THE SOUTHERN CROSS. Friday, February 22, 1861.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1377, 22 February 1861, Page 3

THE SOUTHERN CROSS. Friday, February 22, 1861.

LTJOEO NON TJKO. "If Iha\oboen e\tinguished, yet there riie, A thousand beacons from the Spaik I bore."

The proceedings of our Provincial Council have not been of late so interesting as to call for much comment from us. The Speaker, Olerk, and a few self-devoting characters have, day after day, met at three o'clock, and then counted themselves out. On Tuesday last, however, for a novelty, there was a quorum, but, the previous count-outs having cleared all business off the notice-paper, veiy little could be done. Two Messages were received from the Superintendent, covering : " Bill to amend The Licensing Act, 1858," and "The Auckland Waterworks Act, 1860." We trust that the latter will not come to the same ' untimely end as the Fire Bill, but, judging by the manner in which the Council treated that unfortunate bantling of the Superintendent, we much fear for the fate of any bill levying a compulsory rate. Men are in dread of the advent of the tax-gatherer in New Zealand : they came to the colonies to escape his impertinent morning calls, and, having a great objection to an income tax, consider it highly consistent to refu&e to pay for clean water or serviceable fireengines It has been uither amusing of late to listen to the arguments of sapien^ men on these subjects. That nearly used-up metaphor, "the thin end of the wedge," has been in great re«-

quest j the town is allowed to burn down be- r (cause people are afraid, not of a fire-rate, but of , 'another principle which has nothing to do with rates levied for a special purpose, ' namely, the [principle of direct taxation ; and there will' be : great objections raised, we have no doubt, to clean water, for the same reason. Some wise- ! acres argued, when the fire-bill was under discussion, that it was the duty of the Insurance Companies to protect us against fire. By some strange confusion of ideas they seemed to think that where premiums are high companies must necessarily have a fine surplus to lay out for the benefit of the public, quite forgetting, apparently, that insurance is governed by the same laws as any other commercial transaction, and that where there is free competition between different offices, as in Auckland, the premiums will always be in proportion to the risk. It wotild be only one degree more absurd ' for the same good men to argue now that it is the doctors who ought to piovide us with water, because, for&ooth, they have had a good many fees in consequence of our present supply being so bad. But, at all events, it will be considered the thin end of the wedge, and some Auckland " Hampden with undaunted breast" will, in all probability, stand up for the great privileges of the great unwashed. Great jealou&y of all Government undertakings is the rule in New Zealand. Confidence is unknown, and we are not surprised ; (nor indeed do we regret) that &uch is the case. Watchfulness on the part of the public is the only safeguard against maladministration of powers and mis-appropriation of means, but all self-constituted guardians of the interests of the public are not alike. Some distinguish themselves by opposing everything proposed, because some germs of evil may possibly lie hid in it : others distinguish themselves less, but do far better service, by accepting what is good in its general principle and endeavouring to eliminate what may be injurious. A politician of the former school has only to talk, and a few catch-words judiciously iised gain for him the name of an independent popular man, whilst the cautious, thoughtful reformer, who seeks rather to develop what is good than to denounce as bad everything not perfect, must bring powers of mind and habits of industry to the task, and yet when he has done his utmost is generally misunderstood, and certainly never appreciated. Our Provincial Council contains men belonging to both schools : the former, of course, carry the day. It is a high and important privilege to be chosen as the representative of one's fellowcoloni&ts, but it is a privilege to which duties are attached. Many men, however, in these colonies, seem to consider that their work is over when the returning-officer announces the state of the poll : if victorious, they act as if entitled to rest upon their laurels, and seem to forget that their work is only commencing. Generalities served them in good stead on the hustings, and they can scarcely condescend to particulars in the Council. They leave the real work to be done by a few, demand explanations on every subject, whilst they are not sufficiently masteis of its first elements to understand them, and call for papers which they seldom if ever look into when they have got them. They are fine independent patriots, men above business and untainted by corruption, conscious of the dignity of possessing a vote on a division and determined to exercise it irrespective of sense, common or uncommon, and to give no reasons for the manner in which they do so, even though reasons Avere "as plentiful as blackbcines." As for yielding to compulsion — Falstaff himself was nothing to one of them, and patient Memman or tuibulent Pollen would get about the same answer as Pom& did from the fat knight, were either to press Jack to give a " reason" for his vote. At the same time theie is one cogent reason why opposition to the present Provincial Government is the rule, and why even good measures aie not tiied simply on their own merits. There is a want of confidence in the present Provincial Government. Men may approve of a measure, taken by itself, and yet not chuse to suppoit it if brought forward by tho&e whom they do not consider able to carry it out properly. They object to paying water and fire rates to those who have appropriated general funds for special local improvements in town ; and Custom-house Street lies heavy on the minds of Ancldandeis Still those inclined to limit the powers of the present Provincial Government, or rather who decline giving fresh ones, should pause e'er they do anything which may defer indefinitely the commencement of absolutely necessary public works. It is the duty of the Provincial Council carefully and conscientiously to take into consideration the Bill before them, and to remember that it is for them to provide the proper safeguards against any abu&e of powers which they may grant, rather than to refuse to grant any.

Since the above was in type tlie Council has met again, and quite surprised us by the sharp style in which they have consigned two of His Honor's Bills to the waste-paper basket. The second reading of the " Manukan Harbour Endowments Bill" and the "Auckland Water Works Bill" have been deferred till the Greek Kalends, or, in parliamentary phraseology, "the Bills are to be read this day six months." Both were rejected simply because Councillors did not care to trust the Superintendent's Government to the amount required ; and the Water Works Bill, more particularly, was tried on anything but its own merits. The feasibility of Mr. Steward's scheme was scarcely questioned : certainly not impugned by any tangible arguments. Mr. Dignan alone touched upon the subject at all distinctly, but took a decidedly national view of the question, and speaking of One Tree Hill, appeared to think that there would be too much water for the "crater," a "tee-total" idea, shocking to contemplate. The bill was finally rejected on Mr. B. Reynolds' motion by a majority of 16 to 7. The " Manukau Bill" was thrown out by the same majority, and nearly the same arguments. The less money passes into the hands of His Honor the Superintendent the more pleased, it appears, will his faithful Commons be. It is not, we fearj written in the book of fate, that Mr. J. Williamson is destined either to buoy out the channel for tubs in the Manukau, or to pour the crystal stream into the tubs of the Auckland population. We have had in New Zealand a " clean shirt ministry," and we fear that a Superintendency will go down to posterity alongside it as the " dirty-water" one.

The following extract from Judge Johnston's charge to the Grand Juiy at Nelson is well worth perusal. It is not often that political matters me dismissed from the bench in these colonies, though they ;ue fiom the pulpit, frequently. The earnest gravity befitting the latter has betaken itself, apparently, to our Courts of Justice.