iv the first instance, in consequence of a tie between two of the candidates ; were ! incidents for which the Ordinance made I no provision whatever. In a hundred/ instances of a corresponding nature/ that are almost ceitain to arise, nni which will seriously interfere with the due discharge of its duties by tho Council, the Ordinance contains no provision capable of being applied. It does not provide for a 'poll in the ca,se of elections t to fill vacancies. It docs not provide for the clectign of a new chairman in the event of resignation. All its clauses are. vague and general. And this is a most serious consideration when it is remembered that the most important duty the Council will have to discharge will be to levy taxes — a duty which may involve a constant challenge of the strict legality of its powers. Mr Shaw urged the necessity, on Tuesday night, of securing the enactment of an amending measure, correcting^ many of} the anomalies and supplying many of "the deficiencies that .exist in the present Ordinance. - But , is Mr Shaw prepared to place a draft amending measure in the hands of the Corporation ? Or is it expected that the for the town in the Provincial -Council shall prepare such a document ? We presume that both questions may be answered in the negative ; and we suggest to the Council, therefore! that immediate steps should be taken for some properly drafted bill to be submitted to the Provincial Council. Probably, it will Jje found expedient for the corporation to appoint a Town Solicitor — not as a salaried, but as a retained officer. Such an officer exists ' in connection with most municipalities. In our own case we , believe he will be -an essential appendage of the Council. Whether the appointment should be made forthwith, or whether, it should deferred, may be a matter for deliberation. jßut we certainly think that without delay legal assistance shouM He obtained, to enable the Council to submit a Municipal "Ordinance Amendment Bill to the legislature, to remedy the patent defects of the present law, and ensure tho future well-working of the institutions

of local government, that haye N now, for the first time, t .ken root in Westland.

We have Christchurch papers to the Bth instant, but we cannot track the fate of the bill for enlarging the representation 1 of Westland. It will be /remembered that the letter from Mr Moorhouse, from which we quoted,-was dated the 2nd inst. xlnx In that he stated that he had succeeded in carrying the second reading, and that' the bill was to be committed on that night, if the Government business allowed. The following appears in the " Canterbury Press " of the sth instant : —

" The bill brought in by Mr Moorhouse, to increase the representation of Weslland, has been read a second time, and will probably pass through, if it can find, room on the order paper at so late a period of the session. It does not projjose to make any more ' gohlfield-' members — that is, members elected upon miners' rights ; but to give a member to the town of Hokitika, and another to the tWo towns at either side of the. Grey River — Greymouth, which is in Canterbury, ,and Cobden, which' is in the Nelson province. These towns are to share a member between them." In subsequent papers we find no mention of the .subject. A telegram dated the 7th instant states that the Appropriation Bill had passed both Houses ; that the prorogation was fixed for Monday last, and that the Southern] members were to return to their .Homes/ by the Otago on the same day,. Wo may safely conclude, therefoie, that the Westland Representation Bill foil! through after its second reading. '