THE COUNTY CHAIRMAN.

West Coast Times, Issue 672, 19 November 1867, Page 4

THE COUNTY CHAIRMAN.

(FEOM THE HOKITIKA LEADER, NOT. 15.) A humour is mentioned in the " Lyttelton Times," as prevailing in Wellington, to the effect that the Westland County Bill will be found to be unworkable, in consequence of a technical error occurring in the manuscript or engrossed Act, which -was assented to by His Excellency Sir George Grey, on behalf of the Queen, The rumour is, that the word " seven" printed by mistake in the first copy of the Bill for " nine " in the clause defining the number of members to constitute the County Council — an error which was corrected in committee of the House— is still retained in the authentic copy of the Act. It is said that Major Campbell, the gentleman who holds the office of " Clerk of Parliaments," has declined the responsibility of allowing the verbal alteration in the clause to be made. The intent of the clause however is patent on the face of it, as it provides expres&ly for nine members, and allocates eight of them amongst defined electoral districts. It is under these circumstances not probable that His Excellency will be advised to withhold his proclamation of the Bill, or to refrain from causing its provisions to be carried into effect. The question of who the ninth member — that is the nominee chairman — is to be, still remains the prominent topic of discussion. The idea still gathers strength that, according to the present intentions of the Government, Mr Sale is the man of destiny ; that the continuance of his autocratic rule is determined on. As the impression grows, there is with it a growing spirit of obsequiousness. Many who held aloof from the late agitation, because they did not think it likely to succeed — andwho since its success have been in some difficulty how to trim their sails, not knowing in which direction the wind was likely to blow — have suddenly become worshippers of the presumed rising sun. The "Grey River Argus," since the failure of the Greymouth delegate to Wellington, has discovered that Mr Sale is the very paragon of perfection, and likely to prove a " terror to the traders in politics" — in Hokitika and to the seekers after " place and profit" — south of the Teremakau ! He is doubtless expected to have a very lively and grateful recollection of the championship he has received in the hour of his need, to the north of that river, at the hands of the disappointed annexationists ! Another journal, the Hokitika " Evening Star," has also suddenly awakened to a sense of the direction in which it ought to pay its allegiance, and has sunk down in prostrate adoration at the feet of Mr Sale. A week ago he was nobody, or something worse. Now he is the ideal of perfection, and something worth. Again there is the expected opportunity of picking up small favors ; and again there is the bowing and scraping before the ibig man — now it is believed to be known who he is to be. We believe whatever may be thought, or professed to be thought in certain small clique circles, it will be the almost universal opinion of the district that Mr Sale is not the man to whom ought to be entrusted the canying out of this great County of Westland experiment—of which the chief virtue is, that it promises us a relief long sought for from the old autocratic system of Government prevailing here. We want a new life altogether, and new men to embody it, and give effect to its vital energies. But it is not yet too late to prevent the appointment of Mr Sale if some strong and timely public remonstrance is/made to Mr Hall. That gentleman is in Wellington ; but aware as he has been made, of the strong feeling prevailing on the subject throughout this district, he will, probably, wait to see some further indications of public opinion before he advises his colleagues to take the step which cannot be recalled, of making a nomination to the important oflice of County Chairman. There is some talk of a demonstration being got up in town ; and if a memorial is prepared, to be forwarded from Westland, it will need the support of the miners to back it. A suggestion has, however, been made that the memorial should assume the particular form of a protest against any appointment of Chairman at present other than of Mr Hall himself. Let this gentleman, who will hold the delegated powers of the Governor, himself inaugurate the new system of government. Let a member of the Cabinet Council of the colony be the official in Westland to be "advised and assisted" by the people's representatives, until the new scheme has been fairly launched ; and the whole district will be content. We see that a new doctrine has been broached, within the last few days, by a journal to which we have already made reference, and whose cue it is to disparage the value of the Wcstlaml Bill, in order to further its favorite aim of annexation to Nelson. We are told that the County Council is not to "control" the Executive Chairman, but to be controlled by him. We have put a different construction on the Act, and we have done so with the full knowledge and concurrence of Mr Hall himself, who may be regarded as the author of the measure. It is between the correctness of these two constructions that the problem of the success or failure of the experiment will hang. We trust that no men will be sent to the County Council who are not prepared to make their powers real, and to insist on respect being paid to their resolutions. If that view of the case is not acquiesced in by the governing power we shall have to begin a new struggle for the maintenance of our rights of local self-government ; and the new struggle will be one of a more determined character than the last, and one marked by far different features.

"Ma, if you will give me a peach I will be a good boy. " No, my child, you must not be a good boy for pay j that is not right." " You don't want me to be good for nothing; do