The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1889.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2645, 25 June 1889, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1889.

Kqu.il ,nn.i ra.ict iust.ee to all men, . OI whatsoever .tato or persuasion, religious or politic.il. ___ _.

TitK Governor's Spcucli is silout us regards a surplus of revenue received during the p;ut iiiuuioial year. The Premier himself, either personally, or through his recognised organ, has told us that he would be aUe to meet the Houses with a small surplus, a few thousand pounds ; but this, on examination, was seen to be more imaginary than real. Later we have heard from Mr Fergus that the Government had not only paid off a considerable portion of the. deficiency of thu previous yc;ar, but had ;tlso a credit balance with which to carry forward to the current year. This statement was by no means clear, and was too \aguely enveloped in ambiguous language. What the Government will be enabled to show will, probably, be that, whilst the revenue from Customs hits fallen far short of the estimate, they have not led the colony into deeper mire of financial troubles. They will claim, and will be entitled to credit for it, that they have kept the country within its natural means; and they may encourage us to hope that by a continuation of careful and economical administration, in pursuance of the policy of retrenchment and re-organisation, the colony will, vsry shortly, be again financially healthy and better able_ to meet its "heavy responsibilities without lining painfully strained or resorting to any further extraneous and fictitious aids. We have done with borrowing. It is devoutly to I>«- desired that there may never be any return to that fatal process until we lr-ive cast oft'all our foreign creditors and put an efl'ectual end tn that stupendous interest which is sapping at the very vitals of the country. We find the Government is in accord, so far, with public opinion in this respect, for they olter no indications of any renewal (if boa-rowing. Thoro is still something like luilf-a-miliion of loan money unexpended, and this they will extend by restricted expenditure for a period of four or live years. liioucy will be de-

voted only to the completion of contracts already lot, ami towards such puhlie works as are absolutely necessary and of a reproductive cliiifactor. This is what we are told in the Speech ; we must await tho delivery of the Budget and Public Works Statementfor f'ullerdotails of tliu Ooveriimont'.s intentions. If tho Ministry will adhere with inlloxible dctcrinination to their declared resolutions, bearing in mind they are serving the colony as a whole and not any particular party, we sue no reason why the balances in hand cannot bo made to sulllco for all requirements, present, and of the immediate future. They have but to turn a deaf ear to logrolling, avoid vain promises and party favours, and borrow a little of the ipMi of Lord Salisbury's nature. The colony will then, no doubt, tolerate them for a year or two longer. Ilnviti" expressed the foregoing opinions we cannot regard favourably the sum proposed to be appropriated from the Consolidated revenue for the purposes of the Dunedin Exhibition scheme. The intended show is a purely provincial one ; it will not be representative of the whole colony, and tho expenditure in connection with it will benefit local commercial circles. It is a highly ambitious venture, born of the late Great Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne; and coming after that, it will be, by comparison, a puny afl'iir. The financial position of the colony, taxed to the utmost as it is to meet honourable engagements, does not warrant any of the revenue being diverted for an extravagant piece of luxury, all of which, as a community, we have eschewed for the present. When we can aflbrd it, we may venture to have a truly national exhibition worthy of the colony, which the Dunedin one cannot claim to be.

The Government have apparently decided to amend the constitution of the Upper Chamber, the number of whose members will be reduced. It was slithered from Mr Fergus' speech at Qtieenstown that the mode of electing the Legislative Councillors proposed by the Government, is that they shall be nominated by the Lower House and appointed for a number of years, the Ministry of the day having the privilege to appoint a colleague to the Upper House, but who shall vacate his seat on the Cabinet retiring from oflice. The latter portion of the proposal is one that can be accepted, but we question whether the new plan of electing the Councillors will be sufficiently free from partisanship to preserve to the Upper House that character for independence by which it has often been enabled to do good service to the State, in checking hasty or dangerous legislation by the other Chamber.

The Representation Act is to bo amended and a modification of the Hare, or Proportional, system, introduced. This subject lias boon partially dealt with by us, and we intend to still further discuss its merits. Ample evidence has been brought forward to prove that a change in the mode of electing representatives is desirable indeed, absolutely necessary. The Bill to be laid before rarliament by the Government will, therefore, bo awaited with interest. The same may bo said of the proposed reclassiiication of the Civil Service, without which the work of retrenchment is incomplete, and almost futile. There is certainly an absence of rcL'erouco in the Speech to many important questions ; for instance, the Education system as it at prosont exists. Mr Fergus did say there was to bo some attention given in the direction of classification, but it is evident the Government intend, to steer clear of anything drastic, either in this, or in any other question of policy of a leading , character. They, probably, wish to keep them, in abeyance until a general election can afford the peoplo an opportunity of expressing an opinion upon them. If this is their course, it is, certainly, a judicious one; the first thing to bo effectually .put in order being the financial and economical portions of our public administration.