The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1871.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 761, 10 January 1871, Page 2

The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1871.

Up to the present there is no earnest of the representation of the-.Buller district in the General Assembly being contestsd. Mr Lowther Broad, on a recent visit to these goldfields, obtained a; requisition signed by .Charleston residents, but ultimately declined to accede to the wishes of the requisitioniets,' and since then no other ;per r son has been mentioned as likely to come forward in opposition to Mr Donne; TTh'til the 'very 1 distinct refusal given by Mr Kynnersley, when requested to place himself l once againin nomination, it was hoped that the district would be in apposition to avail itself of that gentleman's very valuable services during the" next New Zealand Parliament. • The views held by him are so. completely in unison with those; entertained by the majority of 'his constituency, while, on every possible, occasion he has so fearlessly advocated the cause, not of the goldfields alone, but the interests of every goldfields' constituency of the. polony, that we were quite prepared for the hearty and cordial confidence extended to him by all classes of the community, and for the general regret ;with which they became acquainted 'witfi his firm determination to retire from the representation of the constituency.

The important questions that must engage the next Parliament render it still farther desirable that we should have sent to the House one who already possessed the advantage of being a-, tried representative^' and \vhoso : policy so completely harmonised with the measures. best calculated to advance the prosperity of the Colony, and the encouragement of its chief industries. The leading feature of Mr Kynnersley's policy was to obtain relief for the Colony from the profuse expenditure entailed by the provincial form of government. That system was favored alone by eight or nine times in. New Zealand, and was fostered by them to , the very serious injury of the large outlying settlements. The chief towns of the 'provinces and the districts immediately surrounding them are so deeply interested in the perpetuation of this exl penditure; and, under ( the present representation of the colony, their political influence is so utterly disproportioned to that enjoyed by the remaining portion of the colony,' that the'jutmost vigilance should be used to secure tbe return of a 'member whose voice would be raised against the present ruinous system of double government. The protective policy, by which it is sought to place a tax upon the means of subsistence, and which'is chiefly directed:at;the mining population, is one that any member representing this constituency should oppose. Of what avail is it to attempt an extensive system 'of immigration for the purpose of completing the colonisation of the country if the settler finds that, upon his arrival here, he is more heavily taxed than he'would be in any neighboring colony, while at the same time, the, first necessaries of lite are, in manyinstanc'es, already fully double the price paid by the inhabitants of any portion of Australia ? A combined system of protection and immigration will have the effect of causing an. extraordinary value to attach to the land's of the colony, where advantageously situated ,-and capable of easy cultivation. ' Large owners 'of landed estates, are loud, in praise of any system by which a population may be attracted ; but,.while,not disputing that immigration, so far as ; it extends to the occupation of the waste lands of the colony, would prove highly beneficial, we fail .to admit the. justice of any endeavor to secure this object by the imposition of a direct and burdensome tax upon a very large and important industrial class.