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The Press TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1867.

The Timaru Herald has lately given utterance to some vehement attacks upon the Government for mulcting the Road Boards of so large a proportion of the sums voted to them by the Provincial Council. Our southern contemporary warmly dilates on the iujustice done to the districts, "where there are no public works in course of construction," by the withdrawal, now for the fourth year iv succession, of amounts varying from one-half to three-quarters of the sums allotted them — these grants forming, it is added, " the only expenditure, except a few unimportant items, which the Government is disposed to incur in this outlying district." We are not surprised that a newspaper which forms the only organ of public opinion in the south should express itself strongly on the subject, for it is one on which the districts south of the Rangitata have a well-grounded and substantial grievance. All the Eoad Board districts have suffered in a greater or less degree by the nonpayment of their allowance, but the case is peculiarly hard with, those in the south of the province, partly because they have contributed so largely towards the very land fund of which the promised share is denied them, but still more because comprising as they do the outskirts

of the settlement, where the work of colonization is still being carried on in its primitive form, they stand in special need of assistance in the various local works which in more settled parts of the country have been tolerably completed, but which their limited population is unable to accomplish without support from the public chest. But Timaru, though its voice may be the loudest, is by no means solitary in its complaints. From all the country districts from north to south the same cry arises. The right of every district to its fair proportion of the public revenue, however frankly it may be admitted as a theory, is in practice entirely ignored. The funds which should be spent in opening up fresh country and fitting the occupied districts for agricultural settlement, are systematically withheld, and applied to the aggrandisement of the towns and the construction of costly elaborate works which may render the names of their pro jectors famous in the colony, but make no adequate return to the province for the long drag on its resources and the check given to its progress by the immense sums lavished on them. Nor is it in Canterbury only that this evil is making itself felt ; it extends over the neighboring provinces as well. We find there the same jealousies between town and country, and the same complaints from outlying districts that after doing so much towards the revenue by their land sales they cannot get anything like a reasonable share of the expenditure. Oamaru lifts up its voice against Dunedin just as loudly and on almost identically similar grounds as Timaru does against Christchurch. In both alike the centralising policy of the Provincial Government, the abandonment of the agricultural interest, the enormous outlay upon works from which the major part of the province derive little or no benefit, with the absorption of the public income on such works and the consequent abstraction of moneys that ought to have been spent in opening up the country —these have become a source of wide-spread dissatisfaction wLich is steadily on the increase. The withholding of the grants to the Koad Boards is but one symptom out of many of the general disorder, for which there is but one effectual remedy. Throughout the whole Middle Island there is one crying want —the absolute appropriation by law of a definite proportion of the public revenue to the country districts. We must not be understood, as we said before, to single out the present Government of Canterbury for special blame; they are probably no worse than others, and indeed we doubt whether, as circumstances are, much good would be effected by any mere change of the administration. The mischief lies too deep, and requires a more radical cure. The provinces have grown so accustomed to an extravagant pitch of expenditure, they have become so ambitious in their ideas, they have so far forgotten for what end they were established or where lies the true utility of provincial institutions, that it seems hopeless to expect any reformation from within, or that the country districts will meet with more considerate treatment from any future Government than they have heretofore. Their hopes now rest with the General Government, and with the more confidence that their case has already been taken into consideration and a measure proposed for their relief. His Excellency's address on proroguing the General Assembly last session contained a reference to a measure which was to be framed during the recess, " having for its object the establishment of municipal institutions throughout the colony on a large and liberal scale, so as to secure the advantages of self-government to many rising localities the daily increasing requirements of which demand attention." The introduction of this Bill (a similar one to which haa for some years been in operation in Victoria with most successful results) will be expected with much anxiety ; and if, as we suppose, it will guarantee to these municipalities a regular income by appropriating to their use a certain proportion of the provincial revenue — without which they would fare no better than the Boad Boards —it will be the greatest possible boon to all outlying districts, and will perpetuate all that is valuable in the provincial system while getting rid of several of its most glaring disadvantages.

Horticultural Society. — The annual dinner of this society will take place on Wednesday evening at Brooker's hotel. Canterbury Alliance. —An inaugural meeting of a society, under the above title, for the total and immediate suppression of the liquor traffic, will take place this evening in the Town Hall. Several reverend gentlemen an'l others will address the meeting. Racoon. —There is at present at the White Hart hotel a genuine specimen of tbe American racoon. The animal was captured in the States, from whence he was taken to Melbourne, where he was exhibited. He will be on view at the hotel in a day or two. Heathcote District. —Mr Joshua Strange Williams, one of the members for the Heathcote district in the Provincial Council, having accepted office as Provincial Solicitor, has resigned his seat; he, however, offers himself for re-election. His address to the electors will be found in another column.

Acclimatization Society.—The gardens jf the society were visited on Sunday last by ft number of people, attracted partly by the° hope of seeing the Tasmanian devil, brought from Hobart Town by Captain Thompson. In thi?, however, they were disappointed, as this creature is about to be sent to England under the care of Mr MeQuade, the purser of the Mermaid, a gentleman to whom the cause of acclimatization in this country is much indebted. It is, we believe, likely to be presented to the Zoological Gardens in London. BotDrownkd at Sai/twateeCbeek.— On Saturday last a boy, about ten years old, the son of Mr Scott, a blacksmith, was missed. He was supposed to have gone out to unci ( food for some rabbits ; but on his fading to return a search was instituted, which lasted till dark, but without success. The search was renewed on the following morning, when the body of the boy was found lying in a creek at the back of Mr Cameron's, where he had some times been seen bathing. An inquest was expected to take place yesterday. Colonial Prizes.—The firing of No. 1 Battery, L.V.A., for these prizes took place yesterday. The weather was everything that could be desired for the occasion. The following is the score : —

The firing by the members of No. 2 Battery for the same prizes will commence this day at one p.m. Theatre Royal.—We were glad to see that Mr West, who has had a very up-hill game to play as lessee of the theatre, secured a fair attendance on the occasion of his benefit last evening. The first piece played was " Jocrisse, the Juggler," in which Mr Fawcett, who for once in a way seemed to have studied his part carefully, took tbe leading character with success, but the general effect produced on the audience by this play was rather a tame one. The farce of "The Two Gregories," which concluded the evening's performance, took better, and was played with more spirit. 'The Two Gregories " were Mr B. N. Jones and Mr Fawcett, each of whom played well ; whilst Mrs West, the wife of the lessee, appeared on the stage in the character of Mrs Gregory, the other parts being taken by Mr Pollock and Miss Herberte. Copper in Tasmania. — We (" Hobart Town Mercury" have had several communications of late relating to the discovery of copper in the north, and Mr Gould, late Government geologist, has proceeded thither, we are informed, in search of lodes that will pay for working. We inserted one of these communications the other day, and now hare another in which it is said that copper has been found in the Don, and that there are several other valuable discoveries of the same kind on the coast. Upon none of these do we desire to cast the least discredit, but it would be more satisfactory if specimens of the ore said to have been discovered were sent, and we could then lay them side by side with others, and judge of their quality. It is not the mere stain of copper that must lead to the belief that valuable lodes have been discovered. Where copper exists in any great quantity there is usually little mistake in these colonies about its presence. Firing tor the Colonial Prizes.— Yesterday the Engineers and members of the Staff competed at Hillsborough for representative men to be sent to Wellington to compete for the prizes given by the General Government. The company, under the command of Captain Harman, of No. 2 Company, proceeded to the Hillsborough butts by the two p.m. train, and on their arrival were divided into two squads, and fired at Nos. 1 and 3 targets. The day was very fine, but the scores made were not good, as will bo seen from the following list : — No. 1 Squad.

On the conclusion of the competition firing, a friendly match was arranged by Dr. Frankish, of the Engineer Corps, between Lieutenant Robertson, of the Dunedin Scottish, and Lieut. Carter, against Sergeant Pavitt, of the Engineers, and Sergeant-Major Allison. Five shots each ; two ranges. The following is the score : —

Lieutenant Robertson is one of the representative men for Otago, and Lieutenant Carter also bears a high reputation in Dunedin as a marksman.

Name. Company. X "3 "o Gunner Case Sgt-Majr. Walker Bugler Atkinson Corporal Hill ... Gunner Halee ... Lieut. Tayler ... Corporal Cuff ... L.V.A. ii i „ ] 7 9 4 13 2 18 18 7 2 3 11 2 6 9 5 0 4 6 0 4 0 19 11 11 30 4 28 27 >> •» Engrs.

Com- © —J 3 - © ■_ o a O —3 © _ S3 O Name. pany. Sergeant Pavitt ... Corp. Woodford ... Private Ollivier ... Lance-Corp. Foley Private Grant Private Allfrey ... Sergeant Allison ... Engrs. 91 )) 17 6 10 7 16 4 12 13 2 3 8 7 9 I 8 10 9 2 7 5 7 9 40 17 15 22 28 20 29 I) )) Staff No. 2 Squ ' Name. Company. I !0 T3 § a 2 -1 © _ IO -c © *= 'CO a "a o H Sgt.-Major Morgan Sergeant Farr Private Beattie ... Private Woodford Private Cuff Private Lockwood Private Jenkins ... Private Innes Sgt.-Mjr. Urquhart Staff Engrs. j " i » 8 I 10 ! 4 17 13 7 16 14 12 10 5 5 4 13 9 6 5 16 3 4 5 2 5 7 6 2 8 21 19 14 23 31 23 28 21 36 « >• ! » i » »

Name. 3f •* 5 —1 °° 3 o Lieutenant Robertson Lieutenant Carter Sergeant-Major Allison Sergeant Pavitt 4 8 17 16 10 16 13 10 14 24 30 26

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18670402.2.17

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1373, 2 April 1867, Page 2

Word Count
2,010

The Press TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1867. Press, Volume XI, Issue 1373, 2 April 1867, Page 2

The Press TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1867. Press, Volume XI, Issue 1373, 2 April 1867, Page 2

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