The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA: FRIDAY, DEC. 25,1885.

Clutha Leader, Volume XII, Issue 597, 25 December 1885, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA: FRIDAY, DEC. 25, 1885.

By the time the present issue shall have reached the hands of our subscribers, another Christmas will have dawned, and the annual holidays will have commenced. For a brief season the cares and labours of business will be cast aside, the people abandoning themselves to pleasure and recreation. In the various districts arrangements have been made for the sports and festivities usually indulged in during these holidays. Many re-unions of friends will now take place, and new friendships will be formed, while travellers and tourists will hurry, per rail, to feast their eyes upon the mountains and lakes and other celebrated scenes to be found in the various quarters of the Colony. We have all heard so much of late of bad crops, low prices, depression, taxation, and numerous other evils, that, for the time being at least, we may well cast all such thoughts aside, assume a present cheerfulness, a hopefulness regarding the future, and determine to enjoy our holidays. It would serve no good purpose to brood and grumble over the past dull times. Rather be it ours to forget and forgive over past struggles • and difficulties, and determine that by industry and economy each of us will for the future do what is in our power to speedily bring about a more cheerful and prosperous state of things. The depression we have felt has been, calculated to teach us.

all very important lessons, by giving due heed to which will bring much good out of evil. It has ever been our firm conviction'that such times as those

we have been experiencing were an absolute necessity for the future wellbeing of the individual members of the community, as well as of the nation as a whole. We have no manner of doubt that the outcome of recent experience will be greatly enhanced prosperity aiid stability. We therefore are in good humour to wish all and sundry a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

In his Tuepeka address, Sir J. Yogel gays: — "I must ask you to recognise this : that it is utterly impossible that any Government can so microscopically deal with the varied interests of a community scattered over the whole Colony as to literally give to each square mile an equivalent of advantage. All that a Government can d6 is to trust to the various local ities having sufficient public spirit to recognise that in dealing with large sections of the country some amonnt of local feeling must be surrendered. Our ambition is to serve every part of the Colony, but in speaking of every part I must assume that the various parts are comprised within large districts. It would be utterly absurd for us to say that we shall deal with each borough, each town, each road district." This is very good, as the utterance of one who above all others has pandered to local prejudices, and local cries in order to secure political support for himself, and in order to the furtherance of his own pet schemes. When Sir Julius propounded his great public works and borrowing policy of 1870, the proceeds of loans were to be devoted pnly to reproductive, works, but now referring to the outcome of that scheme he is constrained to admit that the borrowing was for purposes of too general a character, and that, for every shilling that was expended upon railways more than a shilling was expended upon other objects. Why was this so 1 ? Simply because in order to maintain his power Sir Julius purchased the votes of members by devoting large portions of borrowed money to these local " other objects " within the districts they represented. By thus expending the public money individual constituencies were conciliated, with the result that the representatives secured a continuance of their seats and the Minister of his power and emoluments. This pandering to localities and constituencies, together with the log-rolling amongst members and the little arrangements and understandings with Ministers, have had more than anythins* else to do 'with, increasincj our *** o burdens and bringing about the present financially depressed condition of the country. In the opinion of those best" informed, and in the best position to judge, more than one-half of our borrowed debt has either been wasted through recklessness and extravagance or expended \ipon unproductive Worh"s by way of purchase of votes. So deeply ingrained into our political system has now become this logrolling and localism, that some very decided step will have to be taken before a remedy can be applied. We have thought over the matter for years, and only one remedy presents itself to our mind, and that is to abolish for the time being the present constituencies and have only two constituencies in New Zealand— the North Island forming one and the South Island the other. The House of Representatives might also be reduced to, say, 30 members, one-half being elected by each island. Representatives thus elected would be free from local influences, and would then be able to devote the public funds to only works of Colonial importance. This will never be accomplished so long as the public funds are, as at present, apportioned by scramble, and so long as the merits of a member are judged of by the amount he is able to cadge for ids own. district. We are quite well aware that the suggestion we make is contrary to the spirit of the age, but the circumstances are exceptional, the necessity urgent, and we can see no other remedy for the glaring and growing evil to, which we refer. Were the constituencies enlarged and the membership of the House reduced, then there would be but little difficulty in decentralising power until each district of the Colony was left to manage its own local affairs. Then we would have economy with efficiency ; the people would be more independent, as well as more industrious, and prosperity and contentment would be the result.