The Westport Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1870.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 701, 23 August 1870, Page 2

The Westport Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1870.

Tiie curt announcement of the Colonial Treasurer, that it was the intention of the Government to promote the annexation of the Grey district to Nelson, drew from Mr Curtis the very reasonable suggestion that the people of Nelson Province, as a party to the contract, had a right to express an opinion as to the desirability or otherwise of the proposal. Our Nelson contemporaries are highly indignant that Mr Vbgel should have so contemptuously ignored the Nelson peopl) i>i the matter, and deem it a very rough-shol mode of treatment that this Province should nolens volens be coerced into an union without even the opportunity of giving an expression of opinion. It is scarcely likely, however, that such an indignity will be offered to this Province, inasmuch as the injustice and unfairness would be of so flagrant and glaring a character, that, if protested against, it could not fail to have the effect of causing the Ministry to hesitate in dealing with a matter of such grave importance, and so seriously affecting the welfare of a large section of the Colony, in so flippant and unconstitutional a manner. We must confess, however, that what we have been able to gather from the proceedings in the House, relative to the question, would not decisively point to the conclusion that, whether or not the union would be advantageous or agreeable to both parties, the Greymouth and Teremakau districts are to be arbitrarily united to this Province. A mere statement on the part of the Colonial Treasurer, that the Government were prepared to support the prayer of the annexationists, can scarcely be accepted as an intention to ignore the voice of the majority upon the question. Precedents certainly go to show that if Parliament possess the power, it has not been exercised, unless both parties to a proposed union have expressed their willingness to its being realised. The main argument in favor of the Otago and Southland Union Bill was that the Council of each Province had expressed a desire that the two Provinces should be consolidated, while a similar proposal for the fusion of Nelson and Marlborough was disallowed, owing to the subject having been unfavorably received by a portion of the people of the latter Province.

Whether the proposed annexation is to he profitable or the reverse, so far as this Province is concerned, would appear highly problematical. Mr Hodgson's report is generally favorable to the petition being acceded to; at the same time he confesses his inability owing to inexperience in goldfields, to hazard an opinion as to their probable permanence in that locality. He estimates the County debt as very nearly £200,000, and arrives at the conclusion, on what grounds it is difficult to say, that onethird of its liabilities would have to be taken over by Nelson. He further states that " comparatively little has yet been done towards opening up the country by means of roads, the metalled tracks throughout the district amounting to only eleven miles." The actual revenue of the district north of the Teremakau for the year ended June 30 is shown to be £27,105 Is 6d, and the actual expenditure is £22,872 17s 2d. "With respect to the latter item, Mr Hodgson says—"l had no alternative but to extract the information piece-meal from various sources—a tedious and not altogether satisfactory process. I am confident, however, that the statement I have drawn up is a very close approach to the truth, and that no serious mistake has crept into my calculations. If anything the margin that I have allowed is too liberal, as I am anxious not to underestimate the liabilities of the North District."

On the other hand it has been shown by a published statement of accounts, snowing the receipts and expenditure of the two portions of the county, that the seceding district had received disbursements considerably in excess of its contributions, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary it would appear that there is really no sufficient ground for the dissatisfaction ' xpressed in Q-reymouth with the County System of Government. Setting aside conjecture, and looking at the facts as presented in the proposal to merge that district in the Nelson Province, we have their share of the debt, which may be variously estimated at £60,000 to £IOO,OOO for the Christchurch and Westland road, which would also entail an annual expenditure of £2OOO to £3OOO to maintain in repair; and also that the district to be taken over is miserably deßcient in roads, and would therefore require

an increased annual expenditure for the purpose of opening the country and improving communication. It has not been shown in the report, neither is it urged by the annexationists, that any saving in departmental expenses would be effected by the proposed change, and, indeed, the circumstances as presented, offer no inducement that we should accept a liability of such magnitude, in consideration of adding a small slice of territory to the area of the Province. As a rule, goldtields districts, after a period of prosperity, have a tendency to retrograde, and, although they may still continue to offer an advantageous field for a numerous population, their productiveness very rarely equals that experienced in the earlier stage of their development. The Grey district is not likely to prove any exception to this rule, and, in considering the desirability of annexation, allowance should be made for the decay of itr mineral resources and revenue, rathes than for any improvement.