The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY JULY 20, 1881.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 824, 20 July 1881, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY JULY 20, 1881.

Sir Geokge Grey and Mr Siikkhan have brought forward separate bills for the re-establishing of the Provincial j system of.Government. The bills are as similar as bottles of Martell's and Hennessey's brandy. Why Sir George and Mr Sheeiian should not agree to try Mavtell and dispense with Hen--1 nessey, or adopt Hennessey and put Mavtell on one side, we do not know. No doubt they have a reason, no doubt . they are playing a game ; and if local - self-government is to be their shuttle f cock they may, possibly, require two r battledores on their side.to keep the, 1 game alive. Do we;want the Provin- , cial system back again, with a Superin-' - tendent, a Provincial, Secretary, a ■ Provincial engineering staff, and a Provincial building in 1 'Wellington to • manage our- little- affairs 1 in tliei .• country at -a cost of i some ten. or twenty thousands of pounds a year. • expended on salariesT '.Noone knows • 1 where the money is toicome from^but everybody must be - awarb that if the. great liberal patty, earned snqli a measure tlioy would do so by promising A a'Superintendent !at £BOO a year, B a Provincial Secretaryship at £6OO a yeatyO a Provincial Treasurership at <£soo a year, smd D' a Provincial Solicitorship at JiOO a year. In our New Zealand Legislature it is quite possibls to' buy votes by promises of this kind just as easy as it is'to buy ■ support for a Mlway enterprise by -i pledges of a highly-paid directory. We ] Eve no doubt that a scheme of such a I sort js hatching,'and if. .only the coiir i stitueneies can .be persuaded. that Pro- t vincialismis good for.them, the rest of ] the ; work vjlj be easy... Centres of population like Wellington will not be averse to such a proposal, jis it: will ' ; mean , the ; permanent establishment | with them of new clusters of civil ser- i vants; but we sincerely trust that t country districts will be sufficiently : t intelligent to see through the local 1 self-go,vernmorit fraud which is prof- 1 fered. The cost of ; County government j in the Wairarapa has been less than r five per cent, but the cost of Provincial Government would be four or live c times as much. We have : had enough r of. being governed from : Wellington in J the old Provincial days, and having to !' log-roll in the ;'Provincial Council for omv requirements. Our Provincial « experiences during the last decade p of ;Provinfcialexistence were'not very favorable. When under Mr Halcombe r ' the afFaivs of the Wellington. Provin- 4' 1 ,cia} district were conducted on ordinary J comnjerjjial principles, the-Provincewas all but. insolvent, and. had to ask the t, day laborers .who nifinxletl the roads to A wait;! three, months fori tjieir ,weekly; in ' wages. Then followed tjjie Pij'ZHEpEUT- ai Bunny reign, when, by' brjlliani fiuiiry, cing and reckless trading with j.]. lands,. large.-.sums <of .: m»ney ' were raised and spent. We got two or t a

'ihreo big I'riilgos limitiu.tlie...Warni-liaypnd-tlmtw of the goWeti jfeml; pW®l\ ; paid to the piper,i«nd iejit,: gentlemen iwho the Provincial staff, in' a state of 'affluence'vfoi'.V- series of 'years. If County government has no other meiit | .'it'.h'aa :thS"a : dv.aiifca[g&-'of economy. -: Qui".' County Oouncillsrs'aiid our-County, Chairmen dp not draw salaries. A Provincial .public man has a chance of several-prizes in fclje shape of billets offrom £IOO to £IOOO. a year.; A County public man has no chance- of. a paid billet of any sort. We find our best men are willing .to. serye.us without payment in the County, and were | a Province re-established -we; could, hope for nothing better, and \youkl run the risk of something; worse, because we know that' persons who are' notour best public men "would then push themselves to the front,- for the sake of the loaves and fishes. The Provincial Government of. former days understood' the advantage to be. obtained by loaves and fishes. These were freely distributed, and an amount of bribery and corruption prevailed sub :»,,. which, happily, ceased to exist with the abolition of provinces, Theigajna' tbaiis.beirijj played: is a bold one, It is one; '• however, which, unfortunately, the Gaming and Lotteries Bill does not touch:'"