The Press. TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1869.

Press, Volume XIV, Issue 1894, 11 May 1869, Page 2

The Press. TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1869.

One great difficulty in the question raised last year by Mr. Moorhouse and now again by Mr. Holies ton, as to the ' relations between the Superintendent and , the Provincial Council, arises from the fact that the system of provincial government is passing through a transition period. What was suitable ah# requisite six or seven years ago, when the revenue of Canterbury was upwards of £300,000 and its loans were «nly beginning to be touched, is more "than the province wants or can afford ' nowjthat its income has fallen to about & third of , the old sum and is burdened in addition with the interest on the full amount of its loans. The institutions which fitted the province well in the days of its prosperity are now found a world too wide for its shrunken aajl attenuated proportions. Yet while Berforce dropping away more and fffliOTroirom the old eystem, we have not formally adopted «inything new. The machinery ij still preserved, c although the_ wo?k i s being done ©feberwise. This especially affects the position of the Superintendent. In the pleasant days we have referred to the Superintendent was not expected to Boil hie owji augUßt fingers with work. , He wae the presiding genius of

the province, whose K ofti&e it was tft devise a policy and saa to|js bis Esecu>i tive carried it out. We l*a>e a shrew<£ doubt whether, if the Council had 6is f. played half the ; spirit it has shown for the last two or three sessions, some"' serious breach would not have occurred; but as it was, there was plenty of money, to spend and the Council were satisfied to let the Superintendent have pretty much hie own way, so that on the whole matters went smoothly enough. But the state of affairs is greatly altered now. The Carnival of expenditure is past, and is succeeded by the Lenten days of retrenchment. The Superintendent, as Mr Kolleston tells us, has personally to transact a considerable amount of business; and such must continue to be the case even to a greater extent than at present. That we quite believe. The Council will have little to do henceforth with " policies," and j will expect to find in its Superintendent a man who is ready, not only to overlook others, but to take his share of the ordinary everyday work. Thence arises a difficulty. Whatever is done by the Superintendent he should be responsible for, and must be the best man to explain to the Council why and how it has been done. Why should the information be communicated to them iat second hand by a Provincial Secretary, who possibly has had nothing to do with the matter ? Or again, if any business is to be performed by the Superintendent, it can lead to nothing but conflict of authority, confusion and general disorganisation, that his Executive should be entitled, on the ground of their responsibility to the Council, to suddenly take the matter into their own hands, and interfering with, or it may be undo, what he has begun. The situation is further complicated by that extraordinary Executive Council Amendment Ordinance, passed last year, which has deprived the Superintendent of his power of dismissing his Executive by making their retirement from office contingent solely on a vote of want of confidence being carried in the Council. An entirely new form of government has been thus introduced. The effect of that Ordinance is virtually to take the administration completely away from the Superintendent and vest it in a Select Committee of the Provincial Council. It seems to us impossible that the Superintendent and his advisers can long continue to work together under such a system, nor in case of disagreement, if neither party is willing to give way, do -we see how a deadlock can be avoided; But, if this is really what the province wishes the Superintendent to be reduced to—a mere formal''State officer, a eort of ornamental figure head, with no Executive power whatever, why waste money by voting him more than a nominal salary, or, indeed, why keep up the office at all? ■

! The Superintendent, then, is placed in this dilemma—tfn theory, he is not required nor empowered to take any active personal part in-public affairs; in practice, h.e : is to do, and, actually does r a great deal. We '■ :do not. wonder that any; onfej finding himself in so anomalous a position, should be desirous of having his situation and its responsibilities defined. The question is, in what direction should a change be made. As was pointed out in this journal on a former occasion, if the province wishesi to remodel the form, solely with a view to diminishing theex r penses of government, it can do so by reverting to the arrangements made in Canterbury for the administration of provincial affairs when the Constitution Act was first brought into force, The plan then adopted was commoniiable on the ground of economy, and appears to have worked satisfactorily. Or if it is thought necessary to. bring the Superintendent into closer connection with the Council, the most effective way would be to follow the course prescribed by the New Pro;vinces Act by giving him a seat in it. But to say nothing of the objections suggested by Mr Uolleston arising out of the present mode of electing the Superintendent, we scarcely think the,public are prepared for such a change in the established usage, j In short, admitting that" an alteration in the existing system is desirable, and indeed that it is only saved from a breakdown by the good understanding that happily prevails among those who have to carry it on, we also think that much more discussion will he necessary, and a clearer comprehension among the people themselves of what s6rt of government they really want, before any important change can be safely effected.

has the difficulties and reaponsibiKties>_f the Superintendent's position, and it will requip© our uuited efforts to emerge from the grave difficulties surrounding us. Dr Featherston is gone to-day to Waikanae to attend a Maori meeting about the Wanganui telegraph. Wi Hapi's sec-. tion is still strongly opposed to it.