THE DUNSTAN TIMES FRIDAY, 24th AUGUST, 1866

Dunstan Times, Issue 226, 24 August 1866, Page 2

THE DUNSTAN TIMES

FRIDAY, 24th AUGUST, 1866

' deneath the rule of men entirely ivsi, the pen is mightier than the gwo&s!"

The subject of transfering the management of the Goldfields into the hands of the General Government will, in all probability in a short time be brought prominently before all classes of the community, and the sense of the people taken upon the subject. The advisability of such a course is a matter that deserves serious consideration, for although the Provincial Government may have many short-com-ings ; we must, however, before committing ourselves to any overt act, consider whether we should be benefited by the change. With the introduction of the Victorian system of Shire Councils and District Boards, we should doubtless be much better off under the General Government, as each district would have at its disposal for improvements a large percentage of the Revenue derived therefrom. Money spent under local supervision must go a long way further than when it is doled out by departments whose preliminary proceedings are often more costly than the execution of the works themselves. For instance, a local body is well post-* ed up in the actual requirements of the locality in which it has jurisdiction, it is familiar with matters of detail necessary for putting any undertaking into practice, while the percentage which is taken off grants of money as payment for sundry acts of official circumlocution and investigation would be spent upon the work itself; and as the local body has an almost individual interest in itssucccssful issue, there is every guarantee that full value will be obtained fortheoutlay. The country districts of Victoria have advanced rapidly under the system of local selfgovernment, far greater improvements have been made for a given sum than was ever the case before, while the work itself is invariably better adapted to meet the difficulties which necessitated its performance. Politicians of all grades allow that local self-government is the only true system of government, and the one which is most likely to give satisfaction to all classes of the community; and now that Ave have actual proof before us by the experiences of our neighbours, there can be no valid reason why a trial should not be made here. We are sufficiently advanced to make the attempt, the days of a nomad gipsy-life are all over, the population has settled down to legitimate and permanent employments, and we may go further and say that the majority have determined upon making Otago their homes; therefore, there is the double assurance that people will not only strive to render themselves as happy and comfortable as circumstances will permit, but that they will also endeavour to promote the prosperity of the districts in which they may reside. With Mr Vogel's bill (at present before the A ssemby) for the establishing in New Zealand of District Councils, carried, we may! unhesitatingly say, not only remove the Goldfields from the jurisdiction of the Provincial Government, but abolish Provincial Governments entirely, for at the best they are little better than parish ves tries, and perhaps in some instances not so enlightened. It is urged by the friends of provincialism, that were the management of the Goldfields in the hands of the General Government, there would bono money spentupon the making of roads and bridges in the mining districts —the General Government would take all but

give nothing back. We think, i however, that this is saying too 1 much; the mining interest is too ' valuable a one to be neglected—it has raised New Zealand from an obscure corner of the earth into one of the most promising of British Colonies, and we full concur in the -views taken by the ' Melbourne Argus,' that from the natural resources and salubrity of climate, New Zealand will eventually take the foremost place amongst the nations of the Southern Hemisphere. No government would adopt such a suicidal policy as to wantonly neglect its leading industry, nor can we believe that the sole ambition of our rulers is to make the land one vast sheep walk. The pastoral interest may certainly be a very powerful one, and possess great influence, but the action taken by its leading members in the present session of the Assembly most assuredly proves that they are not unmindful of that of mining. The flockowners are as much interested in the prosperity of the Goldfields as the miners themselves. As,a proof of this, we may instance the rewards offered by other provinces for the discovery of Goldfields; if the Goldfields did not confer an advantage there would be no rewards offered for their discovery. Population is the true source of wealth to nations, every man or woman that comes into a country, or every child born in it represents a certain amount of money-value—each must eat, drink, and consume something, and as the required necessities must be bought and paid for, the individual receiving them must either find the cash to make the purchase, or produce an equivalent in the shape of labor, cither to be turned to account by himself, as in the case of gold-digging, or through the agency of an employer We only look to the popular cry that the squatters don't want the diggers as a mere piece of claptrap ; they want the miner to consume their stock just as much as the miner wants thorn to grow it for him. The General Government having the management of the goldfields in their own hands, it is no criterion that money will not be spent in making roads and bridges, main lines of road must be made throughout the principle centres of population and industry as a matter of necessity. We should like to know what the Provincial Government have done in making roads in this district. The boasted expenditure on the Cromwell Bridge was not especially contracted for any particular goldfield—its construction was undertaken with the view of opening up a direct communication between Dunedin and the Lakes, and it cannot be charged to the Goldfields account; it is a benefit to the Province at large, and will be more so when the road is opened right through to Queenstown. As to bye-roads, the money laid out upon them is very small in amount. We think that the Provincial Government could not possibly have done less, and very much fjuestion if more -would not have been done by the General Government. Now, if we turn to Tuapeka, we find that the most minute wants of that district have been strictly attended to. When we visited that locality a few weeks back, we were positively surprised to find every road whereever there was any mining goingon, all bean. tifully Macadamised, nice side-walks form. j ed, and even where small water-courses i crossed the footways, they weie spanned I by neat little bridges. t the Dunstan or Lakes, the Provincial (Jovernment have done absolutely nothing—they have not formed scarcely a road, much less Macadamised one, and as to dry comfortable crossing places over running streams, we might wade up to our necks in water for ought they care ; while the. good folks of , Tuapeka are not al owed to wet the soles of their boots. VVe do not envy our friends standing j-o well in the good graces of the Provincial ,\ uthorities, but can only compliment them upon their sagacity in returning local men to the Council, who, having considerable personal interests in the district, have secured for themselves 1 and constituents a large share of the good

things that were to be had merely for the looking after. In this matter, however, 'we will do our best to make an improvement, when the proper time arrives. Returning to the subject of the Goldfields' management, it must be very apparent " that what we never have had, we can never lose," so/that t even, ! . r should we be consigned to the fatherly care of the General Government, the* change cannot be productive"; of much harm; nevertheless, it is desirable that we should thoroughly understand our'situation, and before giving any positive expressionlof opinion"'as to whether we prefer being cared for by either the Provincial or General Governments; let "us not rashly, but* take"time for consideration. An old saying has it " that it is better to deal with a devil you do know, than with a devil you do not know."