New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1877. COUNTYISM.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 202, 16 February 1877, Page 10

New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1877. COUNTYISM.

Sf E i a f tri °w P hasesof . Co «»tyism belong to the records of ™S' iS,^r m tJ ? e midst of lh « lud i<*ous and the painful. Whilst the question of Abolition was under discussion its advocates were loud in their denunciations of the cost and shortcomings of Provincialism. The Provinci..! Go vernmeuts were too expensive-in fact, beyond the means of the people ; they were, above all things, an obstacle to real local government, especially in out-lying districts. It was necessary, we w- re told, to bring government to the very doors of even remote settlers, and to inaugurate an inexpensive system of loci government. And all this, the public were assured, was to be secured by the County system Well, the County system is now in full fling, and will it S? rIT °>f S Over J'^ nt h » s *<* been brought tc thedoo s of remote settlers, vide Cromivell ; nor is the system in ex-

pensive. There is a political scandal, too, which has resulted in a comical and unexpected development. Out of the four Otogo representatives who voted for Abolition, two were particularly offensive to Provincialists,— two were enthusiastically devoted to the special interests of The Lakes andYincent Counties. The souls of these gentlemen sank within them at the sight of the large sums that ought to be spent on roads <fee, in these districts, but which were not spent in consequence of the expense incurred in the administration of I rovincialism. Their cry seemed to be roads, road« first and above all, then cheap local government ; and lastly, the exclusive possession of the land revenue and the proceeds of land sales in their respective Counties. What a commentary on all this is afforded by the correspondence between the member for Queenstown and the Premier and the comical voting of the member for the Dunstan, who is also Chairman of the Vincent County, r e the selection of a County Town. It appears that when the Minister was in need of Mr. Manders' vote to destroy Provincialism, he promised him that the new County in which he resided should have all the funds accruing from lands within its boundaries for purely County purposes. It would appear that a similar promise was made iv reference to Vincent County. The I Minister, however, now that Abolition is a fait accompli, does not remember his having made any such promise. Probably the Minister is right, and that the over-zealous and over-officious members for The Lakes and the Dunstan permitted (their heated imaginations to conjure up beautiful images of land revenue to be expended for the exclusive benefit of their constituents, which had no existence, real or contemplated, outside their own minds. It may be so, and it is probable it is so ;— one is of" a very sanguine temperament, the other is a real living novelist.

Or, indeed, it is quite possible the Minister may have managed in some clever way to make no promise, and yet to convey in the most innocent and honourable way in the world the impression under which Mr. Manders and possibly Mr. Pyke, have been labouring so long, but so unfortunately. Can it be that Mr. Pyke profited by the experience he gained in the Minister's own room, to such good purpose, that he was enabled to elaborate an embryo idea into that clever strokft of policy, withal so honest and sohonourable politically, which resulted in his voting, as mem ber for the Kawarau, in favour of Cromwell, and, as Chair man, in giving his casting vote against Cromwell, and in favour of Clyde ? Certainly he succeeded in devising a means of keeping the word he pledged to both. Eeally, what more conld a man do ?— he managed very cleverly to vote for opposing sides, and helped both to win ; and if his casting vote gave victory to Clyde, what of that— had he not iust voted in favour of Cromwell ?

Is not Mr. Pyke to be commended for Laving kept hia word under difficult circumstances to both Clyde and Cromwell ? Few men in the circumstances would have been so faithful to their word. And can Cromwell complain ? Is it not plain that he loves that sweet town still 1 In fact it is not because he loved Cromwell less, that he gave his casting-vote for Clyde, but because he loved Clyde more. Could he help this ? Man is human, and as Mr. Pvtke hated no place, is he to be blamed because he had a predilection for one ? To be sure not ; and far be it from us to cast censure on either the casting-vote or the political motive of it. I But the interest attached to this clever and above-board vote, and the grand and useful political lesson it teaches, musr not be permitted to make us forget the financial arrangemen of these two model counties, so earnestly bent on econodM and the avoidance of the extravagance of defunct Provin? cialism. The Cnairman of Vincent County has the paltry salary of only £400 per annum— £loo more, observe, than thi secretary, and only just as much as the engineer. To be sure he need not devote all his time like these officers to the business of the county ; he may take a trip to Wellington to help in the shooting of the political ideas of young members of Parliament, or he may devote himself to magisterial duties in Dunedin, if so disp »sed. But, after all, this is poor compensation for being put on a par in point of salary with the engineer, and just a little in advance of the secretary. Eleven hundred a-year, with a few more hundreds for clerical assistance, rent of offices, and travelling expenses, will make up the sum total of expenses for county administration. It is not a considerable sum, no doubt. Two counties at this rate will cost only about £3,000 per annum ; at the same rate, twelve counties' administration will cost about £18,000. To be sure Provincial administration cost oi.ly about between £3,000

wid £4,000 per annum. This wns for the Province of Otago ' Now this same Province will have to pay £18,000 probably for administration But, of course, considering outlying disMn p ,f elf -f ov ernraent, and such ablS politicians as Mr Fyke and Mr. Makders at the head of affairs in country districts the enhanced cost is a mere bagatelle. >In fact, under the circumstances, the present system, although costiri about six times as much in money, is really cheaper than