FINANCIAL SEPARATION.

Press, Volume III, Issue 129, 30 March 1863, Page 1

FINANCIAL SEPARATION.

TjT vi forget the misinterpretation which the (flaßy Times' has put upon tho views which have Bflrio—ly appeared in this journal, and come (jirtctly to the subject—how tho question of sepjation is connected with that of finance. line existing financial system of tho colony, as ie understand it, is as follows. Tho land revenue jjkept distinct from tho ordinary revenue. J_e Jand revenue is appropriated solely by the Jjorincial Councils, and is not brought to genoral iccounfc at all. Under the Financial Resolutions of 1855, commonly called Mr. So well's Resolutions, the debt of tho New Zealand Company was sottled onthe Middle Island, and each province, after paying ifa share of the interest of that debt, was to have the rest of its land fund for itself. Wo aro of opinion that that arrangement cannot bo departed from again, except by tho unanimous consent o 'ill fiie provinces, without a breach of public faith. The arrangement was made by way of compromise beforeen the various parts of tho colony and for the purposo of reconciling conflicting interests. 80 long as a land fund lasts the public faith demands that this shall bo regarded as a permanent Mangem«b*. Kext Wo'46fn9 to tho ordinary rovenuos. These, mike the land fund, are supposed to be paid Into tge-end chest, and to be brought to general iJWunt. On this general fund is first charged tie costs of the Genoral Government, independent of its local departments, and tho public debts. Secondly, tho cost of certain local departments of foe Genoral Government maintained in each province is charged against the revenue contributed by each. The balance, after making the •bore deductions, is then divided amongst the provinces in tho proportion in wliich tho revenue lim arisen in each respectively. The system is fair enough, hut for purposes of •ccount, it is exceedingly clumsy. A long timo necessarily elapses before tho books of the year l we been finally closed and a debtor and creditor •Mount with each province mado-out. Tho produces continue to receive contributions on account Win the General Government throughout the JW, but until tho whole account is closed and a ■aknee struck, it is impossible to know how any rWvince stands-in its account with tho General Government. The result is long out-standing and indited accounts. Sow wo havo argued in favor of separate protocial chests only so far as is necessary to enable to get rid of a troublesome and dilatory system keeping the accounts. We havo never seen any leas on why the ordinary revenues moro than the *-* revenues should be paid into a general chest. ""> provincial chest should liquidate all the arising within tho province, whether for of tho General Government undor *** of the General Assembly, or for departments c Pr ovincial Government under vote 3 of the facial Council. I Wc arc certain cliarges besides these which at the seat of Government, and with ° h the Province iv which the seat of Govern--1 happens to be, ought not to bo solely owi-expences which belong to the whole fell ' on L aud the interest on the. public debts. To c these charges it would be sufficient if j

the General Government had tho powor of calling in so many shillings in the pound of all the ordinary revenue coming into the provincial chests. Tho whole accounts of the colony would thus bo reduced to a nutshell, and might bo closed and audited within a few days from the end of each year or quarter. This is the sense, and tho only sense, in which we havo ever arguod in favor of the separation or independence of the provincial chests. But when wo speak of the separation of tho colony, totally new considerations are involved. Under the scheme propounded above, tho maintenance of the full power of tho General Assembly is supposed to continue. It is supposed that the General Assembly will continue to vote the salaries of all the # officials of the Customs, Post Office, Supremo Court, Resident Magistrates' Court, and so on, and will also decide what general expenses may bo necessary which shall be charged on tho general rate contributed by the provincial chests, in other words the General Assembly must determine how many shillings in the pound aro wanted for general colonial purposes. Tho overriding power of tho General Assembly—its authority to chargo the publio Tevenues in the firs* instance—is the key-stone of unity, and that we have never supposed should be abandoned or weakened.

The authority of a Parliament is the supreme power in the state. That we should ever maintain. As- we understand Separation it moans two Parliaments, ono for tho North, another for the Middle Island, with no point of contact, and no subordination to any common authority. The views put forward in this article are not new. They aro as old as the first session of the General Assembly in 1854. Thoy havo been advocated from time to time during the last ten yoarc. The legislation of the Stafford Ministry on the subject of finance was a great approximation tow irds thoso principles from the financial arrangements wliich wero inflicted on us by the Constitution Act. But in our opinion tho Finance Minister did not go far enough. Mr. Richmond's financial statements were indeed clear and explicit' and it is to his power of arrangement that all tho improvements in our financial system are due. But Mr. Richmond did not in bur opinion see liis way to getting rid of that wliich is the vice of the whole system, the generalisation and redistribution of the revenues arising in the provinces. The plan of separate Provincial chests in tho sense hero explained, would have the advantago of economy and simplicity. It does not appear necessary that moro than one officer would be necessary in each province, who should receive and disburse all the public monies, obeying tho warrants of the Governor to the extent voted by the General Assembly, and the warrants of tho Superintendent to the extent voted by tho Provincial Councils. Similarly but one auditor woidd be required in each province to audit all the public accounts. And these officials, like the officers of the Exchequer and of the Audit Board in England, should be equally independent of the Legislative and Executive powers. The business or the Exchequer is simply to issue money hi obedience' to warrants of the Crown, wliich sot forth on their face the authority of law under

} which tho issues are severally require i. It seems Ito us of great importance that that groat constitutional principle should be introduced in this colony. It is likely enough that tho ultra provincials will exclaim against these views. But in good truth there aro no provincial revenues at all in New Zealand. Tho whole of the revonues aro general, collected under tho authority of tho Genoral Assombly. Provincial revenue, properly so called' would be revenue raisod by the authority of tho Provincial Councils. Thero is no such thing. In tho United States all the revenues . raisod by Congress aro general. Tho revenues of the several States are raised by the State Legislatures by taxation in various forms. Therefore there is no incongruity, but rather a fitness to the wholo system, in tho idea that tho Provincial Treasurer in each provinco should be an officer of tho Genoral Government, charged with the receipt and disbursement of tho revenue. Nor, on tho other hand, is thero an inconsistency, but tho contrary, in tho idea that the accounts of revenue and expenditure should appear under tho heads of tho several provinces, in a country where a provincial system enters so largely into tho wholo scheme of its government-

We may conclude this article by saying that tho salaries of tho Governor and his Executive Council, and of the staff working under them, the salaries of the Judges, and any special expenditure which tho Assembly might think tho whole I colony ought to bear, comprise all the expences wliich ought to be provided for by contribution, and to appear in tho genoral account j every other out-going would appear on tho Provincial accounts. Now wo ask would not this system get rid of one of tho evils of which Canterbury and Otago complain in common. The quarter's accounts gazetted in tho provinco, ought to bo published as audited and closed within a month after tho end of tho quarter. These accounts would show tho whole receipt of revenue in tho province. They would show also, 1. Tho issue of bo many shillings in tho pound to the Central Government. 2. The issue under warrants of the Governor. 3. The issue under warrants of tho Superintendent. The whole state of tho province financially would bo on one piece of paper, and wonld bo up to date, or nearly so, instead of having tho provincial accounts published at one time, and the general accounts published many months, sometimes more than a year afterwards, and oven then in a form in which no man can comprehend them without so much study and consideration as to render tho publication useless as affording any check or control. We ask the Separationists, candidly, whether under such a system as tliat proposed thoy would not consider that one part at all events of their grievances would bo removed without sacrificing the unity of the colony

Mb. Eaast.—Wo understand that a letter has been received at the Land Oflice stating that Mr. Ilaast had succeeded in effecting a passage to the West Coast, and has returned. Ho is now, we believe, at Mr-Wilkin's station at tho Wanaka We have not been able as yet to learn any partic idars.