PUBLIC MEETING.

Westport Times, Volume VII, Issue 1110, 26 September 1873, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING.

At the Court House on Wednesday evening last, in pursuance of notice issued by the Warden of the District, a public meeting was held to " consider the advisability of adopting the Gold. fields Local Revenues Act 1873," passed at the last session of the Nelson Provincial Council. The meeting was well attended, there being at least 200 persons present.

Joseph Giles Esq., Warden, was called to the chair, and explained the purport of the Act. He said that whatever opinions -might be entertained by the inhabitants of the district as to the utility of the act, it was imperative that a Board should be elected, and this the people should do themselves rather than leave the appointment of a nominee board to the Superintendent of the Province. It might be suggested that a board should be elected who would take no action, and thus render the act inoperative, but this he thought would be most unwise, and again, arguing for supposition sake, that it was the general wish that the Act should not be carried out, yet the meeting on the 6th October next must of necessity be held, and it could be hardly ensured that no one would attend there. It would in all be found that some persons at least would he there if only to indulge in so called fun, and would make extemporaneous nominations of undesirable persons, and whose names the chairman would be bound to accept in good faith, and thus by their election much mischief might be worked. The supposition that the public on the the Goldrields might wish the Act not to be carried out was of course based upon the fact that the Goldfields members had all opposed the passing of the measure, and he, the speaker, regretted that none of them were present to throw light upon those clauses of the bill which were held objectionable. The Goldfields had been by the operation of the Act, divided into districts, and the boundaries of the district of Westport corresponded exactly with those of the district for the election of Provincial Council members. The qualifications of voters were enrolment on the Electoral 101 l of the province in respect of property situated within the district, or

the holding of miners rights or business license issued within the district, and having a currency of not less than three months. Holders of agricultural leases were also qualified to vote Power was vested in the Superintendent to subdivide the district into Sub-districts, hut this probably would bo a matter to be left for after consideration, and would not be exercised unless the inhabitants of any particular portion of the district thought it at once necessary or desirable. The most important part of the Act was that setting forth the powers of Boards and the means to be placed at their disposal. The 22nd clause of the Act provided that out of the revenues of the Province subject- to the appropriation of the Superintendent and Provincial Council one-half of the revenue annually derived from the sale or leasing of land or from miners rights, or business licenses, within the district, shou'd ineach year be paid to the Board for expenditure by them on public works This would seem to mean simply that half the revenues would be handed over to the Board, but some little doubt arose as to the interpretation of the clause " subject t.i the appropriation of the Superintendent .and Council." It was awkwardly worded, aud by no means clearly showed whether it was intended that the money- should be handed over to the Board, subject to the approval of the Council, or whether it should be expended subject to such approval. Upon this point he was not prepared to give a decided opinion. The next clause in the Act provided for additional revenues arising from special money appropriations which might be made by the Council, aud committed to the Board for expenditure, at the option of the Superintendent. The amounts to be thus appropriated would of course depend on circumstances, but as regards the revenue locally derivable he could give the meeting some idea as to the probable amount, although not able to put before them any \ery brilliant figures. For the year ending 31st December, 1872, the revenue from miner's rights, business licenses, and leases, had amounted to £1766 6s 61, and half of that would be in round figures about £BBO. But he must remind the meeting that a much smaller amount would accrue during the present year, because out of the £1766 obtained last year, £9oo was for business licenses, and that source of revenue in Westport bad almost disappeared; In fact for the eight months of the present year only £7B had been received from that source Hence if they ca'culated on £4OO as the half of the locil revenue likely to be available it would be about the amount coining to the Board for the first year, exe'usive of any s ecial app"opriationsby the Provincial Council. Such appropriations, as th>>s.- present were aware, depended altogether upon the amount of rfevenheunder the control of the Provincial Council, and it must be remembered that it was not at all unusual for the Council to pass votes on the Supplementary Estimates far in excess of any probable revenues accruing. It would however seem very unlikely that the Superintend -nt, having available funds at command, would fail or object to vest the expenditure in the Local Boards, unless some strong objection should be raised by the people themselves, and thus the practical operation of the Act would, be that however much or little the amount of money to be appropriated, the ratepayers in the districts would obtain more direct control over such expenditure than they had hitherto possessed. Referring to the rating clauses he said that an objection had been made by property holders within the Westport Municipal boundaries to being taxed twice ; once under the Municipal laws and again under the Board, and it was plain that no provision had been made in the Act to exempt the Municipality, but this subject would be for *he Board to consider when elected, aud if necessary seek amendment. In his opinion the Act should be viewed as a means of working out ultimate results rather than a p jrfect measure. It provided the people of the district with an organisation which they might with benefit to themselves make available for many public purposes. [Residents on the goldfields had heretofore often found themselves not able to communicate directly with the Provincial Government on necessary matters, and much dissatisfaction had arisen, but now the District Board, whether acting as one body or divided into SubDistrict Boards, knowing of its own knowledge the needs of the community, would be able to communicate with the Government, and also act in combination with the other Boards to be appointed, in all matters affecting the general goldfield interests. The influence to be thus brought to bear would have weight with the Provincial authorities and the Council, and would no doubt tend to enlarged powers being granted the Boards hereafter. The meeting, as stated in the advertisement, had been convened to consider the advisability of adopting the provisions of the Act, but such implied intention hardly met the case. The Act had been passed, and must bo put in operation, and a Board would have to be elected ; hence the meeting should be considered as purposed for the free discussion of the subject, in order to prepare the public mind, previous to the day of election, to make the best me of the Act under present circumstances, and to avoid rendering it useless or mischievous by reason of neglect or misconception as to its true meauing. His Worship the Mayor, on behalf of the meeting, thanked Dr Giles for his clear exposition of the Act, and

said in his, the speaker's, opinion the Board should be elected by the people aud not bo nominated by the Superintendent. Several clauses of the Act were, in his cpi.iiun, inoperative, and others again illadvised or mischievous. For instance, power was given to the Board to levy rates, but the ratepayers could not appeal, and then the nonexception of land within the Municipality was another great error. He was inclined to think that: one rating and one payment of rates would be touud quite enough by the citizens of Westport. These amendments and others that might be found necessary could not be made until the next session of the Provincial Council, but he would for the present recommend the Act to be accepted as a step in the right direction. He moved,

"' That, in the opinion of th ; s meeting this district should take full advantage of the provisions of the ' Goldfields Local Revenues Act, 1873,' and elect a Board in accordance therewith."

Mr Shapter seconded the motion. He said he did so because no other course was open but to accept the Act as it stood, and elect a Board to carry out its provisions. The great question to be considered thereafter would be the actual value of the Act. As yet he had not fully studied the clauses but still there were some points that had, at first glance, been impressed upon his notice. The chairman had said the Act would givs the people an organization for public purposes. He, Mr Shapter, believed in organizations to a certain extent, but the question was would the Act as it stood recompence the public sufficiently for the inconvenience that must arise from the existence of two antagonistic organizations, the Municipal Council and the Local Board. The chairman had also hinted that the organization might be formed, that is, a Board might be elected, and then nothing done by that Board, and the Act would thus be rendered a dead letter, but he, Mr Shapter, would never vote for any man taking office as a mere do-nothing. The principle was radically wrong, f< r no man should be deemed worthy of election if not fully prepared to go in on his own responsibility, and do his very best in the position wherein circumstances had placed him. Looking at the Act it would appear that qualilica:ion of electors included the holding of miners rights, business licences, and agricultural leases, but no provision was made for the holding of mining leases, which did not always necessarily imply or necessitate the possession of miners rights, (a Terrace miner interpolate! the remark that it was hard to do without miners rights, and the Chairman referred to enrolment on the Electoral Roll as sufficient qualification). Mr Shapter argued that it was possible to hold a mining lease without a miners right, and that the Act in this respect was not sufficiently explicit. The nexb question for consideration was the powers given to the board, and, referring to clauses 22 and 2-') of the Act, he said that while defining certain revenues that might be appropriated, yet no guarantee was given that the money should be expended " in the district." The appropriations to be made by the Provincial Council where to be expended " in such manner and for such purposes as the Superintendent might appoint," and no restrictive clause existed to prevent the expenditure being made away from the district altogether if the Superintendent was so inclined. The clauses ho referred to were either badly worded and in error, or if no mistake had been made then there was plain evidence of an intention to merely throw out a sop to the district, a promise of some boon that might never be granted. Whoever drafted the Act or suggested it might or might not have had some reason for seeking to conciliate the goldfields people, but in any case the clause was unintelligible, and it still left the public business of the district in the hands of the Superintendent and Provincial Council. To this extent the Act failed entirely to satisfy public expectations. The people expected and demanded that the moneys set apart for local expenditure should be entrusted to them unreservedly, that the appropriation of a certaiu annual amount of revenue should be made certain, and that no loop hole should be afforded the Superintendent of the Province or any one else to evade the appropriation. Referring to section 5-1, which defined that no rate should be levied on land held for goldmining. Mr Shapter said that if such lands were excluded, and lauds within the Municipality also, there wouid be nothiug left to tax. but the laud held under agricultural leases, aud such tax, with half the amount from sales of Crown Lands, would not meet exoenses of collection. The only resource left to the Boards would be the erection of toll-gates and levying of tolls, bat he would ask the meeting where, in the whole district, could they erect toll-gates that would yield a revenue sufficient to pay the wages of the tollmau. In his opinion the Act had been carried in the Council by a majority who really knew nothing about the subject, and was opposed by the Goldfields members, not because the idea was bad, but becauso the means of putting it in force were ineffective. The measure was evidently framed by some one who wanted a convenient excuse to say hereafter, in reply to any complaints as to neglect of public duty on the part of the Provincial Government, " Well, go to your Board and bully them." Local management of public affairs was

necessary, but uot on such a narrow basis as the Act indicated.

Mr Dunn said he thought that as the interests of the miners and Westport people were so closely connected they should endeavor to pull together in this business. He did not believe in the last speaker's special pleading against the Act. Tt might not be all that they expected, but as far as the Act went it was good. The, people had clamored for some control over their own affairs and complained long and bitterly that they had no voice in the management of their own ;iff,iirs, and 'this Act was a step that would bring them nearer the point they aimed at. He believed that the Superintendent's intentions,as expressed at his last visit to Westport, were honest intentions, and this Act was the first result. But no Acts were perfect, they all needed amendment, and when this particular Act was passing through Council it was the duty of the goldfields members to have tried to remedy the defects they fancied they could see and not content themselves with bliudly opposing the whole, measure He, Mr Dunn, had seen in the Gazette a notice withdrawing Westport from the operations of the Goldfie'ds Act. and he thought that would settle the question as to the non-liability of Westport people in the payment of rates (The Chairman explained that the notice of withdrawal did not include lands in Westport, but merely referred to suburban allotments outside the Municipal boundaries.) Well, he, Mr Dunn, thought he was right and it did include Westport Any how some good would come out of the Act, and therefore they should select as members of the Board some good and trustworthy men , men with brains who knew what to do and would do it A great deal had been said about the smallness and uncertainty of the revenues to be given the' Board to expend, but in his opinion if the Board showed they were worthy of being trusted with the money they would get more. All men when first put into office had their duties to learn, and of course often made mistakes, and he was sure that local Boards would do much good, and the people would find their action much better than the perpetual running round with memorials to this, that, and the other public official, to do his duty and which as often as not turned out no good.

The Chairman before putting the resolution, remarked that his reference to an implied suggestion that a Board should be elected but no functions of the Boa d exercised, should not be understood as recoinmendiug such a course of action. He had merely intended to convey the idea that if it had been contemplated it was better to elect a Board on that understanding than allow indifferent persons to nominate others who would be objectionable as members of a Board. He was glad Mr Shapter had spoken so strongly against it for it would make all the difference in the world to the ratepayers whether a good or inefficient Board was elected. He did not think clause 22 of the Act was really so badly worded as might be shown by ingenious interpretation, and that although faulty in expression the words. " subject to the appropriation of the Superintendent and Provincial Council " might refer to the manner in which money should be spent and not to the express appropriation of specific amounts The only way to construe it was to read the 22nd and 23rd clauses together, as meaning that all moneys appropriated should be spent on such works as the Provincial Council sanctioned, and that in any case half the local revenues would be handed over to the Board and amplified by special appropriations made by the Council. The public ought not to be very much surpris 'd if occasional bungling occurred in Provincial law making. It occurred constantly at Home even where the most eminent draughtsmen and ablest statesmen framed the Imperial Acts, and oftentimes the ablest lawyers in the world could make neither head or tail of the most carefully prepared statutes. Lord Chief Justice Cockburn had said in relation to one particular act, that he conld not interpret it, and had declared it a disgrace to ihe British nation that such imperfections in the laws of the land should pass unnoticed by legislators, but Justice Blackburn had declared that ho had met with another act even more unintelligible, and he often wished the Minister who had been .entrusted with the measure could sit on the bench and see the difficulty and trouble it constantly gave rise to. There was little wonder then that ambiguity arose in the legislation attempted by the Provincial Council of Nelson.

Mr Munro, before the resolution was put would say a few words. He could not, he said, suppress his feelings at finding that, after all the complaints made against Provincial mismanagement, an opportunity for discussing the merits of a measure specially devised to remedy such evils had only drawn remarks from two speakers, Mr Shapter who was a comparative stranger in the district, and Mr Dunn an outsider from the Terrace. To his mind it showed a want of sincerity and selfrespect among the people who were must noisy in their complaints against the Nelson Government. It was very evident those present at the meeting, or at least very many of them, came there, as they usually did to all public meetings, to gape, chaff, and howl, at those who really were in earnest, and comport themselves in no respect like intelligent beings. They had been grumbling for years at Nelson rulers and now at the very first chance thoy had of expressing their opinions to

some effect they held back Such conduct he thought reflected little to their credit as men of business or intelligence. In his opinion the doubtful meaning of the two clauses they had heard so much about was that cluu.se 22 provided that after appropriations by the Superintendent and the Provincial Council, certain moneys shall be handed over to the credit of the several Boards, to be expended by them as they shou'd see fit. Hitherto appropriations by the Council had been most liberally made, but most unfaithfully carried out, and therefore were viewed by the public with more or less suspicion, but the provision here was purely constitutional, because all moneys raised in the province must be appropriated in the manner described, before a single shilling could be expended; but this, like appropriations for Educational and other similar purposes, determined by Provincial Acts, must be made.—Clause 23, enacted, ' That if the Superintendent shall see fit he may hand over to the control of the District Boards such Public Works within their districts, for which the Provincial Council have made special appropriations, to be carried out by them under the direction of the Superintendent. Such interpretation he argued was in consonance with the designation of the Act namely, a " Local Revenue Act." The people would be very unwise to refuse anything granted them. They could not possibly be worse off than they had hitherto been, and the Act was evidently a step in the right direction to give them what they had so long asked for. The Board, he thought, might be brought under the operation of the Highways Empowering Act, if the Superintendent would exert his power to any good purpose, and in that case the Board would be entitled to share in £50,000 annually voted by the General Government to Koad Boards. To attain this end would be much better than any silly attempt to turn the busiuess into ridicule and burlesque. The Act would not virtually come into operation until 31st March, 1874, and in the meantime they would have to elect the very b? "} men as members of the Board. In thu they might find some difficulty, as all the men of talent in the community occupied seats in the Municipal Council (This remark evoked ironical cheers). Still he thought the spirit of emulation would work with good effect, and that a rivalry between the Town Council and the Local Board would not be at all a bad thing. The unsuccessful candidates at the late election would have another chance to distinguish themselves by obtaining office on the new Board (laughter). Mr Whyre said he thought it would be found that Westport residents would not be rateable under the Act and that it was doubtful in his mind whether, under the qualifications expressed in the Act, they could sit on the B;>ard.

Mr Sluipter thought the district as defined in the schedule clearly comprised Westport.

The Chairman thought the same. The Act made up reference to gold fields or township boundaries, but expressly defined districts for the purposes of the Act.

The resolution was then put and carried unanimously. Mr T. Sheahan then proposed,

" That a respectful memorial be presented to his honor the Superintendent, praying that municipalities within the Nelson South West Goldfields, be exempted from the operations of the Groldfields Local Revenues Act, 1873, as the local taxation under the Municipal and Local Revenues Acts, would be burdensome and might endanger the operations of both Acts-'' . _

He said he was opposed to a dual system of rating and was of opiuion that the Act needed amending to exempt Westport. A session of the Provincial Council would commence before the Act came fully into operation, and he thought a memorial, as indicated by his resolution, would have the desired effect. It never rained but it poured. They had after long waiting obtained at last municipal rule, and now, following hard upon, local district rule was to bo also forced upon them with the attendantliabilities. He referred at some length to the disproportion hitherto prevailing between the amount of revenue contributed by the Groldfields, and the actual expenditure of public moneys thereon, and also to the helpless minority of Groldfields representatives in the Provincial Council, and the injudicious expenditure of such moneys as were doled out for the Goldfields. Evils which in his opinion might to some extent be remedied by the establishment of Local Boards acting under some more easily comprehended Act than the one at present under discussion He argued strongly that those most interested in Westport, who would soon have to pay their share of Municipal taxation, and who were in a position to judge how heavy such taxation would be in order to provide means to reclaim the highways and byways of the town from the present disgraceful condition, should combine to resist any infliction of double imposts. Mr R. Whyte seconded the motion pro forma. After some further remarks from the Chairman, Messrs Munro and Dunn, the motion was carried by show of hands.

Mr Munson then proposed, " That the members of the Borough Council of Westport be a Committee to carry out the previous resolutions. He said that as one gentleman present had told them, and the meeting

Lad also seemed to agree with him, that all the talent of West port was condensed in the Municipal Council, that honorable body must of course be admitted as the very best to be entrusted with the charge of the memorial. The resolution was carried, and a vote of thanks to the Chairman concluded the proceedings.