POLITICAL.

West Coast Times, Issue 331, 15 October 1866, Page 5

POLITICAL.

The Provincial Council is summoned by the proclamation of his Honor the Superintendent to meet for despatch" of business at Christchurch, on Friday next, the 19th' instant. Owing to the protracted session of the General Assembly of the colony, at Wellington, requiring the attendance there of many of the members of the Council who also hold seats in the Assembly, this long-looked-forward-to event has been deferred from time to time, and ■ the consequences have been most unsatisfactory to this district. Mr Moorhouse, the Superintendent of the Province, as the representative of Westland in the colonial parliament ; and his long detention in the discharge of his parliamentary duties, has operated to the serious disadvantage of this part of the province, so far as its internal, administration is concerned. Many, much needed reforms have been postponed; many questions of vital importance to the district have bsen held over for consideration at a more convenient opportunity. The new Provincial Council has now been elected for a period of more than three months, without any opportunity of assembling. To the older districts of the province, where interests have become consolidated, and society has settled down into 'a .concrete nia^s; where the machinery of government is of old standing, and may now to a great j extent be led to do its work without interference, this is. a matter of comparatively slight importance. But there is a very marked difference between such conditions of society, and those of a young community that is "in the grizzle, not in the bone ;" and especially a goldfields c^qinmunity suddenly developed, with a thousand wants to be suddenly met, each of them requiring to he dealt with by "measures specially adapted to them. The system of government in the first instance improvised for the W<sst Canterbury goldfields, is now but ill adapted for a state o'i society that has altogether outgrown it. The rapid development of great social and commercial interests, has -longcalled for the institution of a settled form of government, with local forces inherent in it of adapting itself to the novel conditions of the district; It .is to some such change ias this that the "people have .long been looking, as the fruit of 'the election of Mr Moorhouse — their own representative — as Superinten-

dent, and of the return of a new Provincial Council. That t^ie long delay has occasioned dissatisfaction as well as inconvenience, is -not to be doubted, but this feeling- is, to a great extent, subsiding, now~ that the inimediate meeting of the Provincial Council, for despatch of business, as a fact officially announced.

la the new Council, the' interests of the district Will be represented by five me- ibers, viz. : two for the tihvn of Ho-. kitik* 1 ,, one for the^town of Greyinonth, ♦ and two for the GoldfieMs, or Westland " district" — a term used to designate the whole of the West Canterbury territory^ out-jide the boundaries of the two towns' we have named.- If the whole five members take their seats, they will constitute" a small band- to delend such

large interests against the undoubtedly unfriendly feeling towards the district, that prevails to a- large extent amongst the Eastland members. Much depends upon the judgment and discretion of the representatives from this side, to disarm the' hostile feeling of the majority of the Council, by the adoption of a moderate tone so faiv as it can' be employed, without any sacrifice of firmness. The actual wrongs ' sustained by the district would justify a very determined attitude. But we have a right to expect thai a new regime is about to be established. A fresh

Superintendent is 'in office ; a new Executive has been .formed';' and a new Council has been elected. Although,'indeed, consisting very largely of the men 'v no s &t in the old Council, fresh elements have been introduced, and- — what is perhaps of equal importance — the direction of the policy of- the House has passed into new hands. ' The Weatland members maj- well hold themselves prepared for the necessity of opposition ; but it would be unjust to the Government, and impolitic, as far as the interests of the district areconcerned, to adopt any other course than to give his Honor's advisers a general support, until positive and material causes of opposition devclope themselves. One difficulty that- threatened a possible disfranchisemeut of West,land ,in the Council, notwithstanding 1 1 <v c-

tion of five members to represent it, has been removed by the action of the General Assembly, at' the instance of Mr Moorliouse. The Act creating what is known as the "miners' franchise," whilst conferring the right of voting upon *all holders of Minors' Rights and of Business Licenses, omitted to extend to them the right of being elected and sitting as representatives ; so that the constituencies on the West Coast found themselves, by ah oversight, precluded from the privilege, now enjoyed generally throughout the colonies, of choosing, men from amongst their own number t6 be their delegates, and obliged to fall back upon the .old Electoral Roll for candidates — a necessity which amounted, in a newly settled community, to what we have described as virtual disfranchi'sement. In the case of the first' election 'the question of qualification was waived by the Returning Officer, and the election took place ; the .two membfers returned — Mr Prosscr and Mr Barff— being allowed to hold their seats, and take the ordinary part of members in the ' legislation of the session. Legally, the • question of qualification could only be rdised by writ of quo viarranto in the Supreme Court. But although this course was advisedly never r6sorted to, there still remained a doubt as to the validity of the of . a ' Council of which two gentlemen were members whose title* was open, to objection. The five members returned at the last election were most, if not all of them, subject to the same technical disqualification, owing to a blundering defect \xc[ the law. Mr Moorhouse has, therefore, brought in a measure which has passed the Assembly, in the first place enacting that the Miners' Franchise shall Confer the right of being elected, as well as of voting— and, in the second place, declaring all past elections in Wcstlaiul to be valid elections. Of the fate of another bill, intro'ducecl bj his Honor, we arc not equally well advised. Whilst having five members in the Provincial Council, Westlaiid is allowed only one representative in the General Assembly or Pailiament of the colo.iy. This anomaly will be to* some extent understood when we say that the- House of Representatives consists of fiftyfive members ; that the population of the colony' at' the end of the year, when the West Coast was comparatively unpeopled was- 172, 108 ; tha£ the present population of Westland is estimated at not less than "30,000, of which the great proportion are adult males ; that the representation of the colony is distributed amongst constituencies some of which are so small as to contain not more than 51, I*9l, and 240 males only — each having its member in thi? House of Representatives ; whilst to -the 40,000 people 'in this district one member only is allotted — and that grudgingly ! Mr Moorhouse — venturing as

far as his experience of the temper of the House appeared to promise him any chance of success — introduced a Bill to confer two additional members, viz., one to 1 the town of Hokitika, the capital of Westlaud, and the other to the two towns of Greymouth artel Cobden, situated on the Canterbury and, Nelson banks of that river respectively. Meeting great opposition even at the primary stage — the motion for the first reading of the Bill — his Honor telegraphed to the Commissioner here, requesting some demonstration of public feeling on the subject in the shape of a petition to the General Assembly. A public meeting was accordingly held, and two petition*. — one from Hokitika and the other from Greymouth, were in the course _of two or three days signed by more than 3000 "persons, and transmitted for •presentation. They were duly received and presented, and, in a House thinned by the departure of upwards of'half the members *to their homes, the second reading of the Bill was carried. There our information oh the subject ends. There is the possibility that in the anxiety to dispose 'of business without unnecessary delay the rump of the Assembly may have allowed the Bill to pass through its remaining stages. We*aVe not in a position, however, to speak with any certainty of the fact. Telegraphic com-

munication is suspended through an accident to the wire, occasioned by the gales* that have -prevailed"" during the •last few days, and the heavy surf of the bar has, also, for days prevented cominuuication with 'the steamers in the roadstead, b)' which, later news from the North- is brought. If it be that so small -an instalment of justice 1 as asked for us by. \mr > representative has been witheld'by the Assembly, it niay be expected that strenuous-mid determined eiibrts will be made to obtain from Par-

hament, during the iiejyt session, a much more substantial reform than that embodied in Mr Moorhouse's modest bill. It is proper .to add an cxpiauation ,of the seemingly /inexplicable opposition given ;to this bill, that the Northern and Southern parties in the blouse are' very evenly balanced, and that any additional members given to Westland would- certainly go to. strengthen the -position of the Southern members, v The Ministry, which is almost exclusively Northern and the whole body of {Northern members to a^nan united to oppose the bill. They concealed their real motives/ however, under* a plausible, but most superficial , argument, urging that' the jgoldfieldV population were necessarily migratory, and that" it was inadvisable to alter the balance of the representative system, to meet tthe claims of a district possessed of few of the elements of permanency that characterise the other districts of the colony. The answer to this argument is very patent. The West Coast has never asked for a representation, proportionate to its population — of whom it is undoubtedly a fact that very many are miners who pass to and fro between these and the Australian goldfields. But there "are permanent interests established, in the vast commerce developed here ; in the immense- sums of money that hive been invested 'in various forms of enterprise, that can only look for returns to

future and in many instances to distant results ; and in the large amoiint of freehold property acquired ; to entitle Westland to a very much larger share in the representation than Mr Modrhouse's bill demanded, even on the principles on which the electoral system for the rest of the colony is based. i

The Assembly has been prorogued, leaving Mr Stafford and his colleagues ■in office. The former Ministry, under the same Premier, having boon defeated on their financial policy — one "of the main features of which was, to lessen the proportion of the general revenue hitherto recouped to the provinces for the purpose of local government— the statement of the new Treasurer, Mr Fitzherbert, was looked forward to with considerable interest. When made, it was found not to difnir ve^ materially from that of the previous Treasurer, Mr. Jollie, although it was devoid of its more objectionable .' features. The three-eighths of the customs revenues hitherto enjoyed by the provinces for appropriation to local purposes, are intended for the present to be - continued to them. These amount to a sum, of L 318,750, out of a gross customs revenue of L 850,000. No promise, however, is held out of this proportion of revenue being permanently secured. The Treasurer describes thb Surplus Revenue Act as a fertile source of injury to the colony," and holds out a wcrning thatj although no change in the existing arrangement s will be made this year, some steps will be taken to v piit an end to " the partnership system." For the present year, however, the proviuces are safe. The more general features of the financial scheme, are a change in the Customs system, so as .to spread the incidence of taxation over a larger area without increasing its .actual burden ; the" introduction of a new system of Stamp Duties ; and an increase in the present Postal taxation. The last is estimated to yield some' L7OOO beyond the present revenue derived from this . s.ource. New stamp duties are expected to yield Loo,ooo-; a duty on bonded warehouses, L4s'oo*; and duties on distillation, LI OOO. Under all the circumstances these proposals are, perhjips, as satisfactory as could be expected. Mr Fitzherbert said he could not vary the facts set forth in Mr Jollie's 1 statement^ — could not materially alter that gentleman's estimate of the liabilities and necessities of the colony. He' holds out the prospect, however, of a more sound and permanent financial settlement, when the Government shall have had a longer opportunity allowed it, and promises that its future efforts shall be in the direction of a reduction of those taxes which press on the necessaries of life. The necessity for a larger measure of increased taxation is' to be 'met by N the issue of Treasury bills, with a currency so as to extend their payment-joVer three yeai s. These bills are -to be issued to the extent of L 150,000, and will suffice to cover the balance of L 136,500 requiring to bo met on account -of the three million loan. The amended tariff will b 6 found in

our other columns. • * - The imposition of a. postal tax on newspapers is universally regarded throughout the- Southern provinces as a "most oppressive, uncalled for, and unwise measure. It may, td some slight extent, increase the postal revenue, but certainly not in the degree anticipated by the Colonial Treasurer, who appears to have made the present number of newspapers passing 'through the post the basis of his calculations. • Jf he were justified in doing so, we confess that our objection.-, to the impost would be" somewhat modified : but it is impossible to shut one's eyes to the fact, that the whole tendency of the measure is to restrict circulation of newspapers, and occasion a verj^niuch smaller number than hitherto to be posted. The charges to. be enforced after the commencement of the new year are, one penny on newspapers posted in one province for delivery in any other province ; one penny on all other newspapers posted within the colony " together with an approximate charge equal to the actual amount paid "by the Government to any other Government or to any company for their transmission, which additional charge shall be fixed by Ovder in Council published in the ' New Zealand Gazette ;' " and threepence for every newspaper posted within the colony for transmission via Marseilles or Panama.

So long is a penny slanip was only required to be affixed to newspapers posted via' Panama, no serious objeotiou was raised ; but it is felt that in a very large nninber of instances the threepenny stamp will operate as a' prohibitive tax- Upon immigrants desirous of Rending the colonial papers to an exteiisive circle of friends at home, it is an unjust imposition. As tending very greatly to check the dissemination of information as to the actual life and resources of New- Zealand amongst those who arc or may become the emigrant class, it cannot but act most injuriously uppn the interests of the colony, to whose rapid advancement a large aud continuous influx of population is of the most vital importance. It is to be hoped* that the impolicy of the tax may soon /be discovered, and that its repeal -will follow. We have said nothing of the probability that the tax will be largely evaded by the transmission of newspapers through other channels than the- Post. In passing these measures for the increased taxation of the people, the colonial Legislature has acted purely iii tho interest of the Northern Island. If any necessity for additional taxation exists (which many of our leading men deny), it is occasioned By the enormous and unnatural charges begotten out of the .Native War, with which unhappy episodo of our 1 " colonial history the Middle Island provinces have nothing whatever to do, but upon whose great commercial'interests and vast industrial resources the new burdens will most •heavily fall. The South is the chief contributor to the Customs revenue, ar^d' the commercial operations of the South will render it by far the largest coutvi- 1

butor to the new revenue to be derived from stamps. ,The whole history 6f ,the session points more and more clearly to the expediency of a financial, if not ti political separation, between the two islands. The question of " Separation " has been before the General Assembly in various forms, but in -each case the prevailing • feeling of the House was adverse to the idea.

Some of the southern members are opposed to Separation on sentimental grounds, and probably the views of these may bo to some extent met by the maintenance of the political unity of New ' Zealand under such a readjustment of the Constitution as Avould allow the finances -of the two islands to be kept distinctly apart. ' i

At this point our notes of the proceedings of the General Assembly may close. The session has been a protracted and busy one, and in many respects its legislation is likely to be attended with important results. But of course the great bulk of the measures passed are of interest chiefly within the c>lony. On the whole, we may. speak of the fruits of the session as disappointing the reasonable expectations of those wholooked for many practical reforms which the Assembly has not leisure, or, perhaps, inclination, to entertain. •

There is a probability of thes nex session of the General Assembly being held in Christchm-ch. A resolution to that effect was carried by a narrow majority in the House of Representatives-, although the upper or nominated House carried a motion in a contrary sense. In his address on proroguing Parliament, of which we have nothing but a brief telegraphic summary, His Excellency Sir George Grey said : — " I hope on an early day, in accordance with a wish long entertaiued by me, to have an opportunity of visiting the •southern portion of the Colony, and of becoming personally acquainted, with its many thriving and prosperous settlements.' ' s