The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1886. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2206, 29 January 1886, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1886. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS.

The lopal government proposals which wero formulated by Or Hawkins, which wero kept ah secret as a new gold find, and which tho Wairarapa East County Council was prevailed upon to adopt, are really excellent if their bulk is their beauty, for they are as long as the annual Statement of the Minister of Public Works, They are also all that can lie desired if the length of argument is of greater importance than the scheme which it muffles. But if wo take the scheme itself into consideration, stripped as it necessarily would be of all argument and explanation, we find it very shoit indeed. The full text of the proposals, which we published on Wednesday, can be reduced tn very little, Or Hawkins drafted the scheme fur the purpose of submitting to the local Indies in the. cnmvry districts of the colony the means by which tliev can sovern themselves, and under whivh 'hey would also have a revenue com mensurate with their exigencies, He. istobp mm mended for his, efforts in this direction, and if it does seem, somewhat absurd that tho chicken should attempt to dicta o to the hen, he h«R thp excuse to say that even the chicken could see that the hen was making a failure. But whether the hen will nee tho error of its ways and amend th»m id, we think, extremely problematical. If Cr Hawkins could only Beo his w,ay to a seat in Parliament, and were to deliver his manifesto into the ears of an awestruck House, ho might, perhaps, succeed in showing that he had made a great effort, even if he would have to confess that he did not do any good. Politicians of all classes do not,' as a rule, look upon sentiments that have been before them for years, as news, when they are reJjajlrad for their apwial edification,

whether they agree .with them .or not. We ure somewhat at a loss to uiidtvstand the meaning of the sub-headmg of" Establishment of pauperism as a charge on the land." We are not aware that there is an "establishment of pauperism" in the colony, nor, taking the sentence in another ~wuy, do ;we know that any attempt has been made to establish it. We know that pauperism exists in the colony, and that Parliament has made an attempt to deal with it. But if pauperism is recognised, it does no; j follow that it is established especially as a charge on the land, It is true that land-holders may bo asked to contribute towards the maintenance of tho paupers by means of a most objectionable vale, hut that is quite a different thing. Besides, the laud is not made to bear the whole of the charges. Wo can heartily agree with the following sentiments :—" Prominent among tho ii«ußo of pauperism are tho fitful employment of a floating population on railway works, the absence of a fixed policy of settlement on Crown Land, and the want of roads in country districts, forcing, as it does, the gravitation of population to the towns." We, however, only see the advocacy of a change, without obtaining any indication as to what the now system is to he. A little more explicit are the proposals with regard to roads and bridges. "We urge that the railWays have cost .£B,OOO a mile first cost, without reckoning loss of interest, and taking both' Islands together, good and bad road-making country, 10 miles of metal-bridged road may be made for one mile of railway; that roads serve tho land through every yard of their length instead ot at station intervals'; serve at all hours of day and night, instead ■of at train hours in the day. That roads through settled districts under a pioper system of local finance should be no charge on the Colonial Kxcliequor, and that tho expenditure on roads to open up Crown Lands is the best possible investment of Colonial money. That the establishment of a Road Policy will rapidly increase the Railway revenue and enrich the Colony. That all money spent on roads remains in the colony, and is expended on labour which becomes settlement, while more than half tho money spent on railways never reaches the colony at all, but remains in England to pay for railway iron, (to. We do not deny that certain railways and parts of railways must be finished, but we desire to Beit this schedule settled definitely end unalterably as far as m ay be, for some yearn to come—until at least it cim be proved by such evidence as Would be required by a C'omiuittei' of tho House of Commons in Knsland that there is trade and population to pay interest on cost. It is clear that unless thiii is done the colony will every year be committed to some further extension, or some new line, The Railway Department of the Public Works i« yearly adding miles of new lines to the maps of the Public Works Statement, every promoted' line marked on these maps being deemeed by the distticts traversed a pledge by the colony for its construction; and even now the colony is, as far as this mapping" can do it, pledged to an expenditure of some .£10,000,000 for railways for which, when constructed, no one would be bold enough to odor a rental of 10s per cent for many yours to come." This is, we think, a'sound argument; but it him been dinned into tho ears of the Government for years past, and it was in part to meet it that the Roads and Bridges Construction Act was passed. Passing over a mass of extremely verbose references to debatable matter, we come to the proposed road and local works policy. Here it is suggested that a schedule of all roads which may be deemed Colonial roads should be struck; Colonial roads to be defined as roads which have been constructed solely at the cost of the colony for the purpose of connecting impo"tant centres of industry or population, without reference to the lands or settlers along the route, and which at the present time pass for more than half their length through unsettled districts. These roads are to' he repaired out of colonial revenue, The Property Tax on land is to be abolished, and a Land Tax of not more than a penny in tho £ is to be granted in place _ thereof. We hardly see what object can bo gained by the change in the name. Wo are'laboring under the impression that a penny gathered in by means of a rate under the present system is quite us valuable as a penny received under a Lund Tax. The colony is to borrow ,£2,000,000 every fne years, and lend them to the counties at a rate of interest, not exceeding five per cont per annum, whish is to pay interest, and repay ihe capital in 45 years. This is, of course, nothing more nor loss than the Roads and Bridges Construction Act in nn other form, and as that Act whr verv suitable, and the new proposal would provide an easier rate of interest, it would, of oourse, be much more satisfactory to the ratepayers. After the next election the House may perhaps be inclined to adopt such a scheme, but we doubt it very much. The remainder of the paper is filled with details as to management, which the Government would no doubt supply for its own convenience. Taking the document as a whole, we are inclined to say that " the mountain has heen in labor and brought forth a mouse."