The Lyttelton Times. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1867.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2125, 12 October 1867, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1867.

The Public Eeyenues Bill is ope for which'the General Groyernment de..series, much/credit. It carries .out, yigprously the policy inaugurated.by the Weld Ministry, of limiting the icpntrol of Ministerß oyer thelreyenues of the Colony..;'. Much 'of 'the.- wastefuiness,,pf... previous Executives had Ween owing to the; fact;'thai theij felfc themselves'. ,t& full, liberty.to. expend wMeyer money came iufco their hands ;in whaieyer way they pleased. Such liberty, .howeyer,, was "very, siderably limited by the-Comptroller's-Act, and : is noyy virtually eitinguisbeti byVthe:. present measure; The Golo- : nialTreasurerdid'not;hesitate to say, in moving- ; ;the second reading.of the: bill, Mat: had therebeen sucli alaw /years:::agp,. the Colony w:puld riotnow have been ,labounrig'' i urider. :itsj-preserit : difficulties.... .It. may be described, .'.= as ,«o "for .:'an;;applicatioh:i to:.1 the : :; General .Groyerriment. itself.'of .'..the:'.'provisions; of.;the,' Pr6yin- : ;cial; Auditors' Act.' .A certain definite: sum: :is. ; ;set. ;apart ; fpf ■.iinM'thorized-'' expenditure, ..irisfcead :^^of .-'-a, ; certmn proportion jofl last: year's revenue.. This iß;much;m6re: : suitable to, '■ the^ciroiirn- ', stances' tif the' General:' Govern and is: probably on this; able 'account introduced.,. The amount to which unauthorized expenditure may is limited'to forty thousand poundsi In case of deficiency of:. revenue, deficiency bills ..may; be ; issued to the extent of sixty, thousand pounds. Biit these bills must riot have Currency for a longer term than, three months beyond, the financial year on. account of whiieh:■■■. they are :drawn. In truth, they 'have more M)f the character, of overdrafts, than, anything.'else; Spme question has been raised'as to how far this may riot lead the Government into the olderror of ari over-payment to the Prpr yinees. We dp ript/lowever,. see-how: it can dp: so to, any great extent, and weshpuld be inclined';'to plead for a, large tolerance in /the iapphcation, of the measure to a..:tranßition : .state. of : things. The monthlyipayments :made to the; Proyinces, or rather the appropriation: of:morithly'balances;to Proviricial'pur- : poseß,iiay indeed lead to It is probable; that in several instances theiriterestand:sinking;iund:'upoft Consolidated -lioanB; along; with the J departmental ; the; : orie-half of :Cons6Hdated::Eeyeriues:;deof there willijbe: a ; landfundiout oPwhicV the ■ general iGovernment ;:may draw: the-balanM yinees lit is/btherwiie.; ?. ! It ! ;fore prPbablybe;found:-that: ;this:.:sum' bf;:Biity ; wili ;: bei upon: ;to; .deficient 'of;Aucklandi::and : that' ;the;Generai. Assembly will again, be: asked,.next;sessiori,;to : fbrgiye.VAuc^ land; the ; dbbt it 6wM-:Jrpm this: TJew:morethanfroiri ,any other cbrisideratiqn^'we.are inclined to. .accburit fbr:the difference of opinion ;by;the C6lonia}:Treaßurer mthv regard: to'thVprospects/of; Auckland, during next:twelve:months.;;'lt:;seemedxlear :tO: most.:other;'people; that; Auckland would cpllapßo;withm;to cast itself arid .all its burdens updn/.tiiei General :Gbyernmenti;; If the ; ; Ministry think r otlierwisejywe believe;it is because they,;have : provided for A-uckland's. wants -by. 1 tlie:: deificieney. bills, and hope Jp. keepitinexistence . as a;Province;' tijlihe next; session of Assemblyt : Then willcome' anew the feeling qf irritation/at-"having to bblnter.it.Up iu-sp; Costly a/mariner. Auckland willfajl; unlamentetl,..' and will: drag /down the other province's with it'.. " '■'-■' '■'■*■

We are conscious of no exaggeration and of no party feeling in thus pointing out the anti-provincial tendencies of this, ns of almost every other measure of the General Government, If the Provinces are to survive, it must be by a wise adaptation of policy to the new

circumstance in which tliey iare placed.; We;, are among thosoHwho thmlc \thiß both : possible and desirable? We., regret,, putito the ampuiit. which .the Government would''be allowed to advance on account of any one Province. By this : means a thorough check would ..have been put upon all dituro ill regard to any particular district, and solvent Provinces would, not bo made, to suffiar, for the siiis of their neighbours.