The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1876.

Press, Volume XXIV, Issue 3215, 20 December 1875, Page 2

The Press. MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1876.

The people of Timaru seem to be working themselves into considerable excitement; about their breakwater. We learn from our Saturday's telegrams that a public meeting has been held to urge forward tbe beginning of tbe work.on Sir J. Coode's plan, and that, failing the Provincial authorities, the General Government was to be memorialised to undertake it. A committee i has been formed to circulate a memorial on the subject, and to raise money for keeping up the agitation. A series of meetings is being organised. In short, as the telegram says, the district ia

fairly roused, and will not rest till the harbour works are put in band. We are not at all surprised at this display of public feeling. The commencement of this breakwater has long been a favourite project with the people of South Canterbury. It has been talked of for some years, the Provincial Government have pledged themselves to it, and the Provincial Council! has in two successive sessions appro- J priated for it a very large sum of money. Moreover an elaborate and apparently a very feasible plan has been sent out by the eminent English engineer to whom the case was sub-; mitted. It is not wonderful, then, that the people should grow impatient of further delay. They have waited a long while. They have seen Oamaru get the start of them, and the construction of its breakwater not only authorised but begun and so far successfully carried out. And now that all obstacles seem to be overcome —now that they have the consent of the Provincial Council, an appropriation of £100,000, and a satisfactory engineering plan, it is nothing but natural that they should be disposed to revolt stoutly against being required to wait any longer. _ | But there is one question which the Timaru people appear to have entirely overlooked. Where is the 1 money to come from ? We know nothing whatever of the views and intentions of the Provincial Executive, but as far as we can see the matter does not rest with them, but with the General Government. The 26th section of the Abolition* Bill provides that no contract or engagement shall be made or entered into after the 30th September, 1875, by the Superintendent of any province, for the construction of any railway, tramway, or harbour works, without the consent of the Governor in Council. Evidently, then, the Provincial Government have no power to commence this work; all they can do is to recommend it to the favourable consideration of the General Government. And suppose they do that, what then ? The first enquiry of the General Government will, of course, be as to the ways and means, and these are, on the face of them, insufficient. The Council has appropriated £100,000; and the cost of the first essential portion of Sir J. Coode's plan is estimated at £240,000. So that, before they can enter into a contract for the breakwater, the

Government must be provided with, or must see their way to obtaining, at least £140,000 more than has been voted by the Council. How is this amount to be raised ? As the Council will not meet again,Jio more provincial revenue will be forthcoming, and there are no colonial funds applicable for such a purpose. The obvious resource is the southern land fund, but it is one that is not open to the Government. The land fund is not theirs. It belongs to the province now, and when the province is abolished it will become the property of the local governing bodies. The General Government has no power to appropriate a farthing of it, and cannot pledge it or incur any expenditure in anticipation of receipts from it. The only practicable course is for the Colonial Government to make the contract and to advance the money payable under it from time to time as required, charging it against and recovering it from the district. But they cannot possibly do this now. Such an arrangement can be entered into only under express Legislative sanction. It needs a special Act of the General Assembly. We fear then that our Timaru friends must make up their minds to wait. We say this without the slightest feeling of ill-will. On the contrary, we sympathise with their desire for the accomplishment of this work, and heartily wish them success. The creation of a good harbor at

Timaru will doubtless be an immense advantage to the central portion of the island. But the agitation that is being raised strikes us as altogether misdirected. The people are quite right in showing their determination to have the breakwater made, but there is no use in demanding that it shall be begun immediately. How do those who make the demand propose that the cost shall be defrayed ? At present there is only the £100,000 voted by the Council; do they seriously imagine that, on the strength of that £100,000, the Government will or can enter into a contract involving an expenditure of, at the lowest, £240,000 ? It is perfectly plain that the General Government are in no better position to begin the work than the Provincial Government. Under the circumstances, a few months delay is unavoidable. The mode of charge between the colony and the district may be considered and other preliminaries settled, so that the Bill may be prepared in readiness for next session. But that is all that can be done as yet. No contract can be signed, and no definite steps taken, until the requisite Act has been passed by the General Assembly.