The Abolition Debate.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 59, 26 August 1875, Page 3

The Abolition Debate.

| MR. REID'S SPEECH. Mr Donald Reid spoke on Wednesday nig- lit . He deprecated the refer- ! ence which had been made to the Provincial officers in the House. He repudiated all such insinuations, and hoped no single member would allow himself to be influenced by any such taunts as those of acting from self-interest, The : honorable gentleman referred to the insinuation of the honorable member for Wakatip regarding' the road to Tuapeka, and explained that., owing to the migrations of diggers, tlie Government had been unable to confine their attention to any single line of road — they followed up the' digger. It was argued that nine provinces wei'e a bar to our progress, but the facts did not support this — rather otherwise. The colony would attain greater eminence with those institutions than without them. At present they possessed two local Governments. What the Bill promised them was not local self government at all. If local government in Taranaki or other places had failed, that was no reason why the provinces should be abolished. He could not admit that the Government Bill granted local self-government ; in fact, the House was not the one grand local self-o-overnment. They were asked how this recent solicitude as to income and land tax ; but why in reply was this new found desire on the part of the General Government to extend local self-government to the colony ? If the measure was carried it would be most damaging to the interests of the colony. As to the charges of the maladministration against provincial administration of the Waste Lands of Otago, he would remind the House that any ofthe maladministration referred to had been done under an Act of that House, and by the late Colonial Treasurer, who was then Provincial Treasurer in Otago. It appeared to him from what he read in the Financial Statement, and for other reasons, he could not disabuse his mind of the idea that the real aim of tho Government was to get the land fund of the colony into their hands. They would prefer that to levying fresh taxation. They were told that the change was dictated from economical motives, but from what he knew of the Provincial Government he was convinced the idea was a mistake. The work could not be carried on without the help of these officers or substitutes, if they were to give more to the people than they got from the provinces. Where was this more to come from ? Would it not be taking from the people with one hand and giving to them with another? He would regret the day when Provincial Councils^ .would abdicate their functions in favor of the General Assembly. After going carefully through the Bill he could not see how the Government could fulfil the promises made to out districts. They were referred to Victoria as endowing road boards out of consolidated revenue but it must not be forgotten that she also paid in £800,000 from the Land Fund into consolidated revenue. — (Hear, hear.) The system of granting subsidies out of consolidated revenue could not possibly be continued, and. if so, would be undesirable. As compared with the Road Boards Bill in Ota"-o, the present measure was a failure. Tn many respects it was copied from the Otago Provincial Ordinances ; but, -unfortunately, copied errors - and all. The hon. gentleman deprecated destroying existing institutions at once, and then beginning to build up new ones. Tt was no argument to say that other countries did without provincial institutions. Our circumstances were peculiar to ourselves. On the question of endownents, he must object to revenue coming first into the hands of the General Government, who might des tribute it according to their good pleasure. Taking their land fund, nnd the charges the Government proposes to put upon it, the out districts of Otago wou-ld be much better off under existing arrangements. It was really a pity that such a grave question as overthrowing a Constitution should be decided upon such narrow grounds as the amount of money each district had expended upon it. On one hand Provincial Governments were accused of rushing land into the market, and on the" other, that they did not spend money enough. Speaking with some knowledge of these affairs, he made bold to say that members and represen- , tatives of our districts would find when this change took place that they would be a great deal worse off than under the present system. .Regarding the sale of land in Otago, which was objected to, he could assure the House that the sale was one of the wisest acts that could have taken place at the time. It replenished the Treasury, and by selling inferior land they saved the best agricultural land they had, and which was eagerly sought after. From a political point of view, he considered the abolition would have a most depressing effect upon the political life of the colony. Councils educated and elevated public opinion, and relieved the House ofthe discussion on many small matters. While a most strenuous advocate for central legislation, he utterly abhorred central administration. It was rather noticeable that many of those who were so loud in their denunciations of Provincial Councils were those who were the rejected "candidates for provincial

honors. New Zealand had been compared with Victoria* but the circumstances of the two colonies were not at all analogous. Melbourne "was the capital of that colony, and was a place where all did their business ; but who in Auckland or Otago came to Wellington to transact their business ? Regarding the other branch ofthe Legislature, he hoped no serious interference would be made with it. They had done good service once, by saving this House from itself, and he hoped it would do so now. If the Bill went into Committee, he would endeavor to make the Bill the best he could, but he would not support the third reading before the Bill went to the people.