The Westport Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1869.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 496, 27 April 1869, Page 2

The Westport Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1869.

In" a few weeks the General Assembly will meet for the despatch of business. Apart from the larger questions of Colonial policy which await the deliberations of Parliament, aud in which the population of even this outlying portion of New Zealand must feel deeply interested, there is among the minor subjects for legislation one which, naturally, above all others, engages our attention and anxiety. We refer to the proposed separation of the South-West G-oldtields from Nelson. The promoters of the Separation movement have, so far, succeeded in securing the co-operation and sympathies of the population immed'. ately interested in the change, and tney mive aavucaiea tUe nuua sufficiently to give the agitation a consistency which must at any rate command the respect and attention of Parliament, if entire success should be a matter of doubt. But it is highly necessary, seeing that we are at the eve of the Session, that the leaders of the Separation movement should address themselves to some of the highly important details which remain to be filled in the general scheme. It is not always wise or safe to leave important matters of detail to strange hands. As the Separation petition now stands, it simply prays for a system of local administration similar to that eujoyed by the County of Westland. Nothing is said about the number of members of which the proposed County Council is to consist; not a word is said regarding the formation of Road Boards, their number, or boundaries; no expression of opinion has been made as to the mode of electing the County Chairman. Now all these questions are of vital moment, and we would ui'ge upon the Separation Committee the necessity of at once taking them into consideration. If the definition of the Boad Board districts ia left to the Ministry, it is very likely that, owing to want of local knowledge, they may be improperly arranged, and much inconvenience and dissatisfaction created. If the Committee desire to follow the general plan of the County of Westland Act, they must remember that the County Council of Westland is composed of members each of whom represents a Boad Board District or Municipality. By this means the outlying and sparsely populated districts are secured a fair share in the representation. The mode by which the election of the Chairman of the Council is to be conducted is another very important question, and one upon which the inhabitants through their Committee should express an opinion. In the adjoining County of Westland, the Chairman is elected openly by the Council from amongst their own number. The precedent embodied in the New Provinces Act was adopted in the Westland Act, and although a good deal of objection has been raised to the principle, we confess we cannot see that election by the people at large would tend more to secure efficient administration. We cannot help thinking that, if conscientiously conducted, the election of Chairman by the Council itself offers by far the greatest security for the election of a proper chief officer. It is

true that there was much that was objectionable in connection with the election of the Chairman of the Westland Council, but that was the fault of individuals and not of the system. Similar struggles for place and power continually occur in much more important bodies, and because some one or two individuals choose to intrigue, that is no reason why the whole system of election should be blamed. What would be gained by popular election ? It is no use disguising the fact, that as a rule in communities like ours men are frequently chosen for public positions, not because of their fitness for the post, but on account either of personal considerations, or of one or other of the many minor reasons which too often regulate elections. The man with the longest purse, who could establish the most numerous agencies, and pander most to the prejudices of the people, would undoubtedly be successful ; but would he be so likely to prove an efficient executive officer as one who, having first undergone the ordeal of election to the Council can afterwards only arrive at the post of honor by undergoing the crucial test of election by his fellow Councillors ? We think not; but we do think that a great improvement can be effected upon the plan of election adopted by the County Council of Westland. The great security against intrigue or cabal can be afforded by the ballot. Instead of members declaring themselves as " candidates " for the chair, and being voted for openly, let the following, or some analagous plan be followed. At the first meeting of the Council let each member hand in to the clerk a paper containing the name of the person for whom he desires to vote; if only two persons are voted for, of course the highest number of votes carries the election; if more than two are voted for, let the name of the member who has received the smallest number of votes be struck off, and a fresh vote taken until the number is reduced to two. Had this plan been followed (as was recommended by one of its members) the County Council of Westland would have saved itself a great deal of obloquy. The subjects we have referred to ought to have the immediate attention 01 tne committee, as it is absolutely necessary that the Government should be acquainted as early as possible with those details, which no one can so well supply as the people of the district themselves.