The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1868.

Westport Times, Volume II, Issue 172, 18 February 1868, Page 2

The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1868.

On. IbVIKE has delivered a reply at Nelson to Sir David Munro's address on the subject of the Abolition of Provincial Councils and Provincial Institutions, in the course of which the learned Doctor ho'ds up the system of Provincial Councils as being as nearly as possible the perfection of government and proceeds to argue ably in favor of their continuance, but in doing so he draws false inferences relative to local boards or municipal institutions, and stated that Mr Curtis, the present Superintendent, had exposed many of the absurdities in tho Municipalities Act. There can be no doubt but that in an act so prolix as this one is that there are many absurdities and irregularities in it, for what act of parliament of any length is free from them ; but this does not go to prove that the municipal or local board system is wrong. It only shows that the Municipal Act, as framed by the General Government of New r Zealand, is absurd. The aim and object of municipal institutions is that the inhabitants of a particular district shall have the management of their own affairs, to make provision for their own local wants, and to adopt measures for improviug and keep'nj in repair the various works in a certain area comprehended within the bounds of the Municipality or Koad Board. Now, what advantage has the provincial system been to Westport, modelled through that system may be, according to Dr Irvine, on the same plan as a Swiss canton ? The system outside of Nelson city is a failure; and why ? simply because it cannot enter into. cannot comprehend the minutiae of a locality some miles distant from the seat of government, for this reason it deals with generalities and not with the ordinary every day occurrences of a district; and another reason is, that it f dls to understand the different wants of particular localities. There are wants and requirements that arise every day which necessitate direct action, or else the opportunity of dealing with them is irretrievably lost, or the expense is increased so materially as to render it an almost impossibility to rep ir the damage. A Local Board or a Municipality w r ould see the necessity in a c ise like this of taking immediate action whereby the evil night be p evented or the expense cons Me.ably lessened. It is hardly worth while to recur again for an illustrat'on to the river bank as a case in point, but it is s > apropos that we cannot help again referring to it. The want of action has been so patent to every body, the inertness and supineness of the Executive of the Provincial Council has been so glaring on this vital point, that if nothing more were required to show the inefficiency of the Provincial Council in dealing with local matters, this would be sufficient. Again, too, the Provincial Council has to depend entirely on the reports of its agents, and in doing so, they leave too much power in the hands of irresponsible agents, who are often headstrong and self-willed, and 'are more often bent on furthering their own ends, or too obtuse to understand what is really required. A great objection also exists as to the manner in which money is expended by a Provincial Council. The money is voted in a lump sum, and works are often proceeded .with in a reckless manner at the commencement, till at last it is discovered that the whole of the money is expended or nearly so, and it becomes necessary to retrench or abandon them altogether, thereby rendering the work already completed useless, or nearly so. This is shown in the case of the unfinished tracks along the banks of the Buller river. A large sum of money was expended on these tracks, and when nearly completed they were suspended and the work rendered of no avail. If these tracks had been finished it would have thrown "Westport into communication with the rich and rapidly-increasing Saddle and Lye I Diggings, aL.d have been the means of placing gold in circulation in this neighbourhood that is now diverted in another direction. If these tracks had been under the direction of a Road Board or Municipality they would have long since been finished. We need scarcely to the Caledonian and Addison's Flat as corroborative instances of the in-

efficiency of. provincial institutions. We have heard a great deal about the liberality of the Nelson Councils. It may be so, but if they cannot show a .better example of the working of provincial institutions, the sooner they are abolished tho better. If there are local wants, tho only institutions that can in any way cope with them are local ones, for they bring not only direct action to bear upon them, but local knowledge to bear upon them.

In another column appears a letter from a correspondent complaining of the system pursued in relation to the supply of provisons, ifec,, for the use of the gaol. The writer states that the supply is dependant upon the will of the gaoler, who patronises whom he choses. If such is tho fact, we need hardly say that it is a very reprehensible system, as it places both the . gaoler and the supplying tradesman in an unfair light. We do not mean for one moment to say that the gaoler would take any undue advantage of the patronage thus placed in his hands, but at the same time it lays him open to comment. The u ual custom is to let the supply by tender, in which case nobody has any reason to i-omplain, and it relieves the authorities from any 'charge 'of favoritism or undue preference.